Last month, with the passing of Elizabeth Taylor, the world lost a true, larger-than-life icon. While her roles as Cleopatra and her noted philanthropy are what come to mind when many of us think of her, for those of us who follow jewelry, there is another larger-than-life element associated with Elizabeth Taylor: the Taylor-Burton diamond.

While Taylor’s fifth husband, Richard Burton, lavished her with many jewels during their marriage, one, deservedly, gets the most attention. We know it as the Taylor-Burton diamond. Specifically, however, it was the 69.42ct pear-shape diamond. The stone itself was cut from a 240.80ct rough stone with a cleaving process that lasted six months.

The legacy of the diamond doesn’t rest solely with Taylor, however. In 1969, the diamond was put up for auction by a previous owner with the understanding that the winner of the auction would be able to name the diamond. Before the auction, Taylor arranged a viewing of it, so her name was certainly mentioned at that time of the auction. At the end of the auction, however, it wasn’t Taylor or Burton who made the winning bid. Instead it was Robert Kenmore, Chairman of the Board of the Kenmore Corporation, the owners of Cartier, Inc.

The winning bid? $1,050,000. To put that in perspective, the previous record paid for a gem was $305,000–a full $745,000 less. It was promptly named the Cartier diamond.

Still, as Burton was an underbidder at the auction, he was determined to get that diamond for Taylor. So, one evening in a hotel lobby in Southern England, Burton negotiated the purchase of the diamond with Kenmore’s agent… from a payphone. He eventually acquired the diamond under the condition that Cartier could still display the diamond, but under the name “The Taylor-Burton Diamond.” The diamond drew thousands of visitors every day at the New York Cartier location.

Following her divorce from Burton, Taylor announced she sell the diamond again. This time it was purchased in 1979 by New York jeweler, Henry Lambert for the hefty sum of $5,000,000. Taylor used part of the proceeds to build a hospital in Botswana.

The diamond’s current owner is jewelry legend, Robert Mouawad.

You’ve heard the saying, “He’s a diamond in the rough.” And while it’s an intuitive metaphor, it stems from an actual process that takes a diamond from its raw or “rough” state to a pretty gem you love to wear. It all starts with the diamond cut.

The word “cut” has taken on two different meaning in recent years. Often, it is used to describe the shape of a diamond, such as marquise, princess, or emerald. These, however, are not actually cuts; they are shapes. The cut is the exact process of taking a diamond from its rough state to a beautiful gemstone full of fire and brilliance.

Each shape has a specific guideline so that diamond cutters can cut the diamond for maximum brilliance and fire. As an interesting aside, approximately 90% of all diamonds are cut in India, Israel, and New York. The process is broken into several steps: planning, cleaving/sawing, bruting, and faceting/polishing.

Planning. During the planning stage, each diamond is analyzed to maximize the value of the final finished diamond.

Cleaving or Sawing. The cleaving or sawing process involves sawing a rough diamond into smaller pieces to, once again, maximize the finished product. At the same time, it’s this step when parts of the rough diamond that are not gem quality are removed. Cleaving is a quick method of removing a large part of the diamond.

Bruting. This is the initial stage where the shape of the diamond is formed. To do this, diamond cutters place a diamond on a spinning axle, rotisserie style, next to another diamond. This constant contact of diamond on diamond forms the beginning of the shape, as only a diamond can cut a diamond.

Faceting or Polishing. By using a flat spinning wheel covered in diamond dust, each facet is delicately added to thdiamond.

In addition to the physical process that gets a diamond ready to wear, there are a series of transactions that take a diamond from the ground to your ear, finger, or neck. Fortunately for SuperJeweler customers, we are a jewelry manufacturer, so we are able to eliminate many of those transactions and bring beautiful diamonds to you at a far lower price than our competitors can.

If you follow the diamond industry at all – or if you are just one who enjoys being bowled over by world record numbers – put February 26, 2010 on your calendar. This is the day that Petra Diamonds sold a rough diamond for a record $35.3 million. How big was the diamond? 507 carats!

The diamond itself is one of the 20 biggest known high-quality diamonds in existence. One of the most remarkable aspects of this story is that it was actually valued at about $25 million – $10.3 million less than its eventual selling price.

The quality and size of the diamond are believed to be the key factors in the higher selling price, as this diamond has the potential to be one of the most important polished gems in history.

According to Petra, the mammoth gem was purchased in a tender by Chow Tai Fook Jewelry Co Ltd in Hong Kong.

The diamond was mined from the Cullinan mine in South Africa. The Cullinan mine has long had a reputation for producing noteworthy diamonds, including “The Cullinan” – the world’s largest rough diamond at 3,106 carats. That diamond was eventually was cut into the Star of Africa stones now set in Britain’s Crown Jewels.

While we don’t have any 507ct diamonds in our inventory, we do have quite a selection of other sizes for all kinds of diamond rings and diamond solitaire pendants at SuperJeweler.com.

In today’s society, there has been much focus on the word “value” – and rightly so. In tough economic times, only the foolish don’t stop to evaluate the best way to spend their dollars. By most definitions, the term “value” means what you get relative to how much you spend. Lately, however, most advertising has equated value with simply being the cheapest. And that’s a big mistake.

Value in a Nutshell
The real factors of value are: 1) the amount you spend; 2) the fulfillment of a want or need; and, most importantly, 3) the degree of personal fulfillment over time.

We can use these factors for determining the value of just about anything. Is a $0.75 cookie a better value than a $1 apple? Well, it’s certainly cheaper. Over time, however, the nutritional properties of the apple and how it benefits your whole body likely make it the better value.

The Value of Jewelry
Jewelry is a unique commodity in that it has an inherent global monetary value. Society values precious metals like gold and platinum, as well as gems like diamonds and sapphires. These factors build in a lasting sense of monetary worth over time. That a ring lasts longer than, say, a sandwich, also brings a sustained value to jewelry.

Perhaps, the one factor that increases the value of jewelry more than any other, however, is the sentimental attachments we bring to it. Do you have your grandmother’s antique wedding ring? Would you ever sell it? Do you have your daughter’s baptism or christening pendant? Would you sell that? Of course not. We don’t sell these things because the value they have has nothing to do with their price. And that’s why using cheap as a synonym for value is more of an advertising trick than an actual representation of value.

True Story
I have a seven-year-old daughter who just loves kitty cats. When she was just five, I brought home this diamond cat pendant for her. She loves it. She takes very good care of it, keeping it in a safe place so that it won’t get lost or damaged. She doesn’t wear it every day, only for special occasions like family gatherings or school pictures – you know, the times when little girls want to look and feel special.

We sell that pendant for just $99 at SuperJeweler. We think that’s a pretty affordable price for this particular pendant. What I had not taken into consideration at the time, however, was just how attached my daughter would become to this pendant. To see such a young girl show such responsibility and affection for it is something that also brings me happiness. And you can’t put a price on that.

This is the Way We Give Jewelry
Jewelry is not like chocolate or a sweater where the price can often be the first factor. After all, you wouldn’t give her a piece of jewelry she didn’t like even if it was free, would you? Instead, the first thing we consider is what she likes. When we find the styles we are looking for, we then try to find those styles within our budget. The ultimate goal when giving jewelry is to wow her as soon as she opens the box, then have her be wowed again, over time, whenever she wears it. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a piece that she wears only on special occasions or a piece, like an engagement ring, that reminds her every minute of every day how much she is loved. The right piece of jewelry truly is priceless.

SuperJeweler: Value Jewelry
At SuperJeweler, we take all of these factors into consideration and work hard to offer you a wide array of choices so that you can find the perfect piece. We also offer jewelry at a wide range of prices because, while price might not be your primary consideration, it will still always be a consideration.

Valentine’s Day is approaching quickly. We know it’s a very popular jewelry day. So whether you are shopping for engagement rings, diamond heart pendants, or any other piece of jewelry for Valentine’s Day, SuperJeweler has the jewelry you are looking for … at a real value.

Last Tuesday in Hong Kong, a huge and very rare, 5-carat pink diamond was auctioned off for – get this – $10.8 million!

The stone itself, which is of a “vivid pink” color has been considered nearly perfect, but not completely flawless. Still, the bidding was fast and furious for it at Christie’s Autumn Sales of Asian and Chinese art in Hong Kong.

By comparison, this huge diamond ring totally smashed the previous record, which was set 15 years ago in Geneva, when a 19.66ct stone sold for a measly $7.4 million. This new pink gem sold for $2.2 million per carat, which set another record as the most ever paid for any diamond at auction. And that record is likely to stand for quite some time.

So where does this diamond stand in comparison to other diamonds sold at auction? Well, it still has a ways to go to catch the “Wittelsbach” blue diamond, a 17th-century stone that went for a whopping $24 million last year.

Still, if $10.8 million is a little out of your budget, we have some other diamond rings at SuperJeweler.com that might be a little more in your range.

Okay, you have all seen them: those hokey, cornball jewelry commercials the national chains drag out every Christmas. They are full of unreal scenarios and terrible acting. Never ones to just sit and complain, however, we at SuperJeweler decided to take matters into our own hands.

Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you: The Best Christmas Jewelry Commercial Ever.

It seems that after Halloween, everybody (especially retailers), shift gears and rush right to Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you have been shopping with SuperJeweler.com for a while, you’ll see that we try very hard to be different from other retailers. That’s why we are putting the brakes on the Christmas train right now to celebrate another very important holiday: Veteran’s Day.

SuperJeweler is an American company that is so proud to have an American workforce, but also to offer the best deals we can to the American public and beyond. We also recognize and honor the sacrifices that have been made by American veterans. Theirs is a sacrifice that can never be repaid, but it can be recognized.

In honor of Veterans Day, on Wednesday, November 11, 2009, we will be offering a very special deal in our Deal of the Day section: Our Purple Heart Pendant for just $49.

If you are on the SuperJeweler email list, you also know that we sent out a special email sale in honor of Military Family Appreciation Week. The sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform are just one type of sacrifice. Families of the enlisted also make a sacrifice. And while we are so proud those who serve, the families who support them also deserve recognition for the sacrifices they make, too.

One of the ways we honor those currently enlisted and their families is by offering free shipping to APO mailboxes. We figure that you come to SuperJeweler.com because we have fair prices; we wouldn’t want you to have to spend the difference on shipping your purchase halfway around the world. So we do it for you.

With the holidays afoot, and so many loved ones far from home, we just want you to know that you can buy men’s diamond rings, engagement rings, diamond earrings, or whatever from SuperJeweler, and we’ll cover the shipping costs for you.

November is Giveaway Month at SuperJeweler.com. Starting today we are launching four (yes, four) great new contests! Entering is easy and you can win some incredible jewelry just in time for the holidays.

Here’s the skinny:

Enter SuperJeweler’s Big Twitter Giveaway
Enter for your chance to win 1ct Diamond Hoop Earrings valued at $749!
Enter SuperJeweler’s Big MySpace Giveaway
Enter for your chance to win a 3/4ct Diamond Butterfly Ring in Two Tone 14k Gold valued at $899!
Enter SuperJeweler’s Big Facebook Giveaway
Enter for your chance to win the item of your choice from SuperJeweler.com!
Enter SuperJeweler’s Big Bloggers Giveaway
Enter for your chance to win 1/2ct Diamond Stud Earrings valued at $295!

With four new ways to win from SuperJeweler, this is going to be a November to remember. Keep in mind, however, that all of these contests end on Wednesday, November 25, 2009. So don’t wait to enter. Just follow the links above and you are on your way.

Is November great, or what?

SuperJeweler is so excited to offer a brand new feature at SuperJeweler.com: our Matching Wedding Bands creator!

The way it works is simple.

You can choose from eight (yes, EIGHT) different styles of matching wedding bands. Then you can select the type of metal you want, such as white gold or yellow gold in different karat options. You can select the widths for each ring, starting at 2mm. And you can choose the ring sizes. You can even set different values for the mens wedding band and the womens wedding band.

The best part of the new SuperJeweler Matching Wedding Bands creator is that, when you have picked the wedding bands you want, you get a 5% discount for purchasing a matching set!

That’s right. You get to create your own matching wedding bands and get a discount for doing it.

If you or someone you know is in the market for wedding bands, the timing could not be better. Check out our matching wedding bands now and start saving today!

You see makeover shows all the time. Some, like What Not To Wear, go into great detail to give you the tools to make informed choices about clothes and makeup. We’ve noticed, however, that these shows rarely talk about how to choose the right jewelry. Considering that jewelry is, by far, the most common accessory to any outfit, we though it would help if we offered our expertise in that area.

Here are just a few of the most common questions (and answers) when it comes to buying the perfect piece of jewelry.

Q: If you have larger features, should you wear smaller pieces of jewelry to create an illusion of smallness?
A. No. Wear jewelry that is scaled to your size. Wearing pieces of jewelry that are too small or too large create a comparison effect, not a complementary effect. You want your jewelry to look like a natural extension of yourself. Wearing jewelry that is scaled properly will do just that.

Q. Can the right earrings contour your face?
A. Yes. If you have a well-defined chin, you can minimize it with gemstone earrings set close to the ear. If your face is rounded, you can add the illusion of length with diamond earrings that have some drop to them, like journey diamond earrings. If you have a longer nose, try larger earrings, but ones that do not outline the earlobe.

Q. Should you avoid wearing rings if you have ugly hands?
A. No. Keep in mind, the degree of attractiveness in any part of the body is always subjective. Most times, we are our own worst critics anyway, right? Take an objective look at your hands and be honest with yourself; are your fingers more like sticks or sausages? Are your palms narrow or squared? Ask more question like this, and stay honest in your answers. When you have a good objective sense of your hands, pick diamond rings that share the same characteristics as your hands/fingers. Remember, you want your jewelry act as a natural extension of your person.

Q. Is it okay to mix different types of jewelry?
A. Absolutely. The key, as we have mentioned, is knowing your features and what will work with them. If you are choosing pieces that will complement your features, you can mix and match because you’re features are the point point of reference from which other pieces have been selected. So, if you want to wear emerald gemstone jewelry with pearls, you can.

Keep these tips in mind the next time you are shopping for jewelry and you should find that you are more satisfied with your selection. And keep coming back to the SuperJeweler Blog; we’ll be offering up tips and tricks like this from time to time.