Famous Jewellery And Our Tributes – Pt 1

Often reserved for royalty and the ultra-rich, there are some huge jewels out there which we can only dream of wearing, let alone owning.  Some of these huge stones aren't wearable for an everyday look, (even if you're royalty), so they are reserved for special occasions and events where they can be properly showcased.  We can take inspiration from these stunning pieces and wear more affordable jewellery that pays homage to these glittering giants.

First up is the Tiffany diamond.  This whopper was mined in South Africa 1877 and in its natural form weighed in at an astonishing 288 carats.  It was bought by the iconic Charles Lewis Tiffany a year later and was then cut to its current cushion shape, weighing just over 128 carats.  The stone was set into a display necklace in 2012, surrounded by diamonds, and it is on show at the flagship New York Tiffany store.  This rare yellow diamond is out of the price range of most people, but our Light Fantastic necklace, with a square cut cubic zirconia surrounded by smaller cubic zirconia, is a versatile, wearable nod to this rare piece.  If you like the stand out effect of the yellow tone you might like to wear our citrine Purity necklace, which features a multifaceted citrine in a classic claw setting.

Another famous yellow diamond is the Cora Sun-Drop diamond also found in South Africa.  This huge pear-shaped stone weighs 110 carats and sold for just over $12 million at Sothebys and is currently set in a ring.  Our citrine Clementine ring is a nice tribute to this piece, with an oval citrine surrounded by silver, gold and cubic zirconia.  This ring is just as much of a showstopper as the diamond alternative, but much more wearable thanks to the smaller size (and that fact that you won't be worrying about losing or damaging a multimillion dollar stone!).

The biggest yellow diamond ever found is the L'Incomparable diamond, a teardrop shaped, step-cut yellow diamond set in a necklace that weighs 637 carats in total, 407 of which is the L'Incomparable diamond. It's the largest diamond, without internal flaws, ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America and is worth over $55 million, way out of our price range!  It was found in the Congo in 1984 by chance – a young girl playing in a pile of diamond mine rubble found it accidentally, which makes you wonder how many other giant gems are sitting in mine spoil piles!  When it was found in its rough state it weighed nearly 900 carats, so it's quite incredible that it was almost chucked out with the rest of the rubble. 

The Taylor-Burton diamond, named because Richard Burton purchased the 70 carat stone for his wife Elizabeth Taylor, is a stunning pear shaped clear diamond.  It was initially set as a ring, but it was too heavy so Burton had it reset into a necklace custom made to hide Taylor's tracheotomy scar.  Taylor had one of the largest private jewellery collections ever, and when it was sold at auction it brought in $116 million in total.  We might not have 70 carat diamonds to play with, but our Bella Collezione necklace is the perfect tribute to this gem, with its overall teardrop shape paying homage to the shape of the diamond.  A round cubic zirconia sits in the centre of this pendant, which is studded all over with more cubic zirconia, for a piece that really shines.  Our chains are adjustable, which means you can wear this pendant at two lengths, which is ideal if you're also covering a scar or other blemish.

Join us for part 2 where we look at more famous and expensive jewels, and our budget-friendly tributes to the styles.