Post coming soon... Thank you to Mat for being such a good sport, and thank you to o2 for having me! It was such fun and has ensured I need never run out of fancy dress ideas for the next few years at least. Wednesday, 24 October 2012 Gemstones have always fascinated me. My mum has always worn beautiful jewellery, and she acquired her love of it from my grandmother. My whole family was very widely traveled thanks to my grandad's travel agency (see my last but one post for pictures) and they'd often come back with a gem from some far-flung place and have it set into a ring or pendant. As a result, I have inherited some sparkly bits myself, including one diamond ring with a very strange origin... which I may or may not share at some point. Diamonds have not had the best reputation in recent years, though. The troubles in Sierra Leone, where an illicit trade in stones funded conflicts and bloody war, meant that many people swore off new diamonds unless they knew exactly where they'd come from. But now things have improved and Tiffany buys their diamonds from Sierra Leone, while De Beers seems to own half of the world... or at least Africa, South Africa and Canada. I learned a little about De Beers when I attended the masterclass I mentioned two posts back, given by Diamond Manufacturers last week. The same day I flew out to Amsterdam for five days of