Counterfeiting diamonds for a living? Sounds like something a white collar criminal from a movie would do. But John Hatleberg is no criminal; he is a gem cutting expert commissioned to create replicas of world-famous diamonds in order to protect them. People want his replicas to protect their diamonds for insurance, display, education reasons and […]
Rockwell Painting Sells For More Than Double its Estimated Price
Posted on January 2nd, 2014 by Joe G
A Norman Rockwell painting from 1951 set the record for the highest price paid at auction for an American painting early in December. “Saying Grace,” depicting a boy and his grandmother praying at a table in a restaurant, sold in a Sotheby’s auction Dec. 4 to an unnamed buyer for $46 million, more than double […]
GIA versus EGL, IGI and Other Diamond Grading Services
Posted on December 30th, 2013 by Joe G
As a diamond buyer and seller for over 33 years it is more common that diamond buyers and sellers in the industry honor GIA (Gemological Institute of America) certified diamonds over all the other legitimate companies offering grading services, like EGL (European Grading Labs), IGI (International Grading Institute), AGS (American Gem Society), etc. While these […]
Jordans Catch Some More Air
Posted on December 23rd, 2013 by Joe G
A bidding war at Grey Flannel Auctions in New York ended when an unidentified client offered up $104, 765 for a pair of red and black Air Jordans, worn and signed by none other than Michael Jordan himself. The sneakers were worn in a June 11, 1997 NBA Finals game five between the Chicago Bulls […]
Classic Movie Prop Sells for Over $4 Million
Posted on December 19th, 2013 by Joe G
How much would you be willing to pay for a prop from one of your favorite movies? How about $4 million? A 45-pound lead bird statue from the classic ‘The Maltese Falcon’ was sold to an unidentified buyer for $4,085,000 at Bonhams auction house Nov. 25. The 12-inch tall statue is one of two known […]