“Collecting rare, colored diamonds is like building an art collection,” says
Thierry Chaunu, president and chief operating officer of Leviev. men bracelets“One incredible
painting on the wall is not enough, just like one pink diamond isn’t enough.”
Over the last decade, the New York–based diamond company has built an
extraordinary cache of natural colored diamonds, including stones as rare as
works by van Gogh or Picasso. In October, at the opening of its Madison Avenue
boutique, its first American store, Leviev will showcase that collection.
However, one particularly stunning piece will be absent.
8.6-carat fancy intense green diamond, and we’re not likely to find another one
like it or even close,”men bracelets says Chaunu, noting that the gem sold for a price in the
$10 million range. Once clients discover pink or yellow diamonds, he explains,
they often develop an obsession for diamonds in uncommon shades of blue, red, or
green. Leviev is one of only a few jewelers with access to considerable
quantities of such gems.
“If a client doesn’t like the particular shade of a
green diamond, then we have several other green varieties,” Chaunu says casually
and without adding that many jewelers have never even seen a green
diamond.
The new salon also will feature several blue diamonds, two red
diamonds,men bracelets a 50-carat D-flawless cushion-cut diamond ring for $10 million, and an
assortment of stones weighing more than 50 carats apiece.
Leviev’s unrivaled offerings are attributed to its high-profile owner, Lev Leviev, the Israeli
tycoon whose Leviev Group of companies has vast holdings in the mining, real
estate, high technology, fashion, tourism, communications, and energy
industries. In 1995, Leviev began acquiring diamond mines in Angola, Russia,
Namibia, and South America, and he reserves the best gem discoveries for his
stores in London and now New York.
Unlike most diamond retailers and jewelry manufacturers who rely on numerous, and sometimes unpredictable, outside sources
for their inventories,men bracelets Leviev supplies his boutiques with a seemingly endless
stream of high-quality stones that are mined, cut, and polished by his
vertically integrated operation. Leviev’s company, which employs more than
12,000 people worldwide, is the world’s largest diamond cutter and
polisher. In contrast to its glitzy inventory, the New York boutique is an
understated and serene oasis located in a circa-1920 building. Modeled after
Leviev’s Bond Street store, which flaunted more than 4,000 carats of diamonds
when it opened last year, the Manhattan space resembles a gracious residence
more than it does a jewelry salon.men bracelets The main level’s inviting sitting area is
accented with an 18th-century crystal chandelier and small bronze and glass
vignettes displaying the diamonds. An upstairs room is reserved for private
viewings. “We have some museum-quality stones here,” says Chaunu, who quickly
adds, “but this is no museum.”
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“Collecting rare, colored diamonds is like building an art collection,” says
Thierry Chaunu, president and chief operating officer of Leviev. men bracelets“One incredible
painting on the wall is not enough, just like one pink diamond isn’t enough.”
Over the last decade, the New York–based diamond company has built an
extraordinary cache of natural colored diamonds, including stones as rare as
works by van Gogh or Picasso. In October, at the opening of its Madison Avenue
boutique, its first American store, Leviev will showcase that collection.
However, one particularly stunning piece will be absent.
8.6-carat fancy intense green diamond, and we’re not likely to find another one
like it or even close,”men bracelets says Chaunu, noting that the gem sold for a price in the
$10 million range. Once clients discover pink or yellow diamonds, he explains,
they often develop an obsession for diamonds in uncommon shades of blue, red, or
green. Leviev is one of only a few jewelers with access to considerable
quantities of such gems.
“If a client doesn’t like the particular shade of a
green diamond, then we have several other green varieties,” Chaunu says casually
and without adding that many jewelers have never even seen a green
diamond.
The new salon also will feature several blue diamonds, two red
diamonds,men bracelets a 50-carat D-flawless cushion-cut diamond ring for $10 million, and an
assortment of stones weighing more than 50 carats apiece.
Leviev’s unrivaled
offerings are attributed to its high-profile owner, Lev Leviev, the Israeli
tycoon whose Leviev Group of companies has vast holdings in the mining, real
estate, high technology, fashion, tourism, communications, and energy
industries. In 1995, Leviev began acquiring diamond mines in Angola, Russia,
Namibia, and South America, and he reserves the best gem discoveries for his
stores in London and now New York.
Unlike most diamond retailers and jewelry
manufacturers who rely on numerous, and sometimes unpredictable, outside sources
for their inventories,men bracelets Leviev supplies his boutiques with a seemingly endless
stream of high-quality stones that are mined, cut, and polished by his
vertically integrated operation. Leviev’s company, which employs more than
12,000 people worldwide, is the world’s largest diamond cutter and
polisher.
In contrast to its glitzy inventory, the New York boutique is an
understated and serene oasis located in a circa-1920 building. Modeled after
Leviev’s Bond Street store, which flaunted more than 4,000 carats of diamonds
when it opened last year, the Manhattan space resembles a gracious residence
more than it does a jewelry salon.men bracelets The main level’s inviting sitting area is
accented with an 18th-century crystal chandelier and small bronze and glass
vignettes displaying the diamonds. An upstairs room is reserved for private
viewings. “We have some museum-quality stones here,” says Chaunu, who quickly
adds, “but this is no museum.”