Farewell to 2024

So farewell then to 2024. Not the greatest year for the diamond industry, although there do now appear to be some green shoots of recovery. As we look forward to a happier and more prosperous new year - and as many of us enjoy a well-earned seasonal break - we're revisiting some of the lighter moments of 2024. We've had more than our fair share of doom and gloom, so here's a handful of stories from IDEX Online's news coverage for the last 12 months that should raise a smile.

January: A British auctioneer made headlines with the remarkable story of a 34.19-carat diamond, bought by a woman in her 70s at a garage sale and almost thrown out as worthless junk. Or so he said. It later turned out the whole story was a fabrication, designed to generate media interest, and save his 100-year-old family business. The extra twist was that a man who read the story took his ex-wife to court, convinced she was the "woman in her 70s" and that she'd cheated him out of his share. The case was thrown out.

February: M&M's created lab grown diamonds made from peanut butter. They were for three "almost champion" American footballers who missed out on the more pricey Super Bowl rings presented to the winning team. Dan Marino, Terrell Owens and Bruce Smith each received a lab grown ring, designed with a hidden replica of a football stadium that houses a single Peanut Butter M&M. 

February: Sometimes only the most luxurious lock pins on a car door will do. Mercedes embedded four 0.25-carat diamonds into the mechanisms of a limited edition of 300 of its G550 models, launched on Valentine's Day with a $143,000-plus price tag. The exterior handles feature an embossed diamond logo. 

June: A passenger was caught with rough diamonds valued at $262,000 concealed in his socks and underpants as he prepared to board a flight from Surat, India, to Dubai. The suspect, a Katargam-based diamond trader, was given a partial pat-down at security, followed by a full body frisk. Rough diamonds exported from India are taxed at five per cent (just over $13,000 in this case). 

July: London-based jewelry designer Kitty Fuller had no idea she was creating her own engagement ring. Her boyfriend of six years (Alex) used a fake name (Matthew) and a different email address when he commissioned her to make the recycled 18K gold band, set with a central oval diamond, two smaller diamonds and two pink sapphires. He came to collect the ring and explained he was "Matthew". He dropped to one knee and popped the question. She said yes.

August: Chloe Miller was reunited with the diamond from her engagement ring, three days after her dog ate it. She was shocked to find the ring - with damaged prongs but minus the gem - at her home in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It turned out her Australian Shepherd, Charlie, had found it on her bedside table and swallowed it. Nature took its course and she retrieved the gem.

September: Jeweler Nashwa Ahmed offered a free 6.0-carat diamond ring, valued at $30,000, to whoever bought her luxury five-bedroom home (asking price $678,000) on the outskirts of Perth, Western Australia. The ring was "a goodwill gesture to the buyers," said the real estate agent. 

October: The getaway driver in a $2.7m smash and grab pleaded guilty to robbing a jewelry store - after he posted images of stacks of cash on Instagram, together with the incriminating caption "Robbery Gang". Ladell Tharpe, 39, acted as lookout and drove a getaway car after fellow gang members smashed display cases with sledgehammers at Luxury Jewels of Beverly Hills, USA.

October: A jewelry company in Finland launched the £30,000 18k yellow and white gold Bracelet That Comes Alive. The ingenious no-battery mechanism automatically coils itself around the wearer's wrist, ready to be snapped shut with the press of a finger.

November: A groom called off the wedding after his fiancee took exception to the $2,400 lab grown diamond in her ring. She felt cheated and said he could easily have afforded to buy her a $20,000 natural stone. He said the money could better be spent paying off a car loan or going towards a house deposit. He ditched her.

November: Paris-based jeweler Marie Lichtenberg beats the counterfeiters - with low-priced "authentic copies" of her own high-end creations. Her lower-priced versions, using cheaper materials, typically cost $400, rather than $6,000. The move is designed to deter criminal counterfeiters - often linked to drugs and terror.

Have a fabulous new year.