Past, Present and ...Future?  

This did not happen in our store but...

A gentleman was looking for gift ideas for his wife for their anniversary. The salesperson showed him several items and then mentioned the 'Past-Present-Future' diamond pendant. The salesperson explained the concept behind it - that each diamond represented a point in the couple's life. The customer liked the thought behind it and was thrilled to be giving his wife something more meaningful than his usual lame attempts.

The next day as the store opened, there he was - pendant in hand. "I'll have to return this. I gave it to my wife late last night as we were heading for bed. She put it on and was quite happy with it. Well, I guess I just couldn't leave well alone because I then referred to it as the 'Before-During-After' pendant. At that point, she shot me a look and..."

Record Breaking Ruby

An exceptionally rare untreated Burmese ruby sold for the record price of $2.2 million at Christie's auction house on April 12, 2005. The stone, which AGTA Gemological Testing Center director Dr. Lore Kiefert described as "one of the finest I've ever seen", is 8.01 ct. and sold for $274,656 per carat. The stone has an intensely strong and pure pigeon-blood red color with superb transparency. According to the head of Christie's jewelry division "it sparkled unlike any ruby seen before and displayed a brilliancy similar to that of a red diamond." 

To put the price in perspective, a top quality (D color, VVS or Internally Flawless diamond) 8 ct. diamond would sell today for approximately $475,000 - for the stone!