Birthstone Spotlight: November Topaz
2
Tag Archives: John and Laura Ramsey
Tourmaline the Rainbow Gem
It is interesting that both opal and tourmaline are associated with many colors. In the instance of opal there are many colors within one stone. In the instance of tourmaline there are many stones—each with its own color. Of course, to complicate matters, there are tourmaline gems with multiple colors—lots and lots of colors—all within one stone, just presented differently to the eye than opal.
No wonder the most often-used nickname for tourmaline is The Rainbow Gem. Tourmaline comes in so many colors and so many shades of each color that it is a favorite of collectors. Many serious gem collectors have separate tourmaline collections within their overall collection.
Birthstone Spotlight: August Peridot
Peridot is one of my favorite gems, not only for its beauty, but because there are so many interesting stories regarding peridot through the ages…
One of the earliest peridot mines to be exploited is the Egyptian Island of Zeberget in the Red Sea. My friend and mineralogical guru from years gone by, Dr. Peter Bancroft, did some “rock-hounding” for peridot on the island many years ago. At the time, he was allowed there as a co-traveler of Dr. Edward Gubelin the famous Swiss gemologist…
Birthstone Spotlight: July Ruby
As a true ruby aficionado, I’ve been just waiting for July to roll around the calendar. As young gem dealers Laura and I spent months in Thailand early on in our careers. Among our missions there, learning about ruby was towards the top of the list. Over the years we’ve spent months (perhaps years) in Southeast Asia dealing in rubies and enjoying every exciting and even every frustrating minute of it.
Based on price per carat and price per stone, ruby is probably the king of all colored stones. On a price per stone basis there may be some good competition with emerald. This may well be due to the fact that emerald comes in bigger sizes than ruby.
The Duke of Devonshire Emerald
The Duke of Devonshire Emerald is one of the most outstanding crystals of its kind in the world. Weighing 1,383.95 carats with a height of about 2 inches, it is said to be one of the largest and finest rough Emeralds in the world. What makes it even more exceptional is that it contains a large, perfect transparency in one area.
How did this rough emerald find its way to England, and was it really a gift to the Duke? Let’s travel back and discover the emerald’s journey…
The Argyle Pink Jubilee Diamond
Fancy colored diamonds have always captured, well, peoples’ fancy! So when Rio Tinto announced that a large pink diamond was discovered at their Argyle mine in the East Kimberly Region of Western Australia, I could hear the collective sighs of delight.
Fancy diamonds include the colors red, blue, purple, yellow, brown and of course pink, with varying color grades of each. Now more than ever fancy colored diamonds are receiving attention. Collectors vie for ownership, museums delight in displaying such diamonds and famous celebrities choose the pink diamond as the ultimate engagement ring…
The Beauty and Lore of Aquamarine by Laura Ramsey
As a personal favorite, Aquamarine is high on our gemstone list. John and I have acquired and designed, respectively, many incredible Aquamarines for collectors throughout the years. Its remarkable beauty has won over so many that it became the alternate birthstone for March.
John and I have always had a fascination and direct connection with Aquamarine. Traveling to Brazil for 35 + years has brought us to the Aquamarine mines directly. Thousands of carats of fine Aquamarine have passed through our hands to find their way into major collections.
The Price of Provenance – Elizabeth Taylor Jewelry at Auction
As many of you already know, the results of the Christies auction of Dame Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry brought unprecedented prices. A total of approximately $156,756,576.00 was reputedly realized for the entire collection. Every fabulous piece was sold!
Christie’s Rockefeller Center showroom was vibrating with excitement. With 1,778 lots of jewelry, decorative arts, fashion pieces, scripts and film memorabilia bids came in by telephone, on-line and live from attendees.
Our favorite, the La Peregrina pearl, reached dizzying heights in price at a reported $11.8. This is almost $9 million more than expected. This nod to the importance of provenance for a piece of fine jewelry is a confirmation that these types of collectible pieces are more than just pretty pieces of jewelry. The piece and its history of belonging to royal families dating from 1554 provides the new owner with an ancient past, blended with the glamour of the legendary icon Elizabeth Taylor. What a story!
Worldwide bidders raised the bar for a jewelry auction and this has set a new bar for future collections. The famed Burton diamond weighing 33.19 carats sold for a reported $8,181,500.00. The “YOU ARE MY QUEEN” Tiara given to her by her much loved husband Mike Todd sold for $4,226,500.00.
Bulgari bought many items of which they had been the original source, with one example being the natural pearl and diamond ear pendants that they originally made for Ms. Taylor which fetched $1,968,500.00 at auction.
Even the stars came out as Kim Kardashian purchased Lorraine Schwartz jade bracelets from the collection for a reported $65,000.00.
There were many interesting items in addition to the jewelry collection such as two famous scripts. The National Velvet script originally estimated to bring $2-3,000.00 brought a record $170,500.00! In addition the Tennessee Williams script of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, estimated to bring $3-5,000.00 brought in a whopping $104,500.00. A Versace jacket with beaded faces of the star fetched $128,500.00.
Clearly the history and stories of ownership of Miss Taylors’ collection and the history of previous owners combine to make this a collection not merely of high dollar acquisition. It is also a love story… about a woman who cherished and enjoyed her life, marking her most precious events with jewelry. The history of ownership is now passed on to individuals and companies who will create new stories that will follow each piece.
The road from provenance will be exciting…
John and Laura Ramsey • Gems at Large • Ramsey Gems 