The Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Museum at the Israel Diamond Institute invites you to attend a special exhibition of gemstones on loan from Germany's famed gemstone center Idar-Oberstein. Join us, and see the most extensive collection of gemstones in the world. What could be a better way to start the New Year?

Dignitaries from Israel and abroad will be in attendance, including Mr. Dieter Hahn, chairman of the Idar-Oberstein Gemstone Museum; Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Fuad Ben Eliezer; Israel Diamond Institute Chairman and International Diamond Manufacturers Association President Moti Ganz; and Israel Diamond Exchange President and WFDB President Avi Paz. 

What makes the Idar-Oberstein collection so special? The towns of Idar and Oberstein belonged to the barons of Daun-Oberstein (who later became the Count of Falkenstein) until 1670. In 1865, both Idar and Oberstein were chartered as cities, and finally in 1933, they united (along with the smaller towns of Algenrodt and Tiefenstein) to form the modern town of Idar-Oberstein.

Idar-Oberstein is known as a gemstone center; until the 18th century, the area was a source for agate and jasper. Low-cost labor and energy helped the gemstone industry flourish. The Nahe River provided free water power for the mills that powered the cutting and polishing machines.

When resources dried up, the area's industry fell into decline until the 19th century, when a way was found to provide new material to Idar. Large amounts of agates were discovered in Brazil, and German traders were able to ship the agate nodules back as ballast on empty vessels that had dropped off cargo in Brazil. The cheap agates were transported to Idar-Oberstein and a new way to develop industry was found. Using locals' technological knowledge of chemical dyes, the gemstone industry grew bigger than ever at the turn of the 20th century.

You can still tour a functional gem mine, the Steinkaulenberg, daily in March-November. An hour-long guided tour, the only one of its kind in Europe, will give you a special appreciation of agates, amethysts, jasper, and smoke quartzes in their original environment, volcanic basalt.

The German Gemstone Museum nearby is also worth a visit for its extensive collection of artfully crafted sculptures, engraved treasures, and some 10,000 raw and polished gemstones — the most comprehensive collection of its kind.

Nowadays, of course, the local gem market is dominated by imported stones from Brazil and Africa. Shop around and you are sure to uncover some wonderful deals and the perfect souvenir from your visit to gemstone country.

After gemstones and jewelry, the Felsenkirche, "Church of the Rock," and two ruined medieval castles are perched on the hills above the town and are the chief tourist attractions in the city, along with the area's stunning natural beauty and lively night life.

Idar-Oberstein has another claim to fame – actor Bruce Willis was born there to a German mother and an American father who was serving at a US military base located near the city.

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The Shefa Yamim company has been prospecting for diamonds in Israel's Kishon River since 1999. In the coming months, the firm is seeking to issue $100 million worth of stock. This is a new and different approach, since fundraising for diamond companies – especially Israeli ones – is done via banks and going public has never been an option.

According to TheMarker.com, The story of Shefa Yamim began in 1988, when Haifa's then-mayor, Arie Goral, traveled to New York to meet with the Lubavitcher rabbi who was the seventh Chabad admor and considered by many to be the Messiah, but has since passed away. The rabbi gave Goral a tip: "Haifa sits on the sea, and one shouldn't be impressed by depth. Haifa has a sea, and it has a valley, and the valley contains good and precious stones. The Lord has done something miraculous: he has hidden the stones deep in the earth, and it looks like they're deep in the river."

The 86-year-old rabbi's mention of "good stones" sparked considerable interest among the Chabad hassidim. They accepted it as prophecy, and decided to devote their time and money to finding the buried treasure.

The founder and CEO of Shefa Yamim is Avraham "Avi" Taub, who comes from a family of diamond dealers and worked his whole life polishing an selling diamonds. Sources close to Taub said he was so close to the rabbi that he decided to leave everything and devote his life to Shefa Yamim. In the early 1990s, the Lubavitcher rabbi instructed Taub to mine diamonds, which together with the prophecy, prompted Taub to found Shefa Yamim. The company took out mining licenses for the Zevulun Valley and Mount Carmel areas and began searching.

First name? Kalish, a former IAF pilot who found religion, is one of the more colorful and well-known figures in Israeli high-tech. In 2007 Forbes named him the best local venture capitalist. But he has also known some failures. 

Shefa Yamim employs dozens of workers and two vehicles. The company has some 200 stockholders, most of whom own shares in the company. The main stockholders are Eight Global Corp. (42.33%) and the Taub family's 101 Zahav Holdings (7.2%), which also has a number of other companies in the diamond, gold mining, and precious stones industries.

Thus far, some $10 million has been raised from private investors, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. In recent weeks Shefa Yamim has been busy preparing a draft prospectus for the securities authorities ahead of the stock issue. This isn't the first time Shefa Yamim has tried to issue stock. Before the global financial crisis took hold, the company tried to issue stock on London's AIM exchange but then reversed the decision. Right now, the worth of the company is a sticking point – Shefa Yamim wants to issue stock based on the $100 million valuation by Mount Morgan Resources.

The signatories doubt whether they will be able to raise money based on a $100 million company valuation, and a source said that "if the company had been interested in raising money based on a value of nothing, we would have taken the opportunity."

Shefa Yamim is the first and only company prospecting for precious stones in Israel. Anyone reviewing the history of searches for gold and gemstones in the Holy Land will see that searches for gold were conducted in the Eilat area, but called off. The company operates under the mining regulations of the National Infrastructures Ministry, and unlike companies prospecting for oil or natural gas – established as cooperative ventures – does not receive any reduction in income tax.

Over the past 11 years, the company has conducted a number of exploratory drills, which did not reveal the promised wealth, but turned up a number of other interesting things. In 2004 a kimberlite boulder was discovered on Mount Carmel. The De Beers syndicate took the rock to its laboratories, cut it open, and discovered micro-diamonds.

Shefa Yamim has discovered 76 diamonds, mostly micro-diamonds, and 14 kimberlite boulders. In addition, a few other precious stones – sapphires, rubies, emeralds, kainite, and corundrum. At the moment the company is not drilling, and the next plan is to drill into the kimberlite layer.

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Before this year's World Cup began, it was a safe bet that few people outside South Africa had ever heard of a vuvuzela, let alone a gold-and-diamond-decked one.

But a Russian businessman approached Austrian jeweler Klemens Pointner about gilding and bejeweling one of the long plastic horns for a business contact who'd come down with World Cup Fever.  Pointner told his client that while he could set the horn with as many diamonds as he wanted, there were few vuvuzelas to be had in Austria.

The jeweler wound up ordering a vuvuzela from South Africa and set to work feverishly, covering the £2 piece of plastic with white gold and gems – including a one-carat diamond.

Pointer said he had to work fast, so the client's acquaintance could trumpet the diamond-decorated horn at the World Cup final, but enjoyed making the piece.

The bill? With the gold and the diamonds, as well as the shipping, the vuvuzela cost close to £20,000.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, diamond-studded stilettos are dazzling fashionistas.

Paul Simon's song might have talked about the girl with diamonds on the soles of her shoes, but Simon has nothing on Christopher Michael Shellis, the award-winning Birmingham designer and creator of the Eternal Diamond Stiletto.

How often do you find a piece of jewelry you can walk in? Eternal Diamond Stilettos are sure to be the next must-have red carpet accessory. The elegant jewel-encrusted heels are handcrafted from pure gold and set with 2,200 diamonds, all brilliant cut. The diamond bling on these babies weighs in at a whopping 30 carats!

Photo Credit: theassayoffice

If the sparkle of thousands of diamonds weren't enough to knock you off your bejeweled feet, the Eternal Diamond Stilettos also feature a lovely, elegant stamen fluted heel, a design inspired by the stamen of a lily.

These bejeweled shoes – should we call them "jewelry shoes," or perhaps "shoewls"? – are painstakingly handcrafted by an elite team of jewelers at Shellis's House of Borgezie.
Eternal Diamond Stilettos will cost you £100,000 per pair (a mere £50,000 per foot).

But rest assured, even as footwear, a diamond is forever – these awe-inspiring diamond-encrusted party shoes come with a 1,000-year guarantee.

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