Jewellery News and Reviews

If your intention is to buy a new watch, you are about to enter a metaphoric minefield, with many potential pitfalls and detonation points. It is such a subjective item to purchase, that what can please you, can have the opposite reaction in the intended recipient.

When searching for designer watches, you have to know what suits you and what doesn’t. Other considerations are the form and functionality. This is irrespective of whether you are looking to buy for yourself of for someone else.

Whether your quest is for ladies watches or mens watches, your task will not be an easy one. Thinking in advance, with the recipient in your mind’s eye can help the situation and eventually save you some money. Before taking the plunge, there are some key considerations to bear in mind.

Personality of the user
It is vital to consider the personality of the person for whom you are intending to buy a watch. If that happens to be yourself, then there is nobody better qualified to know what is appropriate. If you are buying a watch for someone else, you may have to make yourself aware of some important key points such as: whether he or she would be best suited to something showy with a bit of ‘bling’ and or just simple and elegant.

Intended usage
Are you/they going to be using it outdoors whilst taking part in sports, or maybe for parties and evening occasions? Maybe it will be reserved for office use only, or possibly something robust that could cater for all of these scenarios.

Budgetary consideration
Carefully consider the cost of the watch. If money is not an issue, you can please yourself where you go to shop without much of a care. If your budget is tight, remember to always stay within your comfort zone. There would be nothing worse than giving an expensive gift to someone only to reveal that it has financially embarrassed you!

Unfortunately, some believe these famous prizes may carry their own price for ownership. Looking back at the first appearance and their subsequent journeys has put a question in the minds of the superstitious as to whether loose diamonds are cursed or not. Even today there is debate. While myth may be debunked by history, the legend, for many of these diamonds, lives on. But be careful of a beautiful engagement ring, espcially if the diamond looks too good to be true.

Koh-i-Noor Diamond

The Koh-i-Noor Diamond, though perhaps not the most famous of the six gems, has the most recorded history. According to legend, the “Mountain of Light” was stolen from the god Krishna who was asleep at the time and first appeared in Mogul chronicles as part of captured treasure in 1304 where it remained with the emperors until 1739.

Unfortunately, when Delhi was sacked by the Persians, the Mogul emperor at the time attempted, unsuccessfully thanks to a member of his harem, to hide the diamond in his turban. The Persian Nadir Shah took the turban from the neck up and gave the diamond its name in wonder.

The diamond stayed with the Persians for another 110 years before it was acquired by the British East India Company after the Sikh wars. Luckily for Queen Victoria, the the cursed diamond seemed to be having more bad luck for her male counterparts. Since 1911, the now 109 carat stone has been part of the coronation crowns of the Queen consorts, hopefully contradicting any “curse” on the royal males.

Hope Diamond

Possibly the world’s most well known diamond, the Hope Diamond at one time was reported to have weighed in at more than 112 carats. However, the curse on this rare large blue diamond supposedly began after it was popped out of the eye socket of a statue of the Hindu goddess Sita in India. This allegedly caused the diamond to be cursed and any owner to have either death or misfortune befall them.

Legend and history cross paths for the first time at the acquisition of the diamond. According to historical accounts, French Jeweler Jean Baptiste Tavernier traveled throughout India and purchased the large diamond, which was allegedly dug out of the Kollur mine in Golconda. According to the stories, he stole the diamond from the statue and was killed by wild dogs in Russia right after he sold the jewel.

However, according to historical accounts, Tavernier made his way back to France in 1668 with the diamond where he sold it to King Louis XIV along with a large quantity of other diamonds. After being made a nobleman, Tavernier died at 84 in Russia of unknown causes.

From the more than 112-carat diamond, a new diamond was cut to a little more than 67 carats and dubbed the “Blue Diamond of the Crown.” A few generations later, Louis XVI was crowned king with Marie Antoinette at his side. According to legend, Marie Antoinette heads was cut off whilst her neck was adorned with said diamond.

Soon after the French Revolution, the Hope Diamond was stolen with many other crown jewels. The other jewels were recovered, and the Hope Diamond surfaced again in London about 22 years later. By 1823, English jeweler Daniel Eliason owned the gem that was supposedly once the “Blue Diamond of the Crown.”

According to historical accounts, the diamond that Eliason owned was the French royals’ diamond re-cut to 44 carats to hide its origins. And years later, it was once again in royal hands, those of King George IV, when he purchased it from Eliason. It was subsequently sold to pay off debts. The legend continued to grow from there.

Henry Philip Hope was in possession of the diamond very soon, which took his family name. However, the curse supposedly hit many members of his family causing the family to become bankrupt. But according to historical accounts, it was gambling and Francis Hope’s own misfortunes that caused the family’s bankruptcy. Francis, the great grand nephew of Henry, sold the diamond in 1901.

The Hope Diamond was purchased by Simon Frankel, an American jeweler, but wound up in Frenchman Pierre Cartier’s hands years later. Cartier knew of a rich American, Evalyn Walsh McLean, who told him that objects usually considered bad luck turned into good luck for her. After the jewel was once again reset, McLean purchased the diamond.

However, it may not have been such good luck for her. Her first son, Vinson, was killed in a car accident at 9; her daughter committed suicide at 25; and McLean’s husband was declared insane and confined until he died in 1941.

Upon her death, in 1949 the diamond was sold to pay off old debts to Harry Winston, a New York jeweler. Winston donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institute in 1958. Some people believe it was to avert the curse; others say it was because Winston wanted the rare blue diamond to be the focal point of a newly established gem collection.

Black Orlov

The last of our trio of “cursed” diamonds is the Black Orlov. Known as “the Eye of Brahma,” this black diamond was discovered in India in the early 1800’s. According to legend and like the first two diamonds, the 195-carat Black Orlov was allegedly found in a Hindu idol at a shrine near Pondicherry, India, where it was stolen by a Hindu monk. This action supposedly summoned a malicious spirit to embrace the Eye and the Eye’s owners.

The “cursed” jewel took its name from Princess Nadia Vyegin-Orlov in the late 1800’s. Coincidentally, the diamond was named the Black Orlov because of its “natural fancy blacký color but also to differentiate it from the Orlov Diamond, a 189.6 carat white diamond with its own storied past.

According to an Associated Press article, Orlov leapt from a building in an apparent suicide in Rome, Italy, on Dec. 2, 1947, after leaving during the Russian Revolution and getting rid of her family jewels by selling them.

Russian Princess Leonila Galitsine-Bariatinsky also previously owned the Black Orlov. In a disturbing coincidence in November 1947, Galitsine-Bariatinsky also committed suicide by leaping from a building.

Some fifteen years earlier, J.W. Paris imported the Black Orlov into the United States and after securing the sale of the diamond also leapt to his death on April 7, 1932. After the two Russian princesses committed suicide, supposedly the curse was broken when Charles S. Winson, another jeweler in New York, purchased the Black Orlov on Friday, May 13, 1949.

If purchasing an diamond ring is in the near future, then you will want to be well informed to make the best decision . There are many things to consider when beginning the search for the perfect engagement ring, and it may help to keep notes on what you learn to help in your final decision . Even if you have some previous knowledge on diamonds, it will benefit you to examine all of the choices from the resellers where you are looking at purchasing your perfect engagement ring. 
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Exploring all of the options jewelers have can help you make that choice for affordable engagement ring. Many places will make sure to educate you before making your final purchase to ensure that you are choosing the one that is right for you and your mate. If you are dealing with a jeweler that does not proactively try to educate you on engagement ring options, you may want to find a different place to shop . Many ring companies have websites that will provide tips and information necessary to make a ring purchase so be sure to use all of the resources available to you, especially if you are not keen on spending a large amount of time in the store becoming more educated before making your purchase. Knowing about cut, clarity, setting and even budget limitations can all help narrow down your search for the perfect engagement ring . 

For those couples that have talked about marriage before the big question has actually been asked, you may want to shop for the perfect engagement ring together. By shopping together, she can choose a number of options that she prefers and you can make your final decision based on those choices. Another way to find out exactly what your girl would like is to look at the jewelry that she already owns and wears regularly . You will not want to purchase an engagement ring that will not blend with what she currently has. If she loves yellow gold and multiple stones you will not be browsing platinum solitaire engagement rings . 

Some women will not have a preference for their engagement rings to the wedding bands, while others feel that it is imperative that they match. Take stock of her belongings and how she organizes her belongings. If all of her towels in her linen closet match or she has an exact set of coordinating serving dishes with matching spoons, she is most likely the type of woman who would prefer an engagement ring that belongs to a set. These can be purchased together or separately depending on where you are shopping, while other engagement rings can be put with a number of wedding bands quite well. A simple solitaire diamond engagement ring will go with practically any wedding band, so if you are unsure, this may be the best choice for your purchase.

George C. Baycan of Simayof Jewelers has 7 years experience in the jewelry business in management and marketing consultant positions.  He specializes in diamonds and engagement ring consulting.

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