by Brenda Bouw
Canada is set to open its first official diamond trading marketplace in downtown Toronto, a move spurred by the rush in recent years to mine and market the homegrown stones both nationally and worldwide.
The Diamond Bourse of Canada opens Monday and will be the first forum of its kind in the country where both polished and rough stones will be bought and sold.
There are 28 diamond bourses in places such as Belgium, Israel and South Africa. The Canadian bourse will become the 29th on the international circuit, which is overseen by the World Federation of Diamond Bourses. Canada produces about 15 per cent of the world’s annual rough diamonds.
“It’s only logical for Canada to establish a full-fledged bourse,” federation president Avi Paz stated yesterday. “While Canada’s population is small compared to its huge southern neighbour, the country’s jewelry industry and trade, as well as its consumer market, have been growing steadily.”
See the full article from The Globe and Mail…
Categories: Diamonds, News
One of the best ways to enhance the style of the New Year is by incorporating complimentary accessories into your everyday wardrobe. Influenced by the elegance and royalty of Britain, oversized diamond brooches are a perfect touch and strive to create a harmonizing balance between the otherwise feminine and masculine appearance. Another unique, main accessory of the 19th Century that is making a comeback is the Fob Chain – also recognized as a vintage chain used to hold a watch – worn on the front waistline of trousers, or in the front pocket of a jacket/vest. Diamond Cravat Pins and Square Brilliant Cut Diamond Cufflinks prove to be excellent additions to a revamp a formal dress shirt.
The paramount accessory choice for this New Year proves to be Victorian-inspired cocktail rings and engagement rings. Due to the scarcity of diamonds during this time period, Victorian rings were typically set in a cluster, using old cut or rose cut diamonds. Antique diamonds normally possess smaller tables, higher crowns, deeper pavilions and thicker girdles than their modern equivalents. Antique diamonds were also cut to maximize carat weight instead of fire, which is the main reason why the proportions of old diamonds vastly differ from diamonds of the present. Rose cut diamonds were introduced in the late 1500’s and remained very popular throughout the 19th Century. The typical characteristics of a Rose cut diamond includes the shape, which resembles the petals of a rose bud, with a flat bottom and rounded crown, and facets that meet as a point in the center. The modern equivalents for these particular diamonds are Round and Oval Brilliant Cut Diamonds.
Brilliance offers a collection of diamonds, rings, earrings, bracelets, pendants, and necklaces to match your taste and meet your budget. If you are looking for a unique jewelry item, our jewelry designers can make a custom jewelry piece to meet your exact description. This unique service allows you to achieve the designer look of your dreams at a price you can afford.
Categories: Diamonds, Jewelry
Carlos Defex is the newest member of the Brilliance team, bringing with him a lifetime of knowledge and passion for jewelry. As the head of our custom jewelry department, Carlos will be working tirelesly to bring his own style and experience to Brilliance jewelry. The Brilliance Blog took some time to sit down with Carlos so that you could get to know him better.
Brilliance Blog: How long have you been in the jewelry business?
Carlos Defex: I started in the jewelry business nearly 15 years ago when I received a bachelor’s degree in Metals and Fine Jewelry with specialization in Jewelry Design. The passion that I have for jewelry has taken me to different cities around the world, where I‘ve been exposed to different life styles and customs. I believe that my experiences shows in the caliber of jewelry that I design.
BB: What made you decide to go into jewelry?
CD: What I love about jewelry is the transformation of rare materials that are found deep beneath the earth through millions of years of evolution. To be able to transform those materials and give them an expression related to love and passion. I believe that jewelry is the perfect blend between science, art and nature.
BB: People obviously enjoy jewelry for the beauty and style, and you can tell a lot about a person by the kind of jewelry they are wearing. What can you say about different cultures and their jewelry?
CD: Jewelry has played an important role throughout the history of human kind, and has been a channel to communicate emotions, status, power, and beliefs. We can see it from the first Homo sapiens in Africa, barbarian tribes like the Celts, Mayans in Central America, or the Andean cultures in South America that created beautiful pieces of jewelry. India has probably the longest tradition of jewelry making and trading, dating back as far as the people of the Indus Valley Civilization more than 1,500 BC; also they were the first country that mined diamonds. As we can see, jewelry has been linked with the development of different cultures throughout the history and will be part of more generations to come.
BB: What do you find special about Brilliance, and what do you hope to add?
CD: Our jewelry is versatile, stylish, and at the same time shows a sense of tradition. It is made for the versatile woman that goes to work, takes care of the family, drives her kids to soccer games, and goes to a dinner party or cocktail at night; our jewelry is made to wear at any occasion. I believe that jewelry needs to be fun, enjoyable, accessible, and at the same time rare or unique.
BB: So we’ve heard about your passion for jewelry. Do you have anything to say about diamonds and other precious gems.
CD: I frequently hear from people, “it is only a rock”. And they might be right. But it is not just any rock…it is “The Rock”, whether we are referring to a loose diamond, emerald, ruby, sapphire… these precious gems contain thousands of years of history, culture, and chemical and physical changes occurring deep within the earth. These are rare materials that symbolize a tradition, a special moment for the individual and the collective. Matched with the right jewelry, a precious stone can say who you are without words, a sensual piece of distinctiveness and self expression.
Categories: Brilliance, News
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