Roberto Coin has teamed up with Supermodel Christy Turlington Burns and CARE for his upcoming advertising campaign.

Turlington Burns, who has graced the covers of over 1,000 top fashion magazines, from Vogue to Time Magazine, has not only been a leader in the world of fashion as one of the most highly sought after models, but also an avid pioneer of women’s rights. Turlington Burns is involved in various charitable organizations, most notably as a spokesperson for (PRODUCT) RED and as CARE’s Advocate for Maternal Health.

As the previous campaign benefitted YouthAIDS, Roberto Coin has once again organized this campaign for an important cause. For 2009-2010, the campaign will support CARE, a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. According to Roberto Coin, Chairman/ Co-Founder of Roberto Coin Inc., “Our previous campaign with Christy was so successful and widely received. We are so pleased to be working with her again. We are proud to be in partnership with an organization such as CARE for all their extraordinary work they have done to empower women worldwide through education, healthcare, increased economic opportunities and human rights.”

The new campaign will feature jewelry from the Primavera, Classic Bold Gold, Cento Diamonds, Fantasia, Appassionata and the innovative CapriPlus collections. “Working with Christy is another exciting opportunity for Roberto Coin,” says Peter Webster, President / Co-Founder. “The new campaign also salutes an organization that invites people to go out and make a difference. At Roberto Coin, we believe that a cause related campaign is much more impactful than straight consumer advertising. This campaign recognizes both the work of Christy Turlington Burns and that of CARE.”

For more information about CARE log on to www.care.org

To support this cause you can visit Beauchamp Jewelers for a beautiful selection of Roberto Coin Jewelry.

About Roberto Coin

With headquarters in Vicenza, the Italian town famed for its jewelry, the company was founded in 1977 by the Venetian born Roberto Coin. The American subsidiary, Roberto Coin Inc., is based in New York on Fifth Avenue. In order to satisfy the diverse tastes of Europe, North and South America, East and Far East markets, each year more than 600 new models of jewelry is produced, whose high quality is keeping with the reputation of the Company. The driving force behind the creation of the jewels is Roberto himself, assisted by a team of highly qualified workers capable of blending age-old techniques with modern innovations to create the product for which the company is famous.

About CARE

CARE fights root causes of poverty in the world’s poorest communities. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. In nearly 70 countries, women are at the heart of CARE’s community-based efforts to improve education, health and economic opportunity. Each year, CARE helps tens of millions of people around the world effect real, positive changes in their lives.

SOURCE Roberto Coin

For the complete press release visit http://www.entrepreneur.com/PRNewswire/release/205180.html

As a continuation of last month’s discussion of diamonds I will cover diamond clarity, 1 of the 4 C’s.

Clarity refers to the purity of the diamond. Approximately 15 % of the diamonds mined in the world are gem quality. The other 85 % is used for industrial purpose. Most diamonds have some sort of inclusions or characteristics even after they are faceted. It is extremely rare to find a flawless diamond. Diamonds are graded using several different scales. At Beauchamp Jewelers, we use the GIA scale which is the oldest and most accepted. (See scale and definitions below.)

Clarity Scale

GIA			FL		IF		VVS1			VVS2			VS1			VS2			SI1			SI2			I1				I2				I3
AGS			0				1			2			3			4			5			6			7			8			9			10

FL………..(Flawless) No inclusions or blemishes under 10 X magnification
IF…………(Internally Flaw) No inclusions under 10X magnification; insignificant blemishes on surface only

VVS1……..(Very Very slightly Included) Minute inclusions that are extremely difficult to see under 10X
VVS2…….. (Very Very slightly Included) Minute inclusions that are very difficult to see under 10X

VS1……….(Very slightly Included) Minor inclusions that are difficult to see under 10X
VS2……….(Very slightly Included) Minor inclusions that are somewhat easy to see under 10X

SI1……….(slightly Included) Noticeable inclusions that are easy to see under 10X
SI2……….(slightly Included) Noticeable inclusions that are very easy to see under 10X

I1…………(Imperfect) Obvious inclusions under 10X – may be visible to the unaided eye
I2…………(Imperfect) Obvious inclusions visible to the unaided eye, strong effect on appearance or durability
I3…………(Imperfect) Prominent inclusions visible to the unaided eye, strong effect on appearance and durability

It takes a trained gemologist with years of experience to accurately grade the clarity of a diamond. Even though diamonds are graded at 10 time the naked eye, a gemologist may use a microscope at 60 times the naked eye to discover characteristics in a diamond and then grade them with a 10 power loupe.

I have included some photographs taken under the microscope of interesting diamond inclusions and characteristics.

50 years ago you were given a diamond.  What?  You dont’ remember.  Let me give you some clues:  It’s a 45.52 Carat deep blue diamond.  It was discovered in the 17th Century at a mine in Golconda, India.  It was owned by Louis XIV of France and King George IV of England.  It is set in a mounting with 16 colorless diamonds and hung on a chain of 45 more diamonds.  It was a gift from Harry Winston.  It’s believed to be cursed and nicknamed America’s Crown Jewel.  Give up?  It’s the Hope Diamond, and it is yours.

Technically it was donated to the Smithsonian Institution which is owned by the people of the United States of America.  That’s right, the Hope Diamond belongs to you, and me, and about 300 million other people.  To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Hope Diamond donation to the Smithsonian Institution it is being reset – and you (the owner) have a say.  You can vote on how you think it should be set.  Visit the Smithsonian Channel website to vote on how you think the diamond should be set.  Legendary designer, Harry Winston, has designed 3 beautiful settings.  One of these will be used to display the Hope Diaimond during 2010 in honor of its 50th year on display.

Now, if only they would let me wear it for a night . . . .

When I go to parties and someone asks what I do for a living, I say, “I’m a gemologist”. Often the response is “You are a Gymnast?” or “You are a Geologist?” I tell them “No, I play with diamonds and rubies for a living. It is a tough job, but someone has to do it. It beats digging ditches for a living.

Just about the time I was ready to graduate high school, my parents opened a jewelry store in Northridge, CA. They hired me to clean jewelry and do errands. After being exposed to all these sparkling gems, I had many questions. And so began my quest for gem knowledge. I began my gemology studies at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in Santa Monica in September of 1979. I was hooked! I excelled quickly and became top of my class. I graduated in February of 1980 and thought I knew everything about gems. I enjoyed my studies so much that I applied for a job at the Gem Trade Laboratory, which is a subsidiary of the GIA. The GIA’s Gem Trade Laboratory is known as the world’s authority for diamond analysis and gem identification. After being hired by Gem Trade Lab, I was retrained in diamond grading and analysis and found out just how much I didn’t know.

Twenty-eight years later, I thought I could share my years of being a gemologist with people who love gems like I do. I don’t claim to be perfect or know it all but I do have many years in the jewelry & gem industry and would be happy to answer questions that readers might have.

As a gemologist at Beauchamp jewelers I’m here to serve you by ensuring Beauchamp Jewelers has the highest quality and most beautiful diamonds in Albuquerque, as well as provide you with accurate insurance appraisals for your precious jewelry.

So where do I start? I thought that I would go over diamond basics and share some pictures with you.

The Four C’s

You may have already heard about the four C’s: Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat. Today’s topic is Color.

Color actually measures the lack of color. That lack of color makes a diamond more valuable. There are a number of scales available from different organizations that help to label or identify the color of a diamond. Many of you may be familiar with the Gemological Institute of America’s color scale. The best color is D. There is no A, B or C in this scale. Why you ask? I was told that diamonds weren’t so pure as to be an A, B or C. But the main reason is so not to confuse the GIA scale with another scale that might have an A+ or a triple A (AAA) as their best quality. (Some independent jewelry chains have their own scales, to sell more diamonds. The only problem is that an A+ or AAA might only be a G on the GIA color scale.) So… D, E and F are colorless which means no visible yellow or gray or brown to the unaided eye. G, H, I, J, K are near colorless which means that the diamond would “face up” white to the unaided eye. L through Z colors continue to show progressive levels of color which should become obvious to the unaided eye. When you get as low as Z color the diamond will appear yellow but not so much yellow as to appear attractive and become a fancy yellow diamond. Fancy color diamonds are not on the D through Z scale and will be covered in the future.

A color grade is assigned to a diamond when it is clean and loose. It is very difficult to assign an accurate color grade to a diamond if it is in a jewelry setting because shadows and the color of the metal used for the jewelry may cast color into the diamond.

The proper way to color grade a diamond is to compare the unknown diamond to a group of diamonds that have already been graded for color. This group of diamonds is known as a Master Color Set of diamonds or Master Stones.

Master stones must be graded by a laboratory such as GIA or AGS (American Gem Society) for color accuracy. A master stone must be in the middle of the indicated color and not too far to one side or the other. It does not have to be flawless but must be free from inclusions that may impart color into the diamond or make it difficult to compare to another diamond. A master stone cannot be fluorescent. Fluorescence is a unique characteristic that only some diamonds possess. It may change a diamond’s color appearance in different light. Strong blue fluorescence may mask yellow in a diamond when viewed in daylight, however strong blue fluorescence may cause a colorless diamond to appear milky in daylight.

In any case, fluorescence may influence color.

Spring is here! You may not have any violets in your garden and you definitely don’t have any as beautiful as this exquisitely detailed, 14kt yellow gold, enamel pin circa 1900, but you could.

Come join us on March 19th – 21st, 2009 during regular business hours as we welcome Jeff Feero co-owner and co-designer of the unusual and exceptional designs of Alex Sepkus in our showroom. Prepare yourself to see some of the most beautifully textured 18K gold and platinum designs you have ever seen.
Learn more about Alex Sepkus