A collection of fancy yellow diamonds are to be exhibited on Bloor Street in Toronto from May 2nd to May 6th. The collection is estimated to be worth $10million & is the largest collection of yellow diamonds to have ever been exhibited in the 133-year history of the Birks luxury jewelry chain. More than 60 pieces of diamond jewellery will be on display including a rare 15ct internally flawless, fancy intense, radiant-cut yellow diamond set in a platinum ring. As yellow diamonds are so rare, this beautiful ring is expected to sell for a lot of money! Yellow diamonds are very popular amongst celebrities and the royal family, which isn’t surprising as they’re such beautiful stones.

DiamondGeezer.com have launched their new collection of coloured stone & diamond rings, they may not be yellow diamonds but they’re certainly stunning diamond rings!

The 400 year old, 34.98ct “Beau Sancy” is one of the world’s oldest, most famous & most storied diamonds. The jewel is currently on display in Paris, soon to be moved to London & then to end up in Sotheby’s Auction in Geneva on May 14th. The “Beau Sancy” is colourless with 110 facets & was the first ever diamond to be cut into a pear-shape making it even more spectacular.

Lord of Sancy bought the “Beau Sancy” for his wife, Marie de Medici, who was one of the richest women in Europe and part of the  famous Medici family of Italy. Sadly, Medici’s husband was murdered & she lost all of her wealth & in 1604 was forced to sell the diamond to King Henry IV of France for 80,000 florins. The diamond was passed through Henry’s descendants and many royal families of Europe.

May 14th will be a very lucky day for the person who buys this treasured diamond.

The change, proposed by the former Labour government, to save the Royal Mint between £7 million and £8 million a year by abandoning the use of copper & instead using nickel has caused quite a stir. It has been revealed that 5p & 10p coins are going to start being made from steel with a nickel coating which is known to cause a skin allergy problems, hence the reason it not being used in jewellery any more. The ‘silver’ 5p and 10p coins have always been made from a metal known as cupronickel, an alloy made of 75 per cent copper, 25 per cent nickel. Another issue raised with the change in metal coating used for 5p & 10p coins is that the coins are going to be thicker, meaning they may not work in hundreds of thousands of machines around the country causing far too many problems. It’s been said that the change will cost the vending industry £42 million & the coin industry nearly as much as £100 million.

Nickel is Legally Banned from Jewellery & Should Not be Used in Coinage

Why is nickel regulated?

Nickel is known to be one of the most common causes of skin allergies with it affecting 10% of the UK adult population. Nickel sensitive patients develop dermatitis which is caused by nickel permeating through the skin of their hands causing a long-term disability. Avoiding nickel is almost impossible as it is found in hundreds of thousands of substances. The most common sensitisation caused by nickel is through body piercings & is perpetuated by prolonged contact with nickel.

The change in metal for the use of 5p & 10p coins is due to take place from January 1st of next year.

The famous Christie’s Auction House in New York was filled with excited bidders on Tuesday 17th April. In May 2011 Huguette Clark, one of the last heiresses of America’s Gilded Age, died at the grand age of 104 leaving behind her collection of jewels. Huguette Clark was said to have lived a reclusive life in her later years & she had stored her diamonds & precious gems in a vault since the 1940′s.

The jewel to stir up the most excitement on Tuesday was a 9ct pink diamond which has been given the name ‘Clark Pink’. The Clark Pink was estimated to fetch around $6-8 million, but little did the excited bidders know it was going to round up a massive $15.7 million. This wasn’t the only one of Clark’s jewels to go under the hammer, also being sold was a 19.86ct rectangular-cut diamond ring by Cartier that sold for $3.1 million; an Art Deco diamond bracelet by Cartier that sold for $578,500 and a ruby, sapphire, emerald and gold bracelet by Tiffany & Co. selling for $266,500. The collection was part of Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale that took a total of $70.7 million.

Take a look at DiamondGeezer.com’s new collection of coloured stone & diamond rings