*Laboratory operations & *inquiry message portal will be closed / unavailable for the remaining weeks of 2022, as our team will be out of the country for this period of time. Correspondence log maintenance ongoing over this period.*

Taking its name from the legendary ballet "Firebird" (1910 - Grand Opera, Paris), this 20.69 carat asscher-cut diamond now makes its way into the possession of Lawrence Graff, who previously also obtained the 'Lesedi La Rona' diamond (302.37 carat D-color) and had it cut into the world's largest square emerald-cut diamond.



Fancy-colored diamonds have been making headway into the world's auction scene for the past couple of decades, with major color hues including pinks, blues and vivid reds. Yellow diamonds, although traditionally lower in the hierarchy of color values for the diamond species, boasts a widespread appreciation for their 'Canary yellow' saturations. Many of them are now receiving heightened reception from international collectors and connoisseurs.



The choice to create the finished piece in a square-shaped step cut helps to bring out its uniquely stark honey-yellow hues. Many deep bodied fancy-cut shapes are a strategic selection for the final form of such fancy-colored diamonds, as proportions allow for more material (carat weight) to be kept- meaning a greater amount of light can then be selectively absorbed by the diamond's mass. This consequentially results in a stronger color, which is the desired effect for this kind of gemstone (as opposed to the case of colorless-to-near-colorless diamonds).

When re-setting, repairing or re-sizing diamond jewelry items, you should always consider several factors that involve the protection of your precious gemstone possessions. Always make sure that the bench jeweller performing the repair-work is credible and properly trained. Diamonds may be hard on the Moh's scale (10), but some areas like their girdles are incredibly thin. Chipping is more common than you think and girdle edges are some of the most vulnerable spots where a diamond can get damaged if not handled correctly by a jewelry repair shop.



Diamonds also have certain planes of atomic weakness called 'cleavage directions'. This means the bonds between atoms in these crystallographic directions are weaker. If a diamond is struct with the right amount of force along these directions, more severe damage like splitting can possibly occur.

Some professionals remove the stone before doing any work on the metal, while others opt to keep it in place. It would also depend on the specific area of the jewelry item to be repaired, as well as the type of work that's required. It's always best to go for the long-term experts in the industry, who have a reputation for taking good care of their customers items, rather than going to just any small shop for a quick DIY tightening of ring prongs or bending of metal settings.



*Ideally, if permitted and not too lengthly, you can request to watch as jewelry item is being worked on. This can also prevent the potential risk of stone-switching. Cases of diamonds being switched out for cheaper imitations like cubic zirconia or nowadays even with lab-grown diamonds, do occur although uncommonly documented. Many jewellers in our industry maintain good ethics and would rather keep their reputations solid- never engaging in such activities, but be aware of the risk as it's always better to land on the safe side when it comes to high-value items like diamonds and jewelry.

(** Our laboratory does not perform any kind of physical repair-work on jewelry, we are stictly a third-party evaluator that administers gemological procedures to identify and obtain a grading opinion on your gemstones. We do insist each and every time that items at our facility must be checked in the presence of their owner or at least a representative, just for good ethical practice. This way, our clients can also benefit the most from their appointments with our gemologist, learning a bit about their item's beauty, rarity and proper care.)