$1M Rough Diamond Necklace Dazzles at Toronto Film Festival

Allie MacDonald, star of SCORE: A Hockey Musical, walked the red carpet Thursday night wearing a $1 million rough Ontario diamond necklace during opening night at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The 75-ct. rough diamond necklace, contained 27 uncut, unpolished Ontario diamonds valued at $1 million. It was created by Toronto-based jewelry designer Reena Ahluwalia. Its inspiration was the historic Mace of Ontario (Ontario Legislature), also designed by Ahluwalia.

“I wanted to design a statement necklace with an understated natural elegance. Rough diamonds were the perfect choice—understated, pure and just the way nature intended them to be,” Ahluwalia said. “The spiraling form secures the rough diamond gently and is intended to portray social responsibility, signifying the diamond mine and the natural riches of Ontario. The raw brilliance of these rough diamonds is unmatchable. They are organic, inherently one-of-a-kind and make a strong statement about one’s identity, desire to return to nature and of course, diamonds conflict-free origin.”

The event itself was the result of a partnership among luxury jewelry retailer, Birks, diamond company Crossworks Manufacturing and De Beers Canada to promote Ontario diamonds.

Crossworks produced the rough diamonds used for the necklace. It has an exclusive agreement to polish an allocation from the Victor Mine in Ontario and is the only company in the world to provide diamonds that are mined, cut and polished in Ontario. In April 2010, Birks unveiled the first 131 diamonds certified by the Government of Ontario and has been offering a selection of Canadian diamonds in Birks stores ever since. Following the celebrations at the Toronto International Film Festival, the necklace worn by MacDonald will be available for purchase at the Birks store on Bloor Street in Toronto.

Below is a video of MacDonald wearing and talking about the necklace:



 

Birks Honors Two Canadian Actresses

Emily Hampshire, Jean-Christophe Bedos and Sarah Gadon at Cannes.

Actresses Emily Hampshire and Sarah Gadon received the Birks Canadian Diamond award, which honors “individuals whose professional accomplishments allow Canada to shine beyond our country’s frontiers.” The inagural award was presented by Birks, the largest luxury jewelry chain in Canada, during the Cannes Film Festival in souther France.

Jean-Christophe Bedos, Birks president and CEO, presented the trophies to the actresses Thursday during Telefilm Canada’s inaugural Tribute To Canadian Talent press event and reception.

The two actresses appear in the film, Cosmopolis, a scathing critique of capitalism and the financial industry, directed by David Cronenberg. The film made its world premiere Friday at Cannes.

“Sarah and Emily’s talent can now be celebrated not only across Canada but around the planet,” Bedos said. “They are an asset to the Canadian film industry and help our country shine abroad.”

15-Carat Yellow Diamond Highlights Toronto Jewelry Store Exhibit

A collection of fancy yellow diamonds worth approximately $10 million will be exhibited at the Birks jewelry store on Bloor Street in Toronto from May 2 to 6. It will be the largest collection of yellow diamonds ever to be exhibited in the 133-year history of the Birks luxury jewelry chain.

A total of more than 60 diamond jewelry pieces will be on display, including a rare 15-carat internally flawless, fancy intense yellow radiant-cut diamond set in a platinum ring, with a trapezoid on each side.

“Yellow diamonds are some of the world’s most beautiful fancy color diamonds and have been the choice of royals and celebs throughout the ages,” said Jean-Christophe Bedos, president and CEO of Birks & Mayors Inc.

Birks is a manufacturer and retailer of fine jewelry in Canada. It is part of Montreal-based Birks & Mayors, a luxury jewelry retailer with 58 luxury jewelry stores in Canada and the United States. The company operates 31 stores under the Birks brand in Canada and 24 stores under the Mayors brand in Florida and Georgia, two retail locations in Calgary and Vancouver under the Brinkhaus brand, and one retail location in Orlando under the Rolex brand.

Birks Unveils 16-Carat Fancy Yellow Diamond

The Birks jewelry store in Edmonton, Canada, is selling a 16.01-carat fancy intense yellow diamond set on a diamond pavé platinum ring. The natural colored, Asscher cut, VVS1 diamond was recently discovered and is conflict-free, according to the Birks jewelry chain. The ring is on sale for CAD$1.8 million ($1.7 million).

The ring will be on view and on sale at the Birks store in Manulife Place until April 16 before moving to the Birks store in the Core shopping center in Calgary.

Birks is 30-store fine jewelry retail chain in Canada. It is part of Birks & Mayors, which also operates 23 stores under the Mayors brand in Florida and Georgia, two retail locations in Calgary and Vancouver under the Brinkhaus brand, and one retail location in Orlando under the Rolex brand.

Edmonton Jeweler to Display 10-Ct. Pink Diamond

Canadian fine jewelry retail chain, Birks, will showcase a 10-carat fancy light purplish pink diamond at its Edmonton store at Manulife Place, 10180 - 101st St., from April 13-17. The radiant cut diamond with SI1 clarity is owned by a private collector and is available for $2.5 million CAD ($2.52 million). 

The pink diamond originated from a rare rough stone of 21.35 carats found in a South African mine, making it one of the world’s largest pink diamonds ever mined, Birks said in a statement. Because of its large size, it took 3½ months to cut and polish the stone. The pink diamond, with its purple and pink hues, is set on a platinum ring.

Pink diamonds of this size, as regular readers of this blog know, are extremely rare. The auction house Christie's – one of the most important resellers of diamonds in the world—has reportedly auctioned 18 polished pink diamonds over 10 carats in its 244-year history. The South African 10-carat stone, made from a 21.35-carat rough stone, is even larger than Australia's biggest rough pink diamond weighing 12.76 carats, recently unearthed at its Argyle mine, the most famous mine in the world for pink diamonds.