I know how outrageous this post is going to seem. Please trust that after all the years I was in the gem and jewelry industry, I wouldn’t bother you all about this if I wasn’t sure what I’m seeing. I’m currently working as a screenwriter, and we have a financier who is looking to sell or collateralize a collection of diamonds. Okay, I know diamonds, and we know some people who might be interested in the deal that we can make introductions to. Here’s the thing: I’ve never seen or heard of a collection like this. It’s 25 D Flawless or IF stones, ranging from 8.63 - 120.80 cts, with insurance appraisals close to $400 million USD. I’ve seen .pdfs of GIA certs for all of them - but some have the cert numbers covered (red flag #1). Those that aren’t covered check out on the GIA website. Also, the seller has yet to explain where this collection came from (red flag #2). He has some Kimberley Process Certs, but isn’t sure he has them for all the stones (red flag #3). He does have SKRs for all of them, currently located in the UK and Israel. Actually, I suppose one individual, even a wealthy one in the art industry, owning all these huge diamonds is also a red flag.
Given who this person is, and the lack of serious concern from our contacts who are interested and have the money to do the deal, I do think these diamonds are what they purport to be. But I also think there’s something sketchy about them. I’d be interested in hearing opinions from those of you who know this very high-end part of the gem business.
Thanks,
Karen Hemmerle
(still a jewelry dabbler, but mostly a writer these days)
I don’t know abut the stones, but if I were a writer like you are I’d jump
on the chance to use this scenario as a plot device:-)
And actually Tim and I have in the past made jewelry for very high value
diamonds like these. The sources for the stones were always diamond brokers
that are very well known in the industry.
-Jo
Lorraine,
The gem collection could also be great for a FBI / Treasury Dept investigation into money laundering. I like the movie plot idea, though.
Eileen
Karen, the Facebook page Jewelers Helping Jewelers would be a good resource for you.
In particular, Tommy Orlandi would be one of the right people to get in touch with.
He has contacts for helping you.
Run, run away from this. Quickly. Unless you get to see ALL of this in person with ALL of the paperwork laid out nice and neat and THEN independently confirmed by a qualified, reputable 3rd party, this has all of the earmarks of a scam.
Even if you do nothing more than facilitate a sale and subsequently find out that ANY of the gems are questionable (i.e. stolen, etc.) you would be legally liable for criminal facilitation or something worse. I’ve seen other deals like this pop up and they almost always prove too good to be true.
Only solid, verifiable paperwork and reputable 3rd party confirmation should allow you to stay/get involved with a deal like this.
Well, the way I would handle this, have him give you a call after he
is done liquidating his collection. You need cash, not collateral.
Not your issue. Since it is obviously of great value, he should have
no problem selling it off, and no problem affording to call you when
that has happened.
You are not in the diamond business, you are in the movie business,.
So, stay in the movie business.
I don’t understand how you got involved with this. Anyone with a couple of $100m dollars in high-end goods must know how to buy them and in turn who to sell them back to afterwards. So why you? In theory, SKRs should be tradable or collateralized so where is the problem? Your reference to KP Certs puzzles me. The KPCS is only for rough diamonds. Anyone can troll up a bunch of GIA reports. Insurance appraisals are useless for determining market value. Why hasn’t he taken the goods to Sothebys or Christie’s? That market is hot right now.
It sounds like he has thrown in everything except the kitchen sink in an effort to appear credible. But nothing makes any sense. My advice is to stay away from this one.
