With a background in bridal consulting and wedding planning, Madison has played a key role in more than 10,000 engagements and weddings, and has long recognized the prominent role of diamonds in commemorating loving unions. A lifelong love of fine jewelry led to the transition into her current role as a Brilliance Personal Shopper. Madison enjoys working one-on-one with customers to help them select diamonds, gemstones, and other jewelry pieces that reflect their tastes and budget.
Victoria Secret’s lingerie model, Miranda Kerr, has been selected to wear the 2011 Secret Fantasy Treasure Bra at the Victoria Secret Fashion show which airs November 29th 2011. The Fantasy Bra is adorned with precious jewels and diamonds and is valued at $2.5 million.
This exquisite bra, designed by London Jewelers exclusively for Victoria Secret, contains about 3,400 loose diamonds and precious gems–all handset in 18K white and yellow gold. Two loose diamonds, more than 8 carats each, as well as two yellow diamonds, more than 14 carats each, serve as the bras tassel which hangs down the center. All of the loose diamonds (over 143 carat total weight) and precious gems were handset onto the Victoria Secret Gorgeous Push-Up Bra and took jewelers roughly 500 hours to complete.
The Fantasy Bra will be available for purchase October 21st in the 2011 Victoria Secret Christmas Dreams and Fantasies Catalog.
We are excited to announce our newly launched page on Facebook. With almost 3,000 likes in the past week we are quickly becoming a place on Facebook to discuss industry news, diamonds, engagement rings, and all types of jewelry. Join the conversation today by going to the Brilliance.com Facebook page!
Brilliance has recently joined the growing number of jewelers and retailers who support the Golden Rules; a set of social, environmental and human rights criteria pushing for more responsible mining of gold and other precious metals. The Golden Rules by Earthworks focuses on the protection of the environment from the impacts of irresponsible mineral and energy development.
Gold-mining, while a lucrative industry, poses a great risk to the environment and may create serious human rights issues, especially in third-world countries where they are abundant. The ecosystem where a mine is located can be severely disrupted by its presence; gold is also traditionally a very dirty metal to mine and process. In addition toxic chemicals are used to extract gold from the earth, which are often dumped into pits and waterways, poisoning the ground and water supply. Ultimately, gold mining damages the quality of life for organisms around the mine, and the damage is often left behind for the host country’s government to clean up after a mine closes.
In Third World countries mining is often coupled with human rights issues. Gold can be mined in very dangerous conditions by workers who have few protections and rights. Moreover, the land in which a mine is situated in is often seized from the indigenous peoples that reside in them, leaving them homeless, with nowhere to go once their native lands are taken from them.
“We’re really glad to be a part of the No Dirty Gold (campaign)”, says Jonathon Ohayon from Brilliance. “We’re always looking for new ways to contribute to society and it’s the right thing to do. A diamond engagement ring symbolizes a future couples’ hopes and dreams. It’s something you build a relationship on and not something that they should feel guilty about.”
“We would like to encourage other diamond and jewelry retailers to join the (No Dirty Gold) campaign as soon as possible,” added Jonathon. “Consumers can also show their support by patronizing businesses which sell ethical and environmentally-conscious jewelry.”
A product of the combined efforts of two organizations, the Mineral Policy Center and the Oil & Gas Accountability Project, the Earthworks organization also seeks to reform government policies, improve corporate practices, influence investment decisions and encourage responsible materials sourcing and consumption through nationwide campaigns such as No Dirty Energy, Recycle My Cell Phone, Save Bristol Bay and Mining Reform Campaign. Click here to visit the Earthworks official website.
Drop shipping is a method of delivery in which a customer purchases a product online with a merchant, but the customer receives the product directly from the manufacturer. This method has gained popularity recently, particularly with the advent of online diamond shopping – websites like Bluenile.com or Jamesallen.com use this method extensively to save money on shipping expenses. While this setup can be beneficial to smaller retail shops, internet-only storefronts, and catalogue-based sales, it is quite risky for customers purchasing loose diamonds online.
Many online diamond retailers boast they have 70,000 to 100,000 diamonds in their database, but truthfully, none of those retailers own the diamonds in question, much less have them in stock – or have even seen them. Thus, the quality of the stones cannot be guaranteed. In this scenario, the customer is grossly disadvantaged – some retailers have mistakenly sent loose diamonds that don’t match diamond reports once taken to a gemologist.
Although we now provide all consumers with the highest quality jewelry, engagement rings, and loose diamonds, we originally started out as a diamond wholesaler, selling diamonds to local jewelry retailers. As more consumers began purchasing diamonds online, Brilliance.com was created as a means of offering certified diamonds at the same competitive prices we’d always offered as wholesalers.
At Brilliance we don’t drop ship loose diamonds. Rather we receive every diamond into our offices and keep tight quality control by having each one visually inspected prior to shipment by our Master Gemologists. Customers can browse our selection in a pressure-free, convenient environment online, and can be confident in the quality of their purchase. Additionally, visual inspection can be conducted by our diamond and jewelry experts to verify appearance and quality before a purchase is even made.
A rare pink loose diamond was purchased by jeweler Laurence Graff on November 16, 2010. The “fancy intense pink” diamond weighs 24.78ct. Graff named the pink diamond “The Graff Pink”. Graff paid double for the pink diamond than he did for the blue 35.56ct diamond in 2008, which was named the “Wittelsbach-Graff” diamond. Graff, who competed with four other bidders, shocked everyone when he bid $46,158,674, which is the most anyone has ever bid for diamonds before. Harry Winston last sold the jewel 60 years ago, however the current seller decided to remain nameless. Graff re-cut the blue diamond that he bought in 2008, which stirred much controversy for altering such an exquisite piece. Sotheby’s revealed that there is a small imperfection on the pink diamond, which cannot be seen by the naked eye and may receive clarity grade of “internally flawless” after it’s re-polished. However, it is unknown yet whether Graff will alter the pink diamond as well.
Thirty nine round cut diamonds are pave set in this white gold diamond engagement ring setting, accenting your choice of center diamond. 3/8 carat total diamond weight.
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