Peridot is a gem variety of the mineral olivine, which is found in peridotite rock from the earth’s upper mantle. It was known since antiquity, and for many centuries it was only found on a small island in the Red Sea, today known as Zabargad Island. 2500 years ago, no boats were ever left there overnight […]
Category Archives: Learn about diamonds
Articles, photos and hints & tips about diamonds and precious gemstones. This section includes articles about historic diamonds, updates from the world of gemmology, and an occasionally geeky focus on the chemistry of diamonds
The Tereschenko Diamond, also known as the Tereschenko Blue, is a 42.9 carat pear shape blue diamond. It has a slightly irregular outline, with a beautiful even saturation. It is believed to have come from India originally, as, like most blue diamonds, it is a Type IIb, suggesting that it came from the famous Golconda mines. […]
As a sister article to the blog post about the Maximilian Diamond, HERE, the Emperor Maximilian is a 41.94 carat cushion cut diamond, first known of in Brazil in the mid 19th century. As discussed in the other blog post, both stones first come onto the scene in the 1860s, when Archduke Maximilian of Austria travelled […]
A short blog post today, about a wonderful piece of background to the origins of the word jewellery! Sometimes it is so easy to use a word and never stumble across its roots. Jewellery is one of the most personal things we possess, typically received as a gift, or perhaps to mark an important occasion […]
While many diamonds are supposedly cursed, very few have as unfortunate a history as the Maximilian Diamond. The story takes us from the jungles of Brazil to a New York City Dump. It first comes onto the scene in the 1860s, when Archduke Maximilian of Austria travelled to Brazil. He was the younger brother of […]
One of the most famous diamonds in the world, it was believed that whoever owned the Koh-i-Noor rules the world. It is currently set into the crown worn by the female consort to the Monarch of the UK, and is currently on display in the Tower of London. The known facts of the stone date […]
One of the largest flawless D colour diamonds known, the Queen of Holland diamond is a stunning 135 carat cushion cut diamond, cut into its present shape in 1904. The stone is named after Queen Wilhemina of Holland, who reigned from 1890 until 1948. Nothing is known of its history prior to its arrival in […]
The Wittlesbach diamond is a 36 carat modified cushion cut blue stone, first recorded in 1664 in the dowry of the Spanish Infanta, who married Emperor Leopold in 1667. This timescale leads us to believe that the stone is Indian in origin. The diamond’s cut has been described as a stellar brilliant, due to the […]
The 128 carat Tiffany diamond is one of the most famous large gemstones in the world, and has its regular home in a display case inside Tiffany and Co’s 5th Avenue store in New York. Discovered in 1877/8, in South Africa, the rough weighed 287 carats. At the time it was the largest yellow diamond […]
Coral was a highly prized item two thousand years ago, and there was a significant trade of it between Europe and India. It was highly prized, and was believed to has special properties; the Gauls used it for ornamentation on helmets and weapons, and the Romans believed to protected children from danger. The skeleton of […]