Life & Style | Kat Florence releases rarest Kashmir sapphire collection

Jewellery designer Kat Florence, renowned for creating jewelry for the stars and famous for incorporating the world’s rarest colored gemstones into her masterpieces, will finally be releasing her collection of fine quality Kashmir sapphires this November.

In an interview to the media, Kat Florence explains that the Kashmir Sapphire mines depleted over 100 years ago. She believes that gemstones with this now extinct lineage, should be shown to the world before being sold to private collectors. Kat Florence will be loaning her masterpieces to a list of select museums around the world, to be on display for several months before these, now impossible to source again, gems, will go for sale at auction or to private collectors.

Kashmir sapphires hold the world record for highest priced sapphires per carat ever sold at auction. The five legendary Kashmir Sapphires sold in the last decade are the Rockefeller Sapphire which sold April 2011 for $3.0 Mio, Star of Kashmir which sold May 2013 for $3.5 Mio, then the 28 Carat Kashmir by Oscar Heyman & Brothers which sold April 2014 for $5.1 Mio, the Cartier Kashmir Bracelet which changes owners on May 2016 for $7.7 Mio and the Peacock Necklace November which went 2018 for a record $14.9 Mio, making Kat Florence Kashmir Sapphire Collection “one of the most exciting and expected events in the world of rare and exquisite gems,” the organizer said in a press release.

Record-breaking $2.2m raised for kids at 11th annual Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk

The Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk continued the Skechers Foundation’s 11-year tradition of record-breaking donations for kids—raising more than $2.2 million for children with special needs and education at last Sunday’s event, and more than $13 million in total since its start.

Supported by lead presenter Nickelodeon, media sponsor NBC4 Southern California, airline sponsor Turkish Airlines and generous businesses, the event launched its second decade with a special performance by this season’s America’s Got Talent winner, global superstar Kodi Lee; returning sports legends Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Lasorda; and more than 17,000 registered walkers.

“Heck yeah, Skechers Pier to Pier Walk… it feels so awesome to be a superstar… I love it when they chanted Kodi!” exclaimed Kodi Lee at the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk.

“Kodi’s an amazing global icon and role model for each and every one of us,” said Michael Greenberg, co-founder of the Skechers walk, in a press release.

Nepal man shatters record for scaling world’s highest peaks

A Nepalese man shattered the previous mountaineering record for successfully climbing the world’s 14 highest peaks, completing the feat in 189 days.

Nirmal Purja scaled the 8,027-meter Mount Shishapangma in China this week, which was the last of the 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 meters in height.

The previous record for climbing the 14 peaks was seven years, 10 months and six days. It was set by South Korean climber Kim Chang-ho in 2013.

Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks in Kathmandu, which equipped the expedition, said the 36-year-old Purja was in good health and safely descending from the summit.

Climbing experts called the record a momentous achievement in mountaineering history.

“It is a great achievement for mountaineering and mountaineers and a milestone in the history of climbing,” said Ang Tshering, who previously headed the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

A former soldier in the British army, Purja began his mission on April 23 with a climb of Mount Annpurna in Nepal.