We wrote about this historic gem back in March when it was announced that it would be auctioned this month. And so it was.

The Beau Sancy diamond is a lavish 35 carat gem that has a history greater than its carat weight, passing among royal families for centuries in France, England, Prussia and the Netherlands. Most notably it was adorned by Marie de Medici at her coronation as Queen Consort of Henry IV in France in 1610.

This magnificent diamond was auctioned by Sotheby’s  in Geneva, Switzerland, following a bidding war between five parties, until the winning bidder brought it home to the tune of $9.7 million.

Christie’s did it again this week in their New York auction. After setting a record sale just in February with Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry collection (See our Feb. 20th blog post here), they managed to auction a pink Belle Epoch 9-carat diamond for a whopping $15.7 million. According to JCK, this represents a new record for a pink diamond sold at auction in the US.

This spectacular cushion cut diamond was part of the estate of Huguette M. Clark – a woman known as one of the last heiresses of America’s Gilded Age, who died last year at 104 years old. Up to the time of the sale, the gem reportedly sat in a bank vault since the 1940’s .

Known as “The Clark Pink,” this diamond was estimated in value at $6 million to $8 million, pre-auction. The new owner, Brett Stettner of Stettner Investment Diamonds, seemed more than satisfied with the higher-than expected winning bid. In fact, she told JCK that she was ready, willing and able to bid “far more” if necessary.

When it comes to jewelry, we at Gold and Gems Fine Jewelry learned a secret long ago that has enabled us to be in business for over three decades – the primary focus of the business should be on the customer, not just the product. While we strive to offer a wide selection of high quality jewelry products at competitive prices, taking care of the customer has the priority. After all, the jewelry business is less about gold and gems than it is people!

For example, diamond wedding rings represent a large part of our business. What is more personal than getting married? When people are ready for marriage, young or not so young, and consult with us for advice on diamond rings, we understand the mindset and the excitement, as well as the expectations. We appreciate the fact that most customers aren’t only shopping for deals. Most want to be guided and supported throughout the entire process so that when a decision is made and a purchase finalized, they feel good about it because they have indeed made the right decision for themselves.

And it doesn’t end there. One of the most important practices in having satisfied customers is what happens after the sale. We realize post-sale questions often emerge, as well as new needs, such as those pertaining to the husbands’ wedding bands, gifts for family members, or just about anything. We will devote as much attention to you after the sale as we did before it, and we will proactively stay in touch with you if you opt into our mailing list.

The same principle applies to our growing online business. Customers connect with us from just about everywhere in the US with questions about diamonds. Unlike many online jewelers that have little or no “live” support, we have full-time knowledgeable and friendly employees available to take your calls and answer your questions with honesty and understanding with the intention of helping you with your decision. No pressure, no gimmicks, no hype.

In the final analysis, we want to make our customers happy because satisfied customers are return customers who, by the way, refer other customers to us. It’s a win/win scenario for all of us!

Okay, so there isn’t an Oscar for best jewelry, but if there were, selecting a winner among the glittering star-studded elite of the 2012 Oscars would have been a challenge.

Most of the celebs, as usual, were adorned with the best of the jewelry industry’s biggest designer names – Tiffany, Chopard, Piaget, Lorraine Schwartz and Neil Lane.

It was a night of enchantment and nostalgia, enhanced by chandelier and diamond drop earrings, gem studded cuff bracelets, and, of course, necklaces sparkling with diamonds, diamonds, diamonds!

Among the many notables was Cameron Diaz sporting a diamond necklace by Tiffany valued at $1 million.

Gwyneth Paltrow donned a cuff bracelet laced with 2,368 rose cut diamonds, along with a large 18K white gold Duchess Hibiscus Ring with rose cut diamonds and sapphires.

Angelina Jolie dazzled cameras with her 20K diamond drop earrings, along with a matching 15 carat cushion cut diamond ring, both by Neil Lane.

And arguably the most eye-catching of all was Natalie Portman with her V-shaped diamond necklace by Harry Winston, along with matching platinum oval and diamond drop earrings.

Overall, it was a spectacular evening at the Oscars, and if you love fine jewelry the way we do, you could not help but marvel.

Succumbing to lingering recessionary pressures, consumers may still  be tightening their belts on wining and dining, expensive vacations and spa memberships, but not so with jewelry.

According to a recent report by the Commerce Department, US jewelry and watch sales in 2011 racked up a record $68.3 billion. This represents an 11% increase over 2010, which totaled $61.5 billion – the first double digit increase since the mid 80′s.

Most of the increase is attributed to inflationary prices in diamonds and precious metals, especially gold, which hit an all time high in 2011.

In addition, an independent study conducted by National Jeweler suggests that consumers may not be as price conscious as they were just three years ago.

“Cautious consumers on the hunt for the lowest possible price have defined, and some cases even transformed, retail since the start of the recession. The 2011 year-end survey, though, indicates that consumers are perhaps becoming less price-conscious as the downturn eases.”

The same survey suggests that jeweler discounting seems to have bottomed. As a result, margins have increased or stayed the same for 77% of the jewelers surveyed.