Sounds incredulous? Not at all!

Who can view this magnificent 6.25ct. heart-shape diamond and not yearn to possess it? It is the iconic symbol of romantic love and life’s ‘secret place’ for passion.

So if you don’t want your diamond to look just like every other woman’s, and you want to wear your heart on your finger (or ears or neck) and not on your sleeve, than there is no more a unique cut diamond than the heart-shape diamond.

As a tribute to Valentine’s Day, we thought we’d take a look back at some of the more famous gems of love.

Hearts of History….

For Elizabeth Taylor’s 40^th Birthday, husband Richard Burton acquired the Taj-Mahal – not the building – but a flat heart- shaped diamond inscribed in the Persian Language with Arabic characters. The inscription reads, “Nur Jahan Begum Padshah; 23; 1037.” Emperor Jahangir commissioned the artisans of the Mughal court to design this beautiful diamond and jade pendant and got it inscribed with the name of his favorite wife Nur Jahan, and presented it to her as a token of his great love and esteem for her, in the year 1037 A.H. The diamond was then given to Shah Jahan, who gave it to his favorite wife Mumtaz as a token of his love. When she died, he built her the Taj Mahal.  It was said that Burton bought the Taj Mahal diamond for Taylor in 1972 because he couldn’t give her the Taj Mahal. Surrounded by rubies and diamonds framed in a yellow-gold necklace this Cartier necklace, it set the world record for an Indian jewel. It sold for $8.8 million in 2011; about 20 times its estimated worth of between $300,000 and $500,000.

In 1910 Cartier purchased the inimitable 30.62 cts. Blue Heart diamond which has a rare deep blue body color.  Sold to an Argentinian woman named Mrs. Unzu , it was set in a lily-of-the-valley corsage and remained as such until Van Cleef & Arpels bought the gem in 1953. In 1959 Harry Winston acquired this Blue Heart, mounted it in a ring and sold it five years later to Marjorie Merriweather Post. Mrs. Post donated the Blue Heart to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. where it remains to this day. The Blue Heart diamond, belonging to the National Gem Collection of the Smithsonian Institution, is the largest heart-shaped blue diamond in the world which remains unchanged since its cutting in Paris in 1909.

The Cullinan V  18.80 cts. heart-shaped diamond, was cut from the original Cullinan diamond, found in South Africa (the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found at 3,106.75 carats.) The Cullinan V diamond has royal roots as it was originally mounted in a brooch for Queen Mary (H. M.’s grandmother and wife of George V) and set in lovely platinum open-work with scrolling millegrain work accompanied by a pave-set border of diamonds. For her 1937 coronation, Queen Mary used this brooch in her coronet in place of the famous Koh-i-Nûr diamond, which had been transferred to Queen Elizabeth’s crown. The brooch is now worn by the reigning Queen Elizabeth.

Designed by  famous Swiss jeweler Fawaz Gruosi (credited for starting the current enthusiasm for black diamond jewelry in the 1990’s), the Gruosi Diamond is  largest heart-shape black diamond to date. It weighs 115.34 carats and is the centerpiece of a striking necklace made of 58.77 carats of smaller black diamonds, 378 white diamonds and 14.10 carats of tsavorite garnets.

A heart with a little bit of luck…

Van Cleef & Arpels has designed a contemporary Four Leaf Clover Heart-shaped diamond ring which they named “Antoinette” for those who want to combine luck with love. It is set with 4 heart shaped diamonds weighing approximately over 2 carats and the surrounding diamonds weighing 1.04 carats.

So considering a heart-shape diamond of your own?

According to Buddhist lore- “The diamond heart represents purity and indestructibility which no man can cut or disturb.” Sounds like pretty potent karma to me.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Fulco di Verdura- even the name evokes an air of nobility and bravura!

As a designer, he embraced bold color and fantastic forms and mixed them imaginatively with a myriad of natural stones and combinations. He was particularly drawn to the natural world and art objects. And his creations reflected this. Such is the case with the two pairs of earrings featured here that are composed of wood and coral respectively, enveloped in 18kt yellow gold.

Verdura’s wildly imaginative and high fashion jewelry, such as his diamond Hokusai-like stylized waves or his Byzantine mosaic-like brooches, was a testament to his love of nature and art. He also fancied marine-life motifs crafting pieces that imitated actual sea forms such as scallop shells.

The inimitable Chanel particularly fancied one of Verdura’s earliest signature styles- his Maltese cross brooches and wrist cuffs. It was Chanel, in fact, who recognized his talents and hired Verdura as a textile designer, paving the way for his illustrious career. Verdura would later say that “Chanel was the most chic woman I have ever met and the first person to ever take me seriously.”

Gaining fame in Paris, Verdura moved onto the United States and became an acclaimed jeweler for leading Hollywood jeweler, Paul Flato. And Hollywood starlets and fashion icons loved Verdura! These lovely ladies included Paulette Goddard, Carole Lombard, Diana Vreeland, Babe Paley and Betsy Whitney.

Fulco di Verdura’s appeal has never waned and the company remains one of most beloved design visionaries of haute couture jewelry.

For more on Fulco di Verdura, read my blog, Embracing Verdura, here.

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Bvlgari was a master at creating jewelry that appeals to today’s fashion sensibility and yet pays homage to the past.

Such is the case in this recently acquired Bvlgari 18kt yellow gold link pendant embellished with cultured pearls, diamond rondelles and cabochon ruby terminals. Suspended from this intricately designed pendant is a classical Roman carved lava cameo framed by round and baguette diamonds.

Bvlgari’s story begins with Greek silversmith/jeweler Sotirios Voulgaris who left his homeland and emigrated to Italy, settling in Rome where he founded his company. Following World War II, Bvlgari moved away from the French school of design which had dominated jewelry to create its own unique style inspired by Greek and Roman classicism the Italian Renaissance and the 19^th Century Roman school of master goldsmiths which appealed to the elite.

One such elite client was Elizabeth Taylor who discovered Bvlgari in 1962, loved their jewelry and amassed a large collection in her lifetime. Other Bvlgari admirers followed suit including Mary Pickford, Princess Grace, Audrey Hepburn, Keira Knightley and Kristen Wiig.

Bvlgari’s signature style was, and is still today, bold and sumptuous with wide expanses of metal coupled with precious and/or semiprecious stones, usually cabochons set in geometric patterns. Unusual stone cuts also came into the mix, including diamonds in both round brilliant and fancy cuts, and colored gemstones in cushion-cuts, calibrated cuts and heart-shapes. Color remains a dominant feature.

Regarded as one of the world’s premier jewelers, the company is credited for many innovations in jewelry. Imagine combining unusual materials, such as steel and white porcelain, and mixing them with precious materials and gemstones in larger than life designs. An odd combination? Perhaps. But that’s the genius of Bvlgari- creating magnificent ‘every-day ‘jewelry using bold Italian architectural themes with sumptuous color!

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In our business we watch the price of metals every day.

Gold of course is the main barometer we follow.  Our clients spend a lot of time considering if now is the right time to sell their gold jewelry.

Broken, old and unworn gold jewelry should be seen as an asset. If not worn,  the decision should then become one of logic.

Gold as of this writing is a little over $1,760 per ounce.  At this level we are strong advocates of selling gold.  We have been selling the gold we own and suggest that although there may be a little bit more to go on the up side, the down side seems a lot bigger.

We are not market experts on the gold value when compared to the dollar parity, or inflation worries.  We approach our decisions on whether to hold gold or sell it on the levels of value.  At approximately 7% below its all time high we think the upside of gold is much smaller than its potential to drop.

To learn the value of your gold jewelry contact us and we will be happy to help you in any way we can.

The post The Gold Market: September 24, 2012 appeared first on FabOn5th.com.

It’s no mystery why Van Cleef & Arpels continues to captivate with one of its perennial favorites- The Cosmos Collection.

This Cosmos Clip is a perfect example of VCA’s mastery in perfecting the ‘sertimysterieux’ or invisible setting which the firm patented in 1933.

Surrounding a brilliant white diamond center are these Mystery Set™ caliber-cut ruby petals on a baguette-cut diamond stem. What’s so extraordinary about this jeweled marvel is that there are no prongs or bezels holding the rubies but rather each gemstone is painstakingly notched and re-cut to fit the setting. To this day, invisibly-set jewelry remains VCA’s ‘tour-de-force.’

Van Cleef & Arpels refers to this nature inspired four-leaf clover Luck pin as a “rare clover that comes as a trophy for he or she who pays careful attention to the signs of luck and is able to grasp them!” As Jacques Arpels would say, “To be lucky, one must believe in luck.”

 And how fortunate were we at Andrew & Peter Fabrikant to have acquired this bonne chance jewel!

The post Van Cleef & Arpels Ruby & Diamond Cosmos Clip – It’s No Mystery appeared first on FabOn5th.com.

Written by: Andrew Fabrikant

Hello to all.  For those of you who follow my blogging and entries I am sorry I have not written in quite some time.  During the summer I like to spend time with my sons & family, and I thank you for tuning back in to check on the gold and diamond market.

Gold has been fluctuating around the $1,600 dollar mark for months.  In my last writing on the subject I suggested that the down side risk for those of you holding gold you would like to sell is greater than the potential up side of selling gold.  If there is a rally in the gold price to record highs, I think it will be short and when it comes you should act fast.

If you are considering raising money by selling jewelry, or have not worn jewels you own for several years now could be the time to sell.  The commodity values are still near record highs.  Giving even the old worn out styles of jewels greater value.

Higher end jewelry and diamonds such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Tiffany & Co. are still selling very well.  Our clientele, both in the industry and public are clamoring for big diamonds.  Three carat diamonds and larger in all shapes and qualities are in big demand.  We NEED to fill requests and are paying unheard of prices for diamonds of size.

Our access to the international diamond market has benefited our sellers quite dramatically. We recently bought a 12-carat Pear Shape diamond and were the highest bidder by $35,000.  Our client was quite pleased.

Signed jewelry from Tiffany, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Harry Winston, and all other fine jewelers are bringing the highest percentages in history.  We cannot keep the finer items on the shelf.

Lower end jewelry still has the intrinsic value mentioned above.  So, although they may not be selling in you local store they maintain their strongest valuations in years.

If you are not located in the New York Area, we ask you to please contact us with your gold and diamond inquires.  We are happy to help you and we offer secured nationwide shipping. 

The post The Market: Summer 2012 appeared first on FabOn5th.com.

On a recent visit to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, I had the distinct pleasure to experience the ‘Jewels, Gems and Treasures- Ancient to Modern’ exhibit. Organized by Yvonne Markowitz the MFA’s first curator of jewelry, I use the word experience because not only was it a treat for the eyes, but it reminded me how jewelry is such a potent symbolizer which reflects a culture and an era.

Beyond their obvious adornment significance, the exhibit had some interesting messages to convey.

Long regarded as emblems of power, such as the rock crystal and gold amulet found in the tomb of an ancient Egyptian queen, jewelry can also be culturally revealing. One strong ‘cultural signifier’ jewel was the platinum diamond, ruby and sapphire flag brooch created to honor the sacrifices of the armed forces in World War 1.  As a dog lover, I especially loved the miniature agate bulldog on display- one might be surprised to learn that bulldogs symbolize wealth and prestige. Of note on display was an historical diamond jeweled suite owned by Mary Todd Lincoln (which she was forced to sell for financial reasons after President Lincoln’s assassination.)

Miniature Agate Bulldog

Particularly eye-catching was the Aurora Butterfly of Peace, which took 12 years to complete and is composed of 240 natural fancy colored diamonds in various sizes, shapes and cuts weighing 167 carats. Beyond its obvious symbolic meaning of universal peace, the beauty of nature (never fleeting as a butterfly) is re-interpreted in the glorious color of these diamonds.

the Aurora Butterfly

Over the annals of jewelry history, jewelry designers were known to be wildly imaginative in their creations. This exhibit paid homage to these designers who combined the most unusual materials with precious gemstones to fabricate their pieces. Imagine jewelry made from seaweed, tiger claws, mica appliques, conch shells and a taxidermied hummingbird with ruby eyes (yes, I did say taxidermied!)

Of course let us not forget that there was jewelry created simply for its sheer beauty. One such piece featured was the enamel marsh-bird decorated with moonstones and pearls by the English Arts and Crafts designer, Charles Robert Ashbee, as a hair ornament that was later converted to a brooch. Another ‘jewel of beauty’ the carved emerald and diamond brooch made for cereal-fortune heiress Merriweather Post.

Charles Robert Ashbee's Marsh-bird

And for you lovers of avant-garde jewelry, this exhibit did not disappoint. Conceptual artist Otto Kunzli’s rubber tubing bracelet with a gold ball hidden within was certainly modernistic in form. But do you think the designer created this piece to make a statement to material girls?

Otto Kunzli's Rubber Bracelet

As a jewelry historian who continues to be enamored by jewelry, I particularly liked this exhibit because it didn’t just show pretty objects, it told a story.  A story of how jewelry transcends time; how jewelry reflects a society; and finally how jewelry is regarded as the fine artform which it so richly deserves.

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In honor of the Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee held in June, we would like to acknowledge one of the greatest diamonds in history owned by the British Royalty- the Koh-i-Noor Diamond.

The Koh-i-Noor Diamond

The Koh-i-noor Diamond, meaning Mountain of Light, had a most troubled past. But today, it burns brightly in a new exhibition displaying the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London.

Legend has it that the Koh-i-Noor left a trail of greed, power, murder and mayhem in its illustrious history. Believed to have originated in India at least 4,000 years old, the diamond has belonged to various Indian, Mughal, Persian, Afghan, and Sikh rulers who fought bitterly over it as it was believed that “he who owns the Koh-i-Noor rules the world.”

Once belonging to Shah Jehan who built the Taj Mahal as a memorial for his beloved Queen Mumtaz, it was said to have been placed in one of the eyes in a peacock in the Peacock Throne of Shah Jehan. But many stories abound regarding ownership. Another story is that the Mogul ruler, Mohammed Shah, in possession of the Koh-i-Noor would place it in his turban for safe keeping. When Nadir Shah discovered this, he devised a plan to exchange turbans (an Oriental custom symbolic of brotherly ties and eternal friendship) with Mohammed who could not refuse. Upon retiring with the turban, he unrolled its yards of silk and as it fell to the floor he exclaimed- “Koh-i-Noor’ which is how it was so named.

Queen Elizabeth wearing the Koh-i-Noor Diamond in her crown.

These may be just legends, but one thing we know for sure is that in 1849 it was confiscated from Kharak Singh by the British East India Company as partial indemnity after the Sikh wars. In 1850 it was presented to Queen Victoria to mark the 250^th anniversary of the founding of the East India Company by Queen Elizabeth I.

When displayed at the Crystal Palace Exposition in London in 1851, viewers were actually disappointed that it did not exhibit more fire. So Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had it recut. The final result was an oval brilliant diamond weighing 108.93 metric carats from its original 186 carats.

Today the Koh-i-Noor remains one of the most celebrated gemstones of the Crown Jewels, and in the world, and lies nestled within a Maltese cross in the Queen Mother’s Crown.

The post Koh-i-Noor Diamond- Fit for a Queen appeared first on FabOn5th.com.

At Andrew & Peter Fabrikant we recently acquired these unusually-shaped Seaman Schepps cabochon sapphire, aquamarine, pearl and diamond earrings. So marvelously designed, I was inspired to re-visit the appeal for Schepps’ boldly imaginative jewelry.

Throwing aside any notion of traditional principles used in jewelry design, Seaman Schepps garnered a notable list of clients including Katherine Hepburn, Coco Chanel, the Duchess of Windsor and Andy Warhol. Of course having the patronage of some of the most prestigious families in history- the Rockefellers, the Duponts, the Mellons and the British Royal Family, clearly helped to elevate Schepp’s status as one of the most celebrated jewelers to the rich and famous in the 1940’s and ‘50s.

So how did this young man, who grew up poor on the Lower East Side of New York, achieve such fame? By being an innovator! He simply broke all the rules by using unorthodox settings and a curious blend of diamonds, colored stones, precious metals and unusual materials (such as wood and shell), to achieve a fascinating palette of hues and textures. And having a shop which catered to an affluent clientele on the Upper East Side who appreciated his one-of-a-kind creations, didn’t hurt his claim to fame as well.

Perhaps being given such a non-traditional name of Seaman, (so named after the Seaman’s Bank for savings which his mother could see from her hospital room), it’s no wonder that Seaman Schepps followed suit by creating jewelry which has been described as ‘wiity’ and ‘outrageous.”

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We at Andrew & Peter Fabrikant are enamored with Verdura pieces as they have enduring appeal to a clientele with discerning taste. Throughout their rich history, Verdura attracted clients that read like a Who’s Who of notable people- Marlene Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, Brooke Astor, William S. Paley, Tyrone Power, Olivia de Havilland, Babe Paley, Merle Oberon, Alfred G. Vanderbilt, William Randolph Hearst and the list goes on and on.

The Criss Cross Cuff, inspired by the weave of Verdura’s Panama hat, it translated to a criss cross design on a Verdura cigarette case given to Cole Porter on the opening of his 1940 Broadway musical “Panama Hattie.”

Born in 1898 in Sicily, Fulco Santostefano della Cerda had an aristocratic childhood and later inherited the title of Duke of Verdu. Enveloped by a luscious natural landscape,a vast library of old books and his travels, Verdura developed a rich mental visual portfolio that would spark his creative juices throughout his life. It was in his journeys to Cannes, Venice and Paris that he met Cole and Linda Porter who actually encouraged him to pursue a career in design which turned out to be the catalyst of a prolific career.

Hailed as one of the most celebrated, innovative designers of his day, Verdura influenced other notable designers including David Webb, Seamen Schepps, (Verdura was the first designer to incorporate actual shells and pebbles in his jewelry), Angela Cummings and Paloma Picasso.

Verdura jewelry takes the classical subjects and transforms them into contemporary and coveted works of art.

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