May 4, 2024

Custom made 1.50ct. SI1-GH “inner/outer” diamond hoop earrings, 14kt., 16.6gr., 5cm. $3,500.00 CAD. 151-00304.

When we custom made these earrings a few years ago we weren’t exactly reinventing the wheel, but I bet you haven’t seen another pair like them before. The first thing you notice is the large size of 5.0cm diameter x 2.5mm wide. Long or short hair, there is no way anyone is going to miss seeing these. The second thing you notice is the solid construction, saving a few dollars by making them hollow wasn’t something we were interested in doing. They weigh well over half an ounce at 16.6 grams in 14 karat white gold. The third thing is the chunky reflections and sparkles from the 1.7mm diameter diamonds. Diamonds this size don’t usually “twinkle” like this; that’s because we selected 17 facet single cut diamonds for this project and not the typical 57 facet round brilliant cut diamond. Round brilliant cut diamonds twinkle and reflect the same amount of light as single cuts but in much smaller bits. This is a great example of less is more and it’s one of the reasons Rolex selects 17 facet single cut diamonds for decorating diamond dial watches. In good quality, single cut diamonds simply look better than full cuts. The 80 diamonds we hand selected from 1000s exhibited superior cut and with good clarity and colour. They average SI-GH in quality. This pair of Bill Le Boeuf Jewellers originals were traded in for something different by the original owner. They remain in very good condition with the rhodium plating fully intact. They show fine scratches and scuffs on the exposed polished surfaces but nothing requiring a fresh polish or re-rhodium plating. If you’re able to stop by, we’d love to show you how a simple high quality single cut diamond can look better than the more complicated 57 facet brilliant cut. If we had to hand make them today with gold at all time highs, it would cost over $5,000.00. This custom made estate pair is priced at just $3,500.00 CAD. Stock #151-00304.

May 3, 2024

IWC Ingenieur AMG special edition ref:3227 42mm titanium $5,200.00 CAD. 501-00314

Sometimes finding a large watch that is nothing more than a watch is a difficult task. The IWC Ingenieur is above all else a durable time-telling tool designed to take almost anything you throw at it. Water resistant to 400 feet, magnetically resistant 1000 gauss, tough scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, threaded crown/case back, large 42mm case, highly luminous hands/hour markers, all housed in a super tough sandblasted titanium case with integrated bracelet. This watch makes a statement without a lot of extra do-dads. Quietly ticking away inside the case in an International Watch company in-house designed movement. The IWC calibre 80110 offers superior shock resistance along with IWCs Pellaton winding technology employing ratcheting pals instead of gears to lock the winding wheels. A useful 44-hour power reserve isn’t exceptionally long but in line with industry standards. Large applied hour markers are filled with highly luminous pigment for visibility in any lighting condition. A splash of red on the second hand and 10, 20, 30….. minute track markers adds a bit of contrast to the dial. This watch looks like new. There are no dents or dings anywhere on the sharp case edges. The heavy gauge titanium bracelet is secured by locking fold buckle and clever spring locked rivets in every single link. The smart system allows simple length adjustment with the included little tool. This special Mercedes AMG version features a specific case-back. AMG is the factory hot-rod division of Mercedes Benz. They tweak and tune Mercedes cars to a higher level of performance and handling. The right side of the Mercedes-Benz AMG logo illustrates a cam, valve, and valve spring. These engine components represent a passion for engineering and are some of the critical parts AMG massage for higher performance. On the left side of the Mercedes-Benz AMG emblem, you see an apple tree, with a line underneath the tree representing a river. This is the historic coat of arms is for Affalterbach, Germany, the town where you’ll find the Mercedes-Benz AMG headquarters. The watch is running well and keeping great time. We are including a complimentary 1-year warranty (prorated 5 years) for the next owner. This watch comes with all the original documents and packaging. It was purchased at Govberg Jewelers but the warranty card wasn’t dated. The estate price for this IWC is $5,200.00 CAD. Stock #501-00314.

May 2, 2024

0.76ct. SI1-HI Canadian “ADURA” radiant cut diamond ring, 2.9gr. 18kt. $1,855.00 CAD. 101-00526

A radiant cut is basically a square princess cut diamond with the corners cut off. This greatly reduces the chances of chipping one of the pointy corners, at the expense of a the extra weight that gets lost. This is one of the reasons a radiant cut costs a little bit more compared to a square princess cut. The truncated corners also allow for a much more discreet sized/shaped prong. It’s a wonder we don’t see as many radiant cuts as we do princess cuts. This ring is the popular Lucida style setting with its trademark crossover gallery claws. The example is notable because the shank is quite thin and delicate at 2.5mm in width. The European bottom is squared off to help keep the ring pointing up. There is a tiny surprise princess cut diamond Gypsy set into one of the bottom corners. The centrepiece is of course the Canadian origin diamond with it’s unique laser etched serial number (ADURA IGI 30059583C). We don’t know much about the ADURA brand except this little snippet we found online “HRA Investments Ltd., has branded a multifaceted princess cut diamond brand called Adura. The Adura diamond, displaying a dazzling 85 facets is issued with a Certificate of Brilliance, illustrating the enhanced light return of every Adura diamond. Sun Gems International, will be the exclusive distributor of the Adura Brand that is marketed in Canada. Adura translates from Latin to “light on fire” which fits this diamond to a ‘T’. Feel free to dive in that rabbit hole and let us know you found out about this specialty cut diamond. What we do know is it sparkles much better than most radiant cut diamonds as the cutting geometry is excellent, unlike most generic square cuts. The ring measures a size 6 1/2 and can easily be adjusted up or down. The diamond itself is calculated to weigh 0.76 carats of SI1 clarity with an H/I colour. This unique diamond solitaire is estate priced at $1,855.00 CAD. Stock #101-00526.

May 1, 2024

7.15ct. Natural Ceylon sapphire & diamond ring (1.65ct. tw. SI-GH) 6.3gr. 18kt. sz. 8 1/2. $17,500.00 CAD. 206-00518

The sapphires you’re likely to encounter at your the local jewellery store certainly don’t look like this, either in size, colour, or transparency. This is a very special ring that we are thrilled to showcase for you. We don’t see many 7 carat sapphires of even marginal quality normally. We think this example comes from Ceylon (Sri Lanka). The bright, sightly violet blue is typical from this part of the world, but not the size. It’s cushion shaped dimensions of 11.8mm x 9.5mm x 6.4mm suggest it weighs somewhere around 7.15 carats. Sapphires make a great alternative to diamonds when it comes to an engagement ring. They are second hardest of all gemstones, their colour is stable and doesn’t fade over time. They can also stand up to heat encountered when the ring is being sized or retipped. The most famous recipient of a sapphire engagement ring was the late Princess Diana who received her 12 carat oval Ceylon sapphire in 1981. From what we understand, Prince Charles purchased the ring as an off the shelf item from luxury jeweller Asprey in London for the equivalent of $60,000.00 USD back in 1981. Today her original ring is being worn by Catherine the Princess of Wales as her engagement ring. The only regal connection we can make with our version is the “royal” blue hue. Styled in much the same fashion as Diana’s on a smaller scale, our ring is surrounded by 14 round brilliant cut diamonds (just like Diana’s). It is also crafted in premium 18 karat white gold as is Diana’s. The shoulders on our estate ring have been pave set with an additional 68 tiny brilliant cut diamonds. All of the natural diamonds are of SI-GH quality. A decorative filigree scroll pattern keeps the ring from being top heavy and adds some delicate elegance to the design. This ring is in remarkable condition looking almost unworn. It still retains its original finish and has never been repolished or re-rhodium plated. There is zero wear on any of the claws securing the sapphire and diamonds. The ring measures a slightly larger 8 1/2 but can be made a few sizes smaller if necessary. This would be a very difficult ring to replace as Ceylon sapphires of this size and shaped are quite rare and very expensive. Engagement ring or dinner ring, this one of a kind sapphire would make the lady in your life feel like a princess for the rest of time. It is estate priced at $17,500.00 CAD. Stock #206-00518.

1992 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 25730BA 36mm 18kt. Aug. 2023 service. $58,000.00 CAD. 501-00274

Audemars Piguet is widely considered by many to be the finest of the Swiss watch manufactures. They certainly are not as widely know as the larger Swiss brands but this family owned business has been around since 1875 producing some of the world’s most exotic and desirable watches. They developed many industry firsts throughout the years. They were the first company to produce a minute repeater, ringing out the time with a series of audible chimes on command with the push of a button. The first skeleton watch movement can also be attributed to the brand from La Brassus Switzerland. While they only produce an estimated 40,000 watches per year, they are one of the most sought after. In 1972 they produced the world’s first true luxury sports watch, the Royal Oak. It was designed by Gerald Genta and features a prominent octagon shaped bezel that was inspired by a deep sea diver’s helmet. The 8 octagon screws are secured from inside the watch case helping to contribute to water resistance. The name Royal Oak itself comes from a fleet of British Navy ships sharing the same name. Like many great designs which broke from tradition styles, it was not an initial sales success. It’s integrated bracelet, octagon bezel, unconventional appearance, and very high price didn’t help. At the time it cost over 3,000 Swiss francs, which was many times that of what a Rolex Submariner cost. In its first very years of production this now flagship model represented far less than 10% of total Audemars Piguet sales. Persistence pays off, today the Royal Oak look defines the AP brand. In 2023 they look pretty much the same as they did 50 years ago, right down the to beautiful textured dials. This Audemars is very notable because it is a complicated model that features a dual time display, 31-day calendar, and a useful scale that displays the remaining power reserve of the complex 54 jewel automatic winding mechanism that contains 261 components. This watch was crafted from 18-karat and while it measures at comfortable 36mm diameter, its weight of 183 grams is more than a contemporary Rolex Day-Date 36mm and far more than the hollow link Rolex watches from the 1990s. This is a one owner example that still contains all of its original adjustment links from the 23 link tapered bracelet. The locking spring trigger clasp is a clever bit of engineering. Sliding the AP logo requires some force which releases the lock. The 23 link bracelet displays zero stretch and almost no sag. The watch is 100% original and has never been polished, refinished, or touched up in any way. It shows scuffs and scratches on the case and bracelet but still retains the original factory applied sharp edges. These pictures are very revealing, in person the watch looks worn but nearly as scratched up as these images would lead you to believe. If you’re considering purchasing a contemporary Audemars Piguet watch, you’d be well advised to buy one with a known history or a very good warranty, as servicing costs can be costly. No need to worry with this one. Our master watchmaker performed a full overhaul to the movement in September of 2023. The watch is performing flawlessly. The Vibrograph timing report shows a timing error of zero seconds per day, an excellent balance amplitude of 273 degrees, and an almost perfect beat error of 0.1 milliseconds. While being serviced it was subjected to a minor vacuum and significant pressure test (100 meters) which it easily passed. The parchment dial is nicely organized with prominent gold hour and minute hands, with a small pointer date located at 3:00 o’clock. The subsidiary 2nd time zone display is located at 6:00pm and despite the small size is easy to interpret with simple bold black hands. The power reserve scale at 9:00 o’clock balances everything off as it shows how many hours of power reserve are left on the mainspring. This rare and collectable AP is approximately 30 years old and is no longer in production. The closest contemporary model is a 37mm version with basic time keeping and date display. Model 15550BA.OO.1356BA.01 sells for a cool $55,200.00 Swiss francs (around $83,300.00 CAD). If you want a refreshing look to your familiar Rolex Oyster, perhaps a extraordinary 18 karat Audemars Piguet may be for you. Including our complimentary 1-year warranty (prorated for 4 additional years) this watch is estate priced at $58,000.00 CAD. Stock #501-00274.

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