The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, unveils its latest exhibition that draws parallels with Van Cleef & Arpels’ high jewellery and traditional Japanese crafts. For centuries, Japan’s city of Kyoto has been a central hub for the creative arts. This year, the city’s National Museum of Modern Art will house its latest exhibition Mastery of an Art: Van Cleef & Arpels—High Jewellery and Japanese Crafts. The retrospective will focus its attention on French high-jewellery...
Extremely rare coloured diamonds, ethically sourced materials and eternally chic combinations are a few of the key trends in contemporary fine jewellery. When it comes to gemstones the white diamond once reigned supreme, but in recent years the popularity of coloured gems has increased exponentially. According to Bonhams, coloured stones have been surpassing white diamonds in value, with prices for some coloured gems rising by 2,200 percent in the past 10 years. In particular, exceptional...
A magnificent display of precious stones and jewellery gives a vivid insight in the cross-cultural influences between the Indian sub-continent and the West, an influence that continues to flourish today. For centuries, the royal treasuries of India contained vast quantities of precious stones. Diamonds were found within the subcontinent, most famously in the southern region of Golconda. The best rubies came from Burma. Sri Lanka supplied sapphires, and from the 16th century emeralds were brought from...
The true brilliance of a diamond only comes to light when artistry and modern technology are combined to create a gemstone that outshines them all. Taking Dayekh Gems to new heights are two brothers who know their sparkle from their glitter. Cutting a diamond in the twenty-first century involves cutting-edge technology. With lasers for precision work and computers that scan rough stones to flag up flaws, while calculating the size of the largest possible cut,...
Christie’s give their own view as to why diamonds are, as Marilyn Monroe famously sang, a girl’s best friend. For a cool US$14 million, the famous Pink Perfect diamond awaits you. Diamonds have been known in India since time immemorial, and the subcontinent was the only source of diamonds until 1723 when they were found in Brazil, followed by South Africa in 1870. After World War II, diamonds went on to be discovered in Russia,...
Continuing our series that reflects on great fashion brands and style icons, the name of Adler is synonymous with fine jewellery. This firm’s reputation stems from a long line of family jewellers, all of the highest repute. Today, Adler looks to the future by creating exquisite and innovative jewellery that are always in the vanguard of design trends. In 1886 Jacques Adler, a jeweller born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and trained in Vienna, opened a...
