The Eurovision 2010 song contest that took place last Saturday evening was pretty joyful, but reflects only a momentarily escape from the financial crisis plaguing Europe. Emerging economies such as China, Brazil and India seem to have escaped the global financial crisis and continued their growth, but for the ones who are dependant mostly on export of a unique luxurious natural resource, like diamonds and gems, thing might look different.

Botswana, however, remains guarded, as concern mounts that the European debt crisis may undermine the diamond trade – its key export.

Botswana has noted a "slow recovery" and its economy is expected to expand 4.5% in 2010 and 5% in 2011, Gaborone's Deputy Finance Minister Charles Tibone said.

"We are concerned,” said Tibone. “If the Greek crisis persists, then that will affect consumption of our products. What happens to the UK and Europe could impact on diamond sales. Trade between ourselves and Europe is important.”

Botswana is the world’s biggest diamond producer, earning the government about half of its state revenue. It's economy contracted by 6% in 2009, following a slump in diamond sales, which forced mines to shut down for several months.

Botswana's diamond output is expected to rebound to 22 million carats in 2010, from 18 million carats in 2009, as demand from the US – the country's biggest consumer of the diamonds, improves.

The southern African nation said last week it borrowed $133 million from the World Bank to partly finance energy ventures.

Perhaps the wide tourism industry, which attracts a lot of luxury goods consumers, will have a solid effect or at least stabilize the demand of diamonds in Europe.

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This time I would like to inform you on my diamond blog about my favorite diamond jewelry - tension diamond ring. A tension ring is a type of finger ring in which the gemstone is held in place by pressure rather than prongs, a bezel or other mounting. The metal setting is actually spring-loaded to exert pressure onto the gemstone, and tiny etchings/grooves are added to the metal in order to create a shelf for the gemstone's edges to rest. The gemstone appears to be suspended in the air with nothing holding it in place.

The first tension ring was created in 1981 by the German company Niessing, but the general concept of tension settings has been around for over 40 years as it was developed in the late 1960s by a Niessing employee named Friedrich Becker[7]. The original tension ring designs were very bulky in order to provide the strength to maintain sufficient pressure on the suspended stone. These early rings are so bulky that they resemble a solid metal inner tube wrapped around the finger. Steven Kretchmer was the first American adoptee of this design, and perfected the work hardening process that allowed his ring designs to be less heavy than the Niessing originals without sacrificing strength. Other ring designers followed Kretchmer's adaptations within a few years.

A major difference between tension settings and other settings is that tension settings are only manufactured after they are sold while other settings are often manufactured first and then sold to consumers. There are several reasons for this difference. First, tension settings can not be resized easily as resizing them will remove the spring-loading effect. Instead of resizing a tension setting, the manufacturer actually has to melt down the old setting and create a new spring-loaded tension setting that is appropriately sized. Second, tension settings are calibrated to the exact specifications of the stone that they will hold, therefore they can not be manufactured until the customer has selected the gem that will go inside. Unlike other settings which can be manufactured ahead of time regardless of the stone that will ultimately be placed inside, each tension setting is designed specifically for the stone it will hold. The tension setting is calibrated by a computer using light to identify the exact places where pressure must be applied on the gemstone in order to avoid fracturing it through even pressure distribution.

Because tension settings place such pressure on the stone, only three types of gemstone can be placed in a tension setting: diamonds, rubies, and sapphires. Additionally, tension setting manufacturers must be careful which stones they place in tension settings; a stone that either has significant inclusions or is too soft will fracture under the intense pressure of the setting. The Mohs scale is a reliable way to rank a gem's hardness; generally gems that have a Mohs hardness of less than 9.0 cannot be placed in the setting.

It should also be noted that the term "tension setting" is, from the perspective of physical science, a misnomer. The stone is not held in tension (a pulling force) but in fact in compression (a pressing force.) The ring however is placed in tension by the presence of the stone. Although tension rings are unique in design and make a wonderful engagement ring, they can also have matching wedding bands made for them.

I would like to begin this post by wishing a happy and prosperous new year to all of you. Hopefully, 2010 will see the diamond and jewelry industries put the financial crisis   behind them, once and for all.

My first blog for 2010 has a personal twist to it and is a beautiful tale of love – and one gorgeous diamond ring.

Who would have imagined that a romance that started at the Ben Gurion International Airport, continued in Hong Kong and wound up back in Tel Aviv, would end up in a romantic marriage proposal, complete with a 49-diamond studded ring?

A good childhood friend of mine, Corrine Ferster, met the love of her life, Gilad Hachmon while they were both working at a Ben Gurion Airport about three years ago. Corinne, as clearly evident from the photo, could have easily chosen a modeling career over working at the airport, but fate had other plans.

After six months, the lovebirds were sent to work in Hong Kong, where they ended up staying for nearly two years. Corinne, the daughter of a renowned fashion designer, has always had a unique sense of style, and it was a given that   when she was presented with her engagement ring, the band would be anything but mundane and everything that is extraordinary.    

The story of the ring begins with Gilad's business ties with a Chinese jeweler: the two were dining in one of Shenzhen's premier restaurants one day, when they were joined by the owner of a local jewelry store. The latter told Gilad that if he ever found himself in need of an engagement ring he would assist him. And so he did.

The ring was custom made in the Shenzhen store and  designed to compliment Corinne's personal and unique style. Knowing her, I assume she had specific requirements as for the design, or at least a few secret heart desires to that effect.   

Gilad finally popped the question last week, surprising Corrine with an exquisite whit gold ring, dominated by a half-carat, high clarity white diamond in its center, surrounded by 48 one-point, high clarity diamonds. The combination creates a ring glimmering with prestigious sparkle.

The most important thing, of course, is that the bride to be was delighted with both the ring and the proposal. She can't wait for the wedding, which will be set for sometime between September and October 2010.

Congratulations to the happy couple! 

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