Harry Winston: Extraordinary Diamonds

It is almost impossible for me to think of diamonds without thinking of Harry Winston. Harry Winston has owned many of the world’s most famous diamonds, including The Hope Diamond which was donated to the Smithsonian by Mr. Winston in 1958. He also had an amazing eye for fine jewelry design that featured the diamond.

Born in New York City in 1896, Harry Winston began working in the jewelry business at the age of 15. By the age of 24 he had opened the Premier Diamond Company, and in the early 1930s Harry Winston had begun to manufacturer jewelry under is own name. Mr. Winston was responsible for cutting of many famous, named diamonds including the Jonker, the Taylor-Burton and the Star of Sierra Leone. To many he is “The King of Diamonds”.

Harry Winston was one of the first designers to use fancy shape diamonds to create free flowing designs so popular in the 1950s and 60s, which I particularly love. As demonstrated through his love for large diamonds, his focus was on the stone. The diamonds in Winston jewelry seem to float in the air, using very fine layered (or jointed) mountings, as seen here in the classic “Cluster Earring”.

Mr. Winston died in 1978, but the Harry Winston retail tradition of exquisite diamonds and diamond jewelry has carried on.

Rubies: The Color of July

Ruby is the birth stone for the month of July.  This month when we think of red we recall boiled lobsters, strawberries and the Red Sox! Red is, however, a very emotionally charged color. It is the color of fire, but also of love and passion. Rubies have every bit of the allure as the color they bear.

Rubies are a variety of the corundum species, the same as sapphire, so they are relatively durable, scoring a 9 on the Mohs scale of hardness (diamond scores a 10). Rubies are red, ranging in color from an orangy-red to a purplish-red. The very finest rubies come from Burma. In September of 2008 the US government placed an embargo on these stones.  These are the stones that earned the now outdated, but descriptive, term “Pigeon Blood Red”. Rubies are also found in Thailand, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and parts of Africa.

Throughout history Kings, Queens and even the King of Diamonds, Harry Winston, have sought to assemble and exhibit the finest color rubies. Red has long symbolized courage, which is why it is present in many national flags; and energy, which are the pure emotions drawn from the color itself. Red jewelry is very vibrant and attracts attention. Rubies “pop” right out of a piece when put next to diamonds.

Happy 4th of July!

Do You See Red?

Red is a very emotionally charged color. It is the color of fire, but also of love and passion. Rubies have every bit of the allure as the color they bear.

Rubies are a variety of the corundum species, the same as sapphire, so they are relatively durable, scoring a 9 on the Mohs scale of hardness (diamond scores a 10). Rubies are red, ranging in color from an orangy-red to a purplish-red. The very finest rubies come from Burma, although the US government has put a trade ban on these stones. These are the stones that earned the now outdated, but descriptive, term “Pigeon Blood Red”. Rubies are also found in Thailand, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and parts of Africa.

Throughout history Kings, Queens and even the King of Diamonds, Harry Winston, have sought to assemble and exhibit the finest color rubies. Red has long symbolized courage, which is why is present in many national flags; and energy, which are the pure emotions drawn from the color itself. Red jewelry is very vibrant and attracts attention. Rubies “pop” right out of a piece when put next to diamonds.

So, if your red nails are not enough, why not invest in a ruby that will be a showstopper for generations to come.