Dispute over Mich. diamond gets new day in court

The case of the missing pink diamond was revived Wednesday when a federal appeals court restored a lawsuit that accuses a Michigan jeweler of swapping the gem for a cheaper stone.
The ruling overturned a lower court's order that tossed a lawsuit filed by Victoria Harris of Saginaw. She insists that a Saginaw jewelry store replaced her 2.35 karat pink diamond with a less expensive diamond when she had her wedding ring cleaned and enlarged in 2002.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, said Harris had supplied enough evidence to at least allow a jury to decide if J.B. Robinson Jewelers is liable. It's not clear how much she thinks the original diamond was worth, although the lawsuit seeks more than $75,000.
J.B. Robinson has denied any theft. An expert hired by the jeweler said the ring's prongs and settings could not hold a rock as large as Harris had claimed.
Harris presented affidavits from three people familiar with the original ring who said it had a pink center.
"There is no dispute that the diamond presently mounted in Harris' ring is colorless," Judge Richard Griffin and Judge Judith Barzilay wrote. "This testimony, which must be viewed in the light most favorable to Harris, supports the allegation that Harris' diamond was replaced."
But dissenting Judge Ralph Guy Jr. said Harris' claims "are nothing short of preposterous."
Guy noted that even Harris' husband said the ring looks like the one he purchased for $395 in 1973. The lawsuit, the judge said, is "long on emotion but short on plausibility."
Harris, 64, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Wednesday. She acted as her own lawyer at the appeals court and when the case was in federal court in Bay City, where it now will be returned.
J.B. Robinson's parent company, Sterling Jewelers Inc. of Akron, Ohio, declined to comment.
In her lawsuit, Harris said she was shocked when she went to pick up the ring.
"This is not mine!" she wrote. "There's too much glittering and sparkling and it's small. ... They ripped out a piece of my heart."

Vanessa Minnillo Reveals Engagement Ring

Former MTV host and Entertainment Tonight correspondent Vanessa Minnillo and former boy band star Nick Lachey announced their engagement this week. On Friday Minnillo revealed her engagement ring.

The ring, from designer Bader & Garrin, is described as platinum with an Asscher cut diamond featuring trapezoids along the side. The stone size is speculated to be 4 carats. The estimated price of the ring
is approximately $125,000.


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ated their birthdays on Tuesday with Minnillo turning 30, while Lachey turned 37 on the same day. Lachey was previously married to singer and actress Jessica Simpson, whom he starred with in a popular MTV reality series. This is the first marriage for Minnillo. A date for the wedding has not been set yet.

GEM Diamond -- interm result

• Revenue’s were down 10% at US$103.9m yoy, EBITDA was down 29% yoy to US$18.5m taking profit before tax to US$7.8m down 57% yoy.  EPS stood at 2.18c/share down from 3.6c/share, and EPS from continuing operations were down more substantially from 9.38c/share to 1.72c/share.  Profit for the period was down 27% at US$6.125m.  The figures for 2009 were restated for the reclassification impact of accounting for discontinued operations.

• The worse financial performance was partially a consequence of diamonds held over from 2008 into 2009, a one off royalty payment received from an offtake agreement then in place, and the sale of polished diamonds produced in beneficiation trials by Letseng.  Consequently, on a like for like basis, revenues have in fact risen by US$17.3m.

• Letseng diamonds have seen prices increase as with the rest of the diamond industry, and are up 32% yoy to US$1,728/carat. Non fancy yellow production from Ellendale has seen prices increase by 182% to US$144/carat, although this was partially a consequence in changes to the mine plan as there are significant differences in value per carat from different parts of the deposit.
• At the end of June, the company had no debt and US$108.3m in cash on hand, of which US$89.6m is attributable and US$4.8m is restricted.  The cash position is down 5% yoy.  During the period, investments into property plant and equipment stood at US$7.2m, and a further US$22.5m was invested in waste stripping in both mining operations.
• The company sees its results adversely impacted by strong currencies in South African and Australia, although significantly higher diamond prices have offset this to a large extent.  Cash reserves remain robust and the elimination of costs on care and maintenance projects and cost savings initiatives of producing operations should have a positive impact on future earnings.
• The company is looking to increase production at Letseng and evaluate underground potential as well as minimising diamond damage at the mine.  Management is also looking to proceed with license application and development of an underground mine at Gope as well as increase the resource base at Ellendale.  External growth opportunities are also being evaluated.

Conclusion:  The company has suffered from high currency rates at operations but stronger diamond prices have rescued it.  The results are down substantially year on year, although this has been attributed to a number of factors.

The diamond wedding ring had been missing for more than a decade

Jennifer Tilbury's search for the owner of a wedding ring she found has come to a close.

She returned the diamond ring to Bruce and Nicola White, the previous owners of Tilbury's Tsawwassen home, on Thursday.

"I kept hitting dead ends so it was nice to finally get a conclusion and a happy result out of it," she said.

Tilbury discovered the ring in late April behind a set of built-in shelves as she was renovating a bathroom.

Bruce White has no idea how it ended up there and noted the piece of jewelry had been missing for over 10 years.

"It was out of sight, out of mind for all these years. [We] always wondered where it went but never gave it any more thought than that. I think it's just wonderful that there's honest people in the world," he said.

The ring was White's mother's wedding ring and it was passed down to him after his mom passed away in 1996.

The Whites, who still live in Tsawwassen, weren't the original owners of the house but had lived there since the mid 1980s and only moved out last year as part of the B.C. Hydro right-of-way buy out program.

After finding the ring Tilbury began trying to get in touch with the Whites so she could return it. She had their names since mail intended for them was still being delivered to the house. Tilbury searched online, talked to neighbours and tried the post office in attempts to find contact information.

"I've had things that I've lost returned to me and I remember the feeling of being overwhelmed and happy, so I wanted to do that for somebody else," she said.

Tilbury eventually contacted the Optimist and the Whites got calls about the ring after a story ran earlier this week.

Her husband Dean said he was surprised other media also picked up the story.

"We never thought it would go on the front page of the Optimist either," he said.

212 Diamond City website's items

Summer season is underway and 212 Diamond City is looking to make all its customers look more attractive than before. There is a large exquisite collection of wholesale diamond jewelry available here and the buyers can purchase without worrying about the prices. Affordability is what 212 Diamond City promises all the time and this is why the discounts here never end. The buyers can easily go through 212 Diamond City website and check out the fresh arrivals before they make their mind to purchase anything.

Giant selection at 212 Diamond City leaves no room for any more searches

Best shopping experience is what 212 Diamond City promises to all its customers. For all those who have been searching for classy or modern and affordable diamond jewelry, 212 Diamond City is a must place to visit. The items that are mainly covered on 212 Diamond City website are diamond necklaces, diamond earrings, diamond bracelets, diamond rings, watches, chains and diamond pendants. Once the customers visits the site, they would not feel any need to go anywhere else, and all that they want is available at 212 Diamond City.

Wholesale diamond jewelry at 50-80% less wholesale prices

No one sells wholesale diamond jewelry as cheap as 212 Diamond City as the prices are marked 50% to 80% cheaper then what the other wholesale sellers are selling. Now the ladies can have matching rings and bangle bracelets with every dress that they wear and unbelievably they are not going to feel that they have just spent an arm and a leg for it.

Every piece of jewelry at 212 Diamond City comes in numerous varieties

212DiamondCity.com makes sure the product the customer is looking for is presented in front of him in various different choices and styles. When it comes to diamond earrings, the ladies can choose from a wide variety of dangles, hoops, studs and chandeliers. Diamond rings, necklaces, pendants and every other jewelry item that a lady might think of having is present at 212 Diamond City, and that too with so many choices to choose from.

Not to forget the free shipping offer

To make the shopping experience more joyful and enjoyable, 212 Diamond City offers to ship the order for free in the continental U.S., with this offer 212 Diamond City is promising that every order will be taken care in the most professional manner. Now the customers can buy whatever they want and without worrying that the overhead shipping charges are going to ruin the entire shopping experience. So shop with 212 Diamond City without worrying about shipping cost anymore!

Searching diamong rings shop

When searching for diamond rings, everyone seems to know someone in the business and each person’s contact is supposedly better than the last. Luckily for me, my future father-in-law, Mitchell, owns and operates The Diamond Store, a jewelry store in Los Gatos, California. (Check out his web site at www.diamonds4u.com or call his store at 1-800-640-4081). It’s a beautiful town and is within miles of the campuses of Google, eBay and many other Internet powerhouses. He was a great help in educating and guiding me through the process.

On my trip out to California where I asked for Tracey’s hand in marriage, the conversation quickly turned to teaching me the four C’s – Cut, Carat Weight, Color and Clarity. But he also explained to me the importance of certification.

The first C was the easiest. If you date any girl long enough she will make it very clear what cut she wants and Tracey wanted an oval diamond set sideways. Although jewelers would try to convince me they had a great diamond in other cuts, I knew better. I wanted to see tears of joy at our engagement, not ones of disappointment!

Mitchell also made very clear to me that I should only consider a GIA certified stone and explained that The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is the industry standard and the most respected laboratory in the diamond industry. You don’t have to second guess the grading, and if you ever choose to resell your stone, it will hold its value better.

I quickly learned that carat weight is dictated by how much money you want to spend. You can sacrifice color and/or clarity and get a bigger stone or get a higher quality smaller stone. It’s a give and take. Mitchell repeatedly told me that I would be able to tell the quality of a stone by looking at it, but I was fearful that as a novice I would be sold a piece of glass and not know the difference.

I started the search by using Mitchell’s wholesale contacts – the people who supply the retailers. As an ex-investment banker, I started by making an Excel spreadsheet of all the oval diamonds I found in and just above my price range. I was comparing the four C’s, but also length, width, height, symmetry, polish, cost, cost per carat, etc. It started to get overwhelming, but I discussed them all with Mitchell and narrowed down the list. I decided to go see some of the diamonds for myself.

I headed into Manhattan’s Diamond District into small, obscure looking offices that on the inside were protected by bullet proof glass and metal detectors. I pretended that I knew what I was doing even though I couldn’t even pick up a diamond properly with the tweezers! I saw huge yellow diamonds, stones that had big black imperfections, beautiful stones that were just too small . . . until I finally found two stones that were beautiful.

One was absolutely brilliant, but I worried that it was just because the room I was in had huge floor-to-ceiling-windows, while the other diamond was in a room with little sunlight. The brilliant diamond was a little bit smaller, and its size was probably the only reason I didn’t jump on it right away. I decided to negotiate to the best of my ability, put both diamonds on hold and sleep on it.

The next day I learned firsthand what Tracey’s dad had said to me from the beginning – the diamond struck a chord with me. It was perfect, and it confirmed my initial gut instinct – the diamond looked brilliant because it was! I now had to hold onto the engagement ring and wait because my other surprise was still being made.

I also have to thank Lena from Alicia’s Jewelers in The Bay Terrace shopping center. She offered me advice and guidance, for which I can’t thank her enough. I would recommend their jewelry store to anyone looking for excellent quality, selection and service (211-19 26th Avenue, Bayside; 718-224-0075; www.aliciasjewelers.com).

A diamnod sold more than $9.9 million

Some of the world's most exquisite gems have new owners Tuesday after Sotheby's spring auction in Geneva.

The semi-annual sale netted more than $54 million, nearly double the low end of the pre-sale estimate.

The top lot was a blue, cushion shaped diamond ring that weighs seven-point-64 carats, set in a gold and platinum ring.

It sold for more than $9.9 million, double its estimate and a record per carat price for a blue diamond.

Experts suggest the high prices paid at this sale are a sign the international market for gems has recovered from the global economic crisis.

DeBourcy slipped a 2-carat diamond ring onto her finger

A Manhattan man is said to have used an upper East Side jeweller's display window to arrange a floral wedding proposal for his girlfriend.Tom DeBourcy, 26, had arranged for flowers and a "Will you marry me Alexandra?" sign to be displayed at the window of Jeri Cohen Fine Jewelry on Third Ave., and for his girlfriend to see it as they strolled by.


"Oh, my God, it is beautiful," the New York Daily News quoted Alex Routenberg, also 26, as saying, as DeBourcy slipped a 2-carat diamond ring onto her finger.

The two had both attended the same high school outside of Chicago, but didn't meet until he used the alumni connection to contact her on Facebook.

"I asked who the hell he was, and two and a half years later ...," she said.

Routenberg, a fan of "The Real Housewives of New York", said she was tickled by the store's connection to the reality TV show.

"I always walk by and say to my mom, 'This is the place where Jill Zarin goes!'," she said.

"This is the greatest idea you ever had!" she told her fiance.

"Well, maybe [after] Facebooking me," she added.

David Freze return to the diamond cut

What better to do in the spring than play softball? The smell of the glove leather and the green grass rival the sound of the ball hitting the bat are my favorite memories. For 30 years, I played softball. Softball is about testing yourself athletically, but more about making and spending time with friends and their families around a ballpark.

Over the years, I played for quite a few teams, but most of my time on the field came as a player for the "Old Timers." Our players were from the rural areas of south and west Rowan. Welaughed often and enjoyed reveling in the fact that we were playing ball through our 30s and into our 40s, and were still pretty good at it. Our skills might have eroded a little bit, but a huge experience edge gave the "Old Timers" just enough to win most of our games. It was fun, even great fun, to spend all day Saturday and sometimes Sunday afternoon playing softball. Getting a big hit to continue a rally, or catch the deep fly ball to save the game, were still big thrills.

Last year, a neighbor and former softball foe named Gary O'Neill told me how much fun he had playing for the Rowan County 60-64 softball team. He told me that the hitting was still good, but that the defensive play lacked a little bit. The defensive play had little to do with the mind, but more with the muscles that just don't respond quite as well as they "used to." "Used to" is a phrase uttered fairly often around these games. Gary also mentioned that all of the players had some kind of injury. Playing sounded like a ton of fun to me, but I didn't get signed up in time last year. Of course I am "not nearly" as old as Gary, so I couldn't have played for his team anyway.

Late winter when it was still very cold outside, George Kluttz, who does a great job coaching the Rowan County 55-59 team, called. Either Gary or Joe Overby, another friend, told him that I might play. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I told George to count me in. A friend gave me a new glove, and I bought a new pair of shoes. And then, as Paul Harvey often said, "Here's the rest of the story!"

The night before our second practice, old friend Alan 'Buddy' Hoffner, called and wanted to play too. We agreed to ride to practice together on Saturday, March 20. Buddy and I "used to" to play on the same team some, and he was doing just that while running out a triple at Frank Liske Park in Concord. Buddy suddenly pulled up lame with a severe hamstring injury. As it turned out, he didn't play again for years until March 20.

As we rode together to the practice, I counseled him on how to avoid another hamstring injury. It seemed OK to tell a friend how to run and stay injury free, since I have run just a tad over 62,000 miles in my lifetime. Never with a serious injury. I bet you are starting to get an idea of what's coming.

Practice was going well, and we were all having a good time. Near the end of practice, we decided to hit some and then run as if we were in a simulated game. Right before we started, I told Buddy again "Now take it easy, you don't need to run hard today!" He agreed, and then we started hitting. Buddy and I were in the group that got to hit last. He hit well and didn't try to run hard. I hit and tried to run hard every time. After all, I run nearly every day, some of it quite hard. Buddy never runs.

I am writing this column on April 2nd, and it has now been 13 days since MY hamstring injury at that practice. It seemed I could make a double out of a single while running hard. To make it all worse, Buddy got to play my position during a couple of games in Charlotte last week. I got to watch him do it. The hamstring is a hard injury to heal, especially for someone who thought it could never happen to him. That big muscle has to lift the leg. I still can't run, and it has been a very humbling experience. One thing that I have learned after all this is that I will never take for granted any chance to practice softball or go for a daily run. I can't wait till I can do both again. Buddy isn't even sore.

Sotheby's Australia's upcoming April 12 sale of antique and contemporary jewelry

Sotheby's Australia's upcoming April 12 sale of antique and contemporary jewelry will be a significant one for the auction house. The event will mark the Australian branch's first standalone jewelry sale, with the highlight slated to be the first red diamond ever offered for public auction in Australia.

The 0.82-carat, fancy purplish-red Argyle diamond is set into a ring and is flanked by a pair of fancy blue diamonds in a round brilliant-cut diamond surround, all mounted in platinum. Its value is estimated at between 700,000 and 1 million Australian dollars (between about $645,065 and $921,556) and will be accompanied by a letter from Argyle Diamonds attesting to its rarity.

Sotheby's said in a media release that despite the notable discovery of the Argyle pink diamond deposits in Western Australia, less than a handful of red diamonds have been discovered, and connoisseurs have long considered red diamonds to be among the most precious and rare of diamonds.

The April 12 sale will offer even more superb examples of colored stones, including a double strand of graduated emerald beads accented with diamond-set rondelles (estimated between $9,676 and $11,519), a sapphire and diamond ring (estimated between $23,034 and $32,248) and an emerald and diamond ring (estimated between $64,497 and $82,907).

Additional items of note include a diamond and platinum ring with a 10.07-carat, heart-shaped center diamond set above round brilliant-cut diamond shoulders and a diamond-set band (estimated between $313,207 and $386,870), as well as a diamond and gemstone-studded Vertu mobile phone hand made and pavé set with fancy pink and colorless diamonds, pink sapphires and rubies with 18-karat rose gold (estimated between $27,633 and $46,055).

Also on offer is a selection of men's and women's timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Cartier, Piaget, IWC and Breitling.

Prior to the April 12 sale, previews will take place in two Australia locations: Melbourne on April 7 and 8, and in Sydney April 10, right up until the evening sale on the 12th.

Simon Cowell has openly confessed his love for Mezhgan Hussainy

Though Simon Cowell has openly confessed his love for Mezhgan Hussainy he refuses to admit that he is engaged to the makeup artist. The 50 year music mogulSimon Cowell may be snooty to announce his engagement but his gentle lady Mezhgan is not.

The 36 year old lady has confirmed the engagement news to Radar Online. Mezhgan had sparked the engagement rumors after she was spotted wearing a huge diamond ring on her finger since Valentine’s Day. The pair who has met on the sets of American idol has been dating each other for about a year.

Speaking about the couple Simon’s publicist Max Clifford has told the RadarOnline “They are very suited, she is someone who is independent and says what she thinks and feels, and he likes that. He’s probably the happiest I have ever known him in the nine years I’ve been working with him.”

During a recent interview Piers Morgan on his Life Stories, Simon admitted that that he is “smitten with Mezhgan” and “she is the one”. And when he was whether he plans to have kids with her, he replied saying “I think I need to have little Simons around.”

New diamond deposit found in China won't affect global prices

Head of the Geological Survey Bureau of Mines, Geological Science and Technology in China, Hai-Tao Fu, said over the weekend that the newly discovered diamond deposit in Wafangdian, in the Liaoning province, is unlikely to affect the global market significantly despite its substantial size, Rough&Polished reported.

The website quoted Xiong Xianzheng, chairman of the Dalian Jewelry Association as saying that, “Global diamond output amounts to approximately 100M carats annually while China accounts for 200,000 carats of the above output. Rough output from new mines in Wafangdian might account for 50% of China’s diamond output. Volumes of diamond production in China, even taking into account the new mines, will achieve merely 0.21% of the global output therefore the deposit will not affect global rough prices.”

The deposit discovered in Wafangdian is said to be the largest scale discovery made by Chinese geologists in the past 30 years. The mine's reserves are estimated at 210,000 carats of gems including diamonds.

Hops across black diamonds to reach groomers

A blue strobe flashing on downtown Bozeman's tallest building means snow. The beacon - which lights up when Bridger Bowl receives two inches of snow - signals skiers to check the snow report for the powder depth. Bozeman, located in Montana north of Yellowstone National Park, is the type of ski town where the snow isn't hype, but real.

Bozeman serves as the gateway to three ski resorts: Bridger Bowl, Big Sky, and Moonlight Basin. Bridger Bowl sits about 20 minutes from downtown hotels while Big Sky and Moonlight Basin flank Lone Peak about an hour's drive south.

Bridger Bowl, Bozeman's hometown ski area, is a day resort, with lodging, nightlife, and restaurants aplenty in the college town. Moonlight Basin and Big Sky, which neighbor each other, border with hotels, lodges, condominiums, cabins, and vacation homes. Economy hotels line the highway less than a 10-minute drive from the ski areas while luxury lodging claims ski-in-ski out ease. Big Sky, the largest resort, offers more restaurants, nightlife, and shopping in Mountain Mall, while smaller Moonlight garners raves for fine dining in Moonlight Lodge. Both resorts include spas.

All three resorts offer gentle beginner slopes, learn to ski or snowboard programs, and terrain parks. But they excel at buffing out long blue runs for intermediate skiers and corralling steep slopes inbounds for experts.

Bridger Bowl, sprawling across Bridger Mountain north slopes, rolls blue groomers down the Thunder Road ridge and across Wolverine's undulating meadows, while Powderhorn slices through the area's belly with an even-pitched swath for arcing wide GS turns. Most beginner runs concentrate in the base area, with upper lifts dropping on to a mix of groomers, mogul fields, and powder stashes. Two lodges in the base area and one mid-mountain provide places to grab a burgers, chili, and homemade baked goodies.

Big Sky and Moonlight Basin flank 11,166-foot Lone Peak, offering the highest elevation skiing in Montana and shared boundaries. Each sell individual resort tickets, but also a single lift ticket valid at both resorts.

Big Sky, enveloping the most terrain and granting the only access to Lone Peak's summit via the tram, stretches lifts across two faces of Lone Peak and two sides of Andesite Mountain. Blue cruisers ramble off Andesite and zig-zag through Lone Peak's lower ridges and ravines.

The longest run, which hops across black diamonds to reach groomers, stretches to six miles from Liberty Bowl to Mountain Mall. Lone Peak's expert upper elevations dish up the A to Z Chutes, wind-scoured cliffs, broad powder bowls, and glade skiing in Dakota Territory. Pinnacles Restaurant atop Andesite serves as the only on-mountain eatery while multiple restaurants rim the base area.

Moonlight Basin tucks under the north side of Lone Peak, its lengthy blue runs sporting seamless grooming on rolling fall line plunges through firs. Horseshoe, the longest run, circles 2.8 miles along the resort's western perimeter while black diamond runs hide powder and moguls off Lookout Ridge. Experts aim straight for The Headwaters-a line-up of steep chutes cutting a rocky bowl. Dining is available at three base areas-two with temporary facilities and one home to elegant Moonlight Lodge.

All three Bozeman resorts offer a unique steep inbounds backcountry-like experience that requires avalanche beacons. Bridger corrals two immense bowls and ridge hiking from its new experts-only Schlasman's lift. Experts with tickets valid for Big Sky and Moonlight can catch the Big Sky Tram to Lone Peak's Summit to descend Moonlight's several-thousand-foot North Summit Snowfield.