Blue diamonds are extremely rare. Russian conglomerate World Of Diamonds Group has crafted an extraordinary 2.08-carat Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond ring in platinum, to celebrate the accomplishments in the film industry of Jane Seymour. Blue diamonds of this saturation have been known to fetch over USD 2,000,000 at Sotheby’s and Christie’s in the past, however, this celebrity ring is priceless. The creation reflects the power celebrity who has clinched an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
We had a chance to talk to Karan Tilani, the Head of Asia, World of Diamonds Group. In this interview he tells us what makes the Jane Seymour ring so special.
Destination Luxury: What makes this ring so iconic?
Tilani: An impossibly rare diamond has been meticulously selected to illustrate the pride of eternity over matter, emotion and knowledge. In its rough state, the blue diamond was hardly symmetrical in structure, which meant that with one miscalculation, one slip, and its color would have disappeared entirely.
Jane Seymour
Retaining techniques passed down from generations, among the world’s finest artisans spent almost a year deliberating, planning and painstakingly cutting the rough into a magnificent cushion-cut 2.08 carat diamond of perfect proportions. Platinum, among the most enduring metals in the world, was the choice for The Jane Seymour.
The creation of the masterpiece required engaging World Of Diamonds Group’s top craftsmen to shape the contour of the ring, detail the flower motifs and configure the symmetry of the ring. This onerous task was only possible in Geneva through the diamond conglomerate’s design houses, with 3 masters working consecutively for over 2 weeks in rotational shifts. The Jane Seymour is signed “W.O.D. Genève” and hallmarked “PT950”.
The case it comes in.
Destination Luxury: What makes this ring priceless?
Tilani: The Jane Seymour is the first and only jewelry creation in the world named after the celebrity herself, and is the only celebrity ring in the world that isn’t pre-owned. It represents the A-lister who is overflowing with energy and preparing for her next roles in the film and theater industry. This masterpiece is unlike anything else the world has ever seen – blue is the color of all inclusiveness. Anything beyond our perception tends to be blue, whether the ocean or the sky. Â
With Seymour as the inspiration for The Jane Seymour, the ring is highly coveted. You will never find a piece of celebrity jewelry in the market, unless it is pre-owned – take for example the prized collections of Elizabeth Taylor, Ellen Barkin and Maria Felix. The fact that World Of Diamonds Group is a diamond behemoth involved in mining, polishing and distribution of diamonds and diamond jewelry makes it extremely unlikely that we ever have something available for the end consumer.
The Jane Seymour is certainly among the prized exceptions since our Group has contracts with high jewelry houses and non-competing clauses. This ring can fetch several million dollars because of its invaluable celebrity recognition alone and what’s most interesting is not only that the eventual buyer be able to afford it, but the connoisseur must also fulfill certain criteria established at the discretion of our Chairman.
Destination Luxury: What makes blue diamonds so special?
Tilani: Diamonds are made of carbon and their most common impurity is nitrogen – causing the diamond to exhibit a tint of yellow color. Should the “impurity” be boron instead, the sparkler would exhibit a blue color, as boron absorbs the red and yellow light from the spectrum and reflects blue back to the eye. Colored diamonds have varying intensities, with their value increasing according to their saturation.
A fancy intense blue diamond, which is prized significantly more than yellows or even pinks, is 1 in thirty million diamonds. Blues have more than doubled in value during the last 10 years. However, the appreciation is far from over; a 1 carat fancy vivid blue diamond is at least 10,000 times more rare than a 1 carat D-colored (colorless) diamond.
Today, a 1 carat D-colorless, Internally Flawless diamond goes for no more than USD 50,000, while a 1 carat fancy vivid blue goes for at least USD 800,000 – USD 1,000,000 if it’s of a decent clarity grade. Judging by the proportion between their price and rarity, the blue diamond is a great bargain.
Based on recent records from auction powerhouses, Sotheby’s lists a 2.11 carat fancy intense blue diamond ring that fetched USD 1,899,322 in October 2015 (http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/magnificent-jewels-and-jadeite-hk0590/lot.1852.html ), and according to Christie’s, a 1.74 carat fancy intense blue diamond ring fetched USD 1,925,000 in December 2015 ( http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/jewelry/a-colored-diamond-ring-5967059-details.aspx ). The industry recognizes fancy vivid blue diamonds as being rarer and therefore more valuable than their fancy intense counterparts.
Destination Luxury: What happened at the unveiling?
Tilani: During her trip to Singapore, Jane Seymour OBE was hosted for a welcome dinner by World Of Diamonds Group at CÉ LA VI. She was first presented to the ring then, which she flaunted on her graceful fingers, and well enhanced by the blue dress she wore. Her reaction was priceless as she was absolutely thrilled being able to boast a jewelry creation crafted in her honor, and named after her.
Seymour had later stated in an interview with Channel NewsAsia that the ring was “matching and doing very well” with her Open Hearts bracelet, signifying that the masterpiece could likely complement the Open Hearts jewelry collection which she is the designer for. At the unveiling, Seymour proudly took ‘selfies’ with the masterpiece, and signed and endorsed catalogues of “The Jane Seymour”, which would eventually be passed on to the buyer of the ring.
Destination Luxury: What is the value of the diamond?
Tilani: While the diamond in The Jane Seymour itself is worth over USD 2,000,000 according to market sources and recent records from Sotheby’s and Christie’s, the masterpiece may even sell for several million dollars because of its star-studded recognition.
Destination Luxury: What is the inspiration for the design of this piece?
Tilani: The design was a floral motif to represent Seymour’s personality – her grace, elegance and demeanor. Despite her accomplishments, the celebrity is extremely down to earth, and therefore Erodium malacoides – the flower of choice, was used. Erodium malacoides are naturally purple to magenta in color, hence, the rose-gold plating was well represented.
The choice of plating was rose-gold because, with the high jewelry masterpiece launched in Asia, it provides the blue diamond a refreshing and unexpected outlook, and a combination of matte and gloss plating was utilized for the creation. Many collectors in Europe and the Americas are opting for rose-gold as it provides a combination of class and elegance since most find white gold being “too contemporary” and yellow gold being “too classic”.
For more information visit the World of Diamonds.
Images courtesy World of Diamonds.