Mystery and prestige are the two main characteristics of Christie's – the world's leading fine art, luxury items and jewelry auction house. Some of the world's finest diamonds and jewelry have been sold through Christie's, and it is a must-visit for any collector.

The New York branch

Christie's was branded the world's leading auction house soon after its inception, largely due to the good use it made of London's then-newfound status as a major international art trade center. 

It is widely believed that the very first Christie's auction was held on December  5, 1766;  but several Christie's historians claim founder James Christie may have held auctions as early as 1759. 

Christie's was traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) between 1973 and 1999, when French businessman Francois Pinault took over. Pinault, who owns one of the biggest collections of contemporary art in the world, pulled the auction house from the London Stock Exchange, believing that some transactions – especially those having to do with antiques and precious artifacts whose origins are obscure – are better left off the traders' floor. Our own diamond industry also has an air of romance and mystery to it, as the majority of companies are not traded in the stock exchange, or have public-held shares. 

Christie's auction in Hong Kong

Christie's main showroom was relocated to London's King Street in 1823 and there it remains to date. The auction house has a second salesroom in South Kensington in London, which opened in 1975 and is considered to be one of the world's busiest auction rooms.

Christie's branched out over the years and it now has 85 offices in 43 countries, including New York and Los Angeles,  Paris, Moscow, Berlin and Rome; Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok, Australia, Tel Aviv and Dubai – to name a few. and Mexico City. In 1995, Christie's became the first international auction house to exhibit works of art in China.

The top five works of art sold through Christie's

1. The Wittelsbach Diamond: the famous 35.56-carat diamond fetched a record $24.3 million in its Christie's auction. King Philip IV of Spain gifted the grayish-blue diamond to his daughter, Princess Margarita Teresa, upon her marriage to Leopold I of Austria, who was later crowned Holy Roman Emperor. The Wittelsbach Diamond was mounted on both the Austrian and  Bavarian royal crowns and until 1918, it remained the apex of the latter. 

2. Dubai jewelry sale: Christie's sold a total of $21 million worth of jewelry and art in Dubai in February of 2007, becoming the first international auction house to ever hold such a sale in the emirate.

3. The Qing Dynasty bowl: the Imperial Qing Dynasty porcelain bowl fetched a record-breaking $22,240,000 at a Christie's Hong Kong auction.

4. Bronze zodiac sculptures sale: two imperial bronze zodiac sculptures, believed to have been looted in 1860 from the Old Summer Palace of Beijing were sold for $36 million.

5. “Landscape inspired by Dufu's Poetic Sentiments": in late 2009, Chinese painter Fu Baoshi's work was sold for  $7,780,105 at a Christie's Hong Kong auction of  modern Chinese art.

Ever looked up into the sky on a clear night, see a shooting star and think to yourself it resembled a trail of falling diamonds? Well you might not bee too far off, because apparently there are diamonds up there and some of them are falling to earth.

Space diamond, by: morningcupojoe.com

Only a few weeks ago we were told that scientists can now prove that there are diamond glaciers floating around on the oceans of Neptune and Uranus, and today we learned that two very special diamonds were found hiding inside the Havero meteorite that crashed to Earth in 1971.

But the meteorite diamonds are unlike the diamonds found on Earth. Which, I guess, makes sense, since if you're going to come crashing down through the atmosphere, you aught to be packing a little extra punch. And these “alien diamond,” according to the scientists researching them do. They are ultra-hard – much harder than their earthbound kin. 

Could be nice to get some luxury gems over the city, don't you think?

According to the researchers, the super-hard diamond duo, which in fact are two small carbon crystals, were created when the graphite in the meteorite experienced the intense heat and pressure of entering the Earth’s atmosphere and the impact of crashing into the ground.

Nevertheless, and much like in the case of nearly any big guy nicknamed “tiny,” finding out exactly how tough the meteorite diamonds are is impossible at this point; since they're too small to test for precise hardness.

So how can the scientists be so sure that these diamonds really are that hard? Apparently, the researchers found them by using a diamond paste to polish a slice of the meteorite. The crystals were raised more than 10µm above the polished surface, which meant they were harder than the diamonds in the polishing paste. In fact, the little-big guys were unaffected when polished in every direction.

The scientists then applied an array of mineralogical instruments to the diamonds, including microscopy, spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-rays among others, which allowed them to identify them as representing two new carbon polymorphs or diamond polytypes.

Photo Credit: FilanFilan

The 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon, Japan's prestigious annual motor show, had an extra sparkly surprise for the 403 car manufacturer and slew of other participants visiting the expo – a Swarovski crystal-studded car.

But not just a car. A Benz. Yes, as if the Mercedes-Benz SL600 isn't luxurious enough already, the Japan show features a 300,000 Swarovski crystal-studded Benz – for the driver in need of just a little more glam.

The traffic stopper was customized by car accessory company Garson/D.A.D.

Now we go on to our celebrity news update. Meanwhile, trouble seem to follow the late Anna Nicole Smith in death, as they did in life: the former Playboy playmate's life came to a tragic end in 2007, after she died of a drug overdose just six months after the death of her teenage son, Daniel.

Smith, certainly tried to make the most out of life, mostly by marrying billionaire husband, J. Howard Marshall; but the robust blond was too much for him, and after his death in 1995, his family dragged her into an ugly legal battle over her part in his estate. Smith, whose life story would undoubtedly make for a successful indie film, ended up filing for bankruptcy in 1996, the records of which were sealed. Until now.

The details of Smith's financial estates have only recently been made public, and according to various media reports the former playmate and B-movies actress' estate losses include $2.7 million in jewelry.

Among the jewelry lost were several diamond rings, including one weighing 8.45 carats, and a platinum necklace with 226 diamonds, totaling nearly 74 carats – the two pieces alone were worth nearly half a million dollars – and a 500-carat sapphire necklace.

The jewels, along with several other pieces amounting to about $1 million, were apparently kept in a safety deposit box at a New York bank, but their whereabouts are currently unknown.

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