(props to JCK Magazine in the US which came up with the best headline: “Man’s Best Friend eats Girl’s Best Friend“. Excellent work.)

image by BBC

Susanna Reid was adorned by three of our stunning diamond jewellery pieces throughout her broadcast for BBC Breakfast, live from the red carpet in Los Angeles.

We met up with Susanna last week in London just before she left for Hollywood.

She enjoyed trying on a number of our jewellery items, but in the end she chose to wear three of our most fabulous pieces:

– Lakshmi peardrop hoop earrings

– Eros Journey pendant

– Aphrodite bangle

That’s almost £20,000 worth of diamond bling! After the event Susanna told us that the diamonds “looked gorgeous”.

Last year the Oscars went all recessionista, dropping down several gears and leaving the bling at home in a show (by Hollywood standards) of understatement.

But this year the diamonds and the glamour were back (here’s a great frock montage, and here’s an excellent review of the jewellery that was on show), and we thrilled that we were able to help Susanna compete with the nominees and winners as she spoke to them on the red carpet at the Vanity Fair party following the Academy Awards ceremony.

And here are two of the three pieces that Susanna was wearing…

Here, in chronological order, is our list of ten great diamond movies (or at least movies having some connection with diamonds…):

1. Night After Night (1932) – celebrated for the brief debut appearance of Mae West, generously adorned with diamonds, who elicits an admiring comment from a hatcheck girl, “Goodness, what lovely diamonds!“, to which West replies, “Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie“.

2. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) — in which Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell both dazzle like diamonds, and Marilyn sings about how “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend“. Monroe’s character meets Sir Francis “Piggy” Beekman who owns a diamond mine, and the plot then involves a diamond tiara, prompting Monroe to exclaim, “I just LOVE finding new places to wear diamonds!” To promote the film, Monroe wore a celebrated 24ct canary yellow pear-shaped diamond of Indian extraction called the ‘Moon of Baroda’.

3. To Catch a Thief (1955) — Hitchcock’s romantic thriller featuring Grace Kelly and Cary Grant as a notorious jewel thief who has retired to the French Riviera. But who is the cat burgler that’s pinching the fabulous jewels? Hitchcock keeps us guessing…

4. The Pink Panther (1963) — The Peter Sellers original, of course, rather than anything to do with Steve Martin.  The Pink Panther of the title refers to a diamond featuring a flaw which forms the image of a leaping panther, seen if held up to light in a certain way. David Niven oozes suave sophistication as the legendary jewel thief, Sir Charles Litton.

5. Diamonds are Forever (1971) — The matchless Sean Connery plays Bond, on the trail of the wicked Blofeld who is stockpiling smuggled diamonds for use in a deadly laser weapon which can obliterate targets on Earth from space. Bond gets help from the excellently named Tiffany Case and together they save the day, but the diamonds end up in orbit…

6. A Fish Called Wanda (1988) — John Cleese plays lawyer Archie Leach whilst Michael Palin plays Ken Pile who couples a memorable stutter with an affection for animals. Jamie Lee Curtis (Wanda) and Kevin Kline (Otto) are crooks planning a diamond heist in London, but it all falls apart when the heist team start to double-cross each other. Archie and Wanda end up fleeing to South America with the diamonds.

7. Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers (1993) — A diamond movie? Well yes actually, because the malevolent penguin Feathers McGraw steals and alters Gromit’s Techno-Trousers (given to Gromit by Wallace so that Gromit can take himself for a ‘walk’) and uses them to break into the town museum to steal a fabulous diamond.

8. Titanic (1997) — This record-breaking blockbuster from James Cameron (yeah, but what’s he done recently?) won 11 Academy Awards. It featured a fictional blue diamond called the Heart of the Ocean – perhaps a scriptwriter’s blend of the famous blue Hope diamond (45.52 carats) and a sapphire necklace owned by genuine Titanic survivor, Kate Florence Phillips. The Kate Winslet character is saved and finds the diamond in the pocket of the coat given to her by Leo’s character, but as a 100-year-old woman we see her drop the gem into the ocean.

9. Snatch (2000) — Guy Ritchie rearranged Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and came up with Snatch, with the priceless shotguns replaced by an 86 carat diamond. But the film is more often remembered for the plot involving Brad Pitt’s gypsy Irish boxer and Pitt’s pikey accent that appears to have been cultivated on another planet.

10. Blood Diamond (2006) — Leo again following his diamond exploits in Titanic. Not the greatest movie ever made, but it shines a light on the events in Sierra Leone in 1996-1999 when that country’s diamond resources became embroiled in a horrible civil war. Blood Diamond was actually shot in Mozambique, and DiCaprio plays an ex-Rhodesian/Zimbabwean mercenary (and Leo does the accent quite well) who helps Soloman Vendy – a fisherman – recover a large pink diamond that Vendy had previously found when he was conscripted to work in the country’s diamond mines. The film ends rather better for Soloman and his family than it does for Leo’s character.

Finally, here’s a bit of a treat – Shirley Bassey singing Diamonds are Forever, appropriately enough in Antwerp, Belgium – home of the diamond business.

And to see it in all its glorious detail, you really need to watch it here.

Heritage Cullinan diamond; image courtesy of Petra Diamonds

The diamond is still in its rough (uncut) state, and the sale price of US$35.3m is the highest on record ever achieved for a rough diamond, Petra said in a statement issued today.

The diamond was purchased by Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Company Limited of Hong Kong, a multi-national company with diamond cutting operations in South Africa.

This spectacular and historic gem was recently named the Cullinan Heritage to reflect the date of its recovery on Heritage Day in South Africa (24 September 2009) as well as its origins from the illustrious Cullinan mine, which has produced the many of the world’s most famous and important diamonds.

The record-breaking price achieved for The Cullinan Heritage reflects the incredible rarity of the diamond, which combines its remarkable size with exceptional colour and clarity, and at 507.5 carats it is the nineteenth largest gem diamond ever discovered, according to Petra.

Following the sale, Johan Dippenaar, Petra’s CEO, commented, “It is fitting that The Cullinan Heritage should achieve a sale price of US$35.3 million, the highest sale price on record ever achieved for a rough diamond, as it has the potential to produce one of the world’s most important polished gems.”

Chow Tai Fook have not announced their plans for the diamond.

It’s the bit where he gives her a fabulous diamond necklace; here’s the scene, at the start of this YouTube compilation:

I’ve always enjoyed Julia Roberts’ reaction when he snaps the lid of the box onto her fingers, but the other notable point about the necklace is that he hasn’t bought it for her – he’s just borrowed it for her for the evening.

Gere has to manage Roberts’ expectations quite carefully; before he opens the box he tells her, “I don’t want you to get too excited – it’s only on loan“.

But the fact that the necklace isn’t to be hers forever doesn’t seem terribly important – either to her or to him.

What’s important is that she will be adorned by something really special for the evening. She will dazzle with diamonds (and in this case I think, rubies) for the few hours that it matters the most.

And actually the fact that the necklace will not be hers for life might even increase their enjoyment of it on this particular night: the jewellery – just like the time that they are spending together – is a really precious thing, and they must make the most of it, enjoying every moment while it lasts.

So there it is: Pretty Woman teaches us that you don’t need to own fine diamond jewellery in order to enjoy wearing it!

You really can look and feel fabulous wearing borrowed bling, whether it’s for your wedding or a night at the opera with Richard Gere, and that’s why we do what we do here at diamondthrills…

The event was a Valentines Ball, held at the Marriott Hotel in Waltham Abbey, and various prizes were auctioned off for charity, including a ‘Diamondthrills Experience’ – a chance to wear some of our dazzling diamonds at a special occasion in the months ahead.

The lucky winner was thrilled and quickly chose the Diamondthrills voucher from a table of lovely prizes.

She thought the diamonds that the organisers were wearing on the evening were amazing, and she’s really excited about borrowing something similar for a summer wedding.

Nicola Friend organised the event and said “Word spread quickly that we were wearing real diamonds, people came to look at them and they were amazed that you could hire such expensive jewellery!”

On the night the organisers wore our Venus zigzag necklace, our Eros Journey pendant, and our Mariana zigzag earrings (pictured left).

Over £4,000 was raised for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) on the evening.

The BHF is a registered charity and works towards a world in which people do not die prematurely of heart desease; they do this through pioneering research, vital prevention activity and ensuring quality care and support for everyone living with heart disease

At diamondthrills we are delighted to be associated with this event and this charity, and we look forward to meeting the winner of the ‘Diamondthrills Experience’ and adorning her with some sparkly diamonds for a special occasion sometime soon.

You won’t be surprised to hear that we think a smart black-tie charity ball is an occasion that suits diamonds perfectly, so if you’re going to get all dressed up for such an occasion then why not accessorise with diamonds?

You might not have access to a fabulous jewellery box that would make a Hollywood starlet blush, but that needn’t matter any more, because now you can get that red carpet feeling by hiring fine diamond jewellery from Diamondthrills.

Whether it’s a charity ball, a wedding, a birthday party, or a business dinner, dip into our jewellery box and you’ll be sure to steal the limelight with the help of our dazzling diamonds!

The journey back turned into a bit of an epic because our fancy Virgin Pendolino train suffered a broken air pipe just outside Berkhamstead, where we sat still for two and a half hours. So my 70 minute train ride turned into a four and a half hour ordeal, giving me plenty of time to reflect upon what I had seen at the NEC.

Whilst I was there I attended a presentation given by Michael Allchin, Managing Director of the Birmingham Assay Office, and some of the information and insights here should be credited to him/The Assay Office.

The first point to note is that the show looked and felt busier than last year. Visitors to the show are mostly retailers looking for gift/kitchenware/art/toys/fashion products to sell to the general public, so the show is seen as a bit of a bellwether for the health (or otherwise) of major parts of the retail world.

So even if business hasn’t yet picked up, the number of visitors attending the Spring Fair points to a slightly more optimistic outlook as traders anticipate a return to growth in the months ahead.

The Jewellery Show at the Fair also looked busy as retailers restock for 2010 after a lacklustre 2009 when they held back from buying in many new product lines.

Beads seemed as popular as ever. The jewellery trade is a bit sniffy about beads, but bead products have definitely brought something fashionable to the jewellery world over the last couple of years.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they are basically a modern take on traditional charm bracelets of yesteryear, with 1970s charms such as lucky horseshoes, lovehearts, and dice giving way to colourful beads and tiny gold or silver accessories attached to jangly bracelets.

The recession (and, to some extent, fashion) has had an impact on the precious metals being hallmarked by The Assay Office.

They report that the number of gold items being hallmarked has more than halved over the last two years from 15.8 million in 2007 to just 7.0 million items in 2009. In contrast, the number of silver items being hallmarked has dropped by just 5% over the same period.

Against the backdrop of increasing precious metal prices, the trend away from gold towards much more affordable silver is clear, but the detailed figures for gold tell another story. The amount of 9 karat gold being hallmarked has declined dramatically, whilst the amount of higher purity gold (14K, 18K, 22K) gold has held firm or even increased.

So even though the majority of gold items hallmarked by The Assay Office are still 9K, the mix has changed and the percentages of 14K, 18K and 22K gold have all increased.

This demonstrates a trend that has been seen elsewhere over the last year or two: the squeezing of the middle market.

An element of the reaction to the recession has been the polarisation of markets – a flight to quality at the top end (hence continuing demand for high purity gold), and a demand for value at the bottom end (hence the switch away from 9K gold and into much more affordable silver).

Silver is key for what’s called ’self-purchase’ jewellery – pieces that are seen in a shop (or online) and bought, perhaps on an impulse, as a present to oneself.

Platinum remains key for the bridal market (engagement & wedding rings), whilst 18K gold remains important for gifts – Christmas, birthday, anniversary etc.

White metals continue to dominate in jewellery – white gold, silver, platinum and now palladium (a lightweight and affordable alternative to platinum and 18K white gold).

All this talk of precious metals… what about diamonds? Well the Jewellery Show at Spring Fair is not a major diamond event, so there weren’t a lot of diamonds in evidence, but one thing I did notice was the continuing use of black diamonds in jewellery as an accent to provide stark monochrome contrast to white diamonds / precious metals.

And all those white metals are being used to set white diamonds too of course. Perfect for classical bridal jewellery: white diamonds set in white precious metal!

See our Diamondthrills diamond jewellery collection for some inspiration for wedding jewellery – all available for hire for weddings and for other special occasions.

The Cullinan Heritage diamond; image courtesy of Petra Diamonds

This spectacular and historic gem has been named to reflect the date of its recovery on Heritage Day in South Africa (24 September 2009), as well as its origins from the illustrious Cullinan mine, which has produced the majority of the world’s most famous and important diamonds, according to Petra.

The Cullinan Heritage will shortly be placed on tender in Johannesburg and Petra will announce the sales value achieved for this very rare diamond following completion of the tender towards the end of February.

Johan Dippenaar, Petra’s CEO, commented, “The Cullinan Heritage is not only exquisitely beautiful, but also of true historical importance. Since we announced the recovery of the diamond in September 2009, we have experienced a high level of interest from the trade and we look forward to announcing the results of the sale before the end of the month.”

The actual weight of the diamond is 507.55 carats and appears to be of exceptional colour and clarity – the key determinants of its value along with its obvious size.

At 507 carats (just over 100 grams) the diamond is thought to be one of the 20 largest high quality rough diamonds ever found worldwide, and ranks alongside other illustrious diamonds recovered at the celebrated Cullinan mine.

Cullinan has a special place in the history of diamonds as the source of the world’s largest gem diamond ever recovered, the ‘Cullinan’, at 3,106 carats rough.

It has also produced a further two of the world’s largest diamonds, the Golden Jubilee at 755 carats rough and the Centenary at 599 carats rough, and many other famous gems including the Taylor-Burton (69 carats polished).

The 507 carat diamond was recovered alongside three other special white stones of similar colour and clarity in the same production run: another very large stone of 168.00 carats and two other diamonds of 58.50 and 53.30 carats.

The Cullinan mine also produced a notable blue diamond which sold for a record price in 2009.

Rough diamond prices took a tumble in late 2008 and into the first half of 2009, but the diamond market has seen some recovery over the last few months. A diamond such as this however, is so exceptional that it’s value is rather subjective and largely detached from general market trends.

Well, we feel a bit like that here at Diamondthrills because it’s our very first Valentine’s Day too! And we hope that there will be a lifetime of Valentine’s Days to come for Diamondthrills as a business.

To celebrate this landmark, we’re offering a very special rate for diamond jewellery rental over the Valentine’s Day weekend of February 12th-14th 2010: HALF PRICE.

That’s right, hire any diamond jewellery from us over that weekend and we’ll take an incredible 50% off the normal hire price.

So our Artemis Star pendant, which normally hires for £50, can be yours for the weekend for £25 – that’s proabably less than the cost of the taxi home after dinner. And if you add the Artemis Star earrings then you can borrow this matching set for just £60.

How about our Hebe riveriera bracelet (below)? A stunning 4.18 carat diamond ‘tennis’ bracelet worth over £5000 – yours for the weekend for £130 instead of the usual hire charge of £260.

Or our Flora daisy-chain necklace (below), with more than 160 diamonds weighing 7.69 carats, normally £375 to hire but for the Valentine’s Day weekend: £187.50.

A great way to enjoy Valentine’s Day is to indulge in a fabulously romantic experience on the day or in the evening, and the eternal association of diamonds with romance makes diamond jewellery the perfect accessory for a romantic dinner à deux this Valentine’s Day weekend.

Hiring diamond jewellery is the smart new way to dazzle with diamonds without the high cost and committment of ownership, and now that we’re making our stunning jewellery collection available at half price, there’s no excuse not to be dripping in diamonds this Valentines Day.

Don’t delay: simply Contact Us telling us which piece(s) you would like to borrow for the Valentine’s Day weekend, and we’ll let you know if your chosen jewellery is still available.