Spectacular Diamonds Unveiled!

Below is a report of a cocktail party hosted by jeweller Graff in Monte Carlo on 31st July that was attended by Dame Shirley Bassey.

It’s nice to see DSB out and about again after her recent illness.

When it comes to spectacular diamonds we all know that Shirley is the most spectacular of them all!
 

Graff Unveils 224-carat Diamond Necklace

MONTE CARLO – British jeweler Graff rocked Monte Carlo by unveiling a 224-carat necklace, with all the diamonds cut from the same stone.
The key attraction at a cocktail party for its elite clientele here last Thursday, The Lesotho Promise necklace boasted 26 white D-flawless diamonds, the most valuable on the grading system. All were extracted from the 15th largest rough diamond ever found, a 603-carat stone discovered in a mine in Lesotho, South Africa, last year and snapped up by Graff.
Other rare gems displayed in the palatial Salle d’Empire at Monte Carlo¹s
Hotel de Paris included The Flame, a 100-carat pear shaped D-flawless diamond, along with a multi-colored display of Graff¹s finest diamonds and emeralds.
“These are the best diamonds in the world,” asserted chairman and founder Laurence Graff, who noted he¹s already received two offers for the Promise although neither was high enough. “We’re still waiting.”
Guests in sparkling dresses ranged from local socialites to Russian billionaires. “I’ve never seen stones like this,” said singer Shirley Bassey, a Monaco resident. “I had to come because of my song – “Diamonds are Forever,” she quipped.

Shirley Bassey at Graff Cocktail Party in Monte Carlo

With thanks to Hope

A Special Thank You

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for the wonderful messages of support that we have received for the blog.  It is always daunting to take over something and make a success of it.  It was decided to take a different approach and also to have more than one contributor.  Dame Shirley is loved and admired all over the world so it was great that both Astrid and Pieter were interested in contributing as well as myself.  It gives the blog a more international feel.  The reaction so far has been really positive and for me that has given me the encouragement to make it a real success.

As you are aware there is very little news regarding our favourite Dame these days.  At the moment no news of concerts, recordings or TV appearances.  None of the contributors are directly connected with Dame Shirley or her management company.  We are devoted fans who have followed her distinguished career over many years.  Each of us have our own special passions and have built up large collections of various things.  As I said in my welcome to the blog message I have a large collection of her recordings from all over the world.  That is my particular passion.

A lot of fans have asked for the blog to be about DSB only and not other artists.  I intend to write only about Shirley as I do not know anything about other artists.  I do like other singers and do have a large collection of other CDs.  I do not know anything about their careers etc and so therefore could not write anything.  This is ‘The Bassey Blog’.

If there is anything you would like putting on the blog or have any memories you would like to share with other fans then please let me know.  Having the support you all is very important because after all the blog is for you – the incredible fans of Dame Shirley Bassey.

Once again a special thank you to you all for the messages.

News Update : BGO Release

I have been informed that the new BGO release ‘At The Pigalle / Live At Talk Of The Town’ has been delayed for a week and is now due on 11th August.  It’s very disappointing news.  BGO do great CDs but they are not very reliable when it comes to release dates.  Let’s hope that it does appear on the 11th.

Shirley in the Charts!

New CD Out Monday August 4th

Just a little reminder that next week (4 August) sees the eagerly awaited CD release of ‘At The Pigalle / Live At Talk Of The Town’ from BGO.  It’s available to pre-order from HMV.com for the amazing price of £8.99.  That includes postage for the UK but I understand postage is reasonable to other parts of the world too. 

As I write this she is No 3 in their Easy Listening pre-order chart which is brilliant as they have only had it available for a couple of weeks.  I’m sure that the quality will be excellent and it will be like being in the audience at these two great performances.

NEW BANNER

I want to take this opportunity to say a very special thank you to Ivan for the really fabulous banner he has done for the blog.  As many of you are probably aware he had done several banners previously for Peggy and so Ed asked if he would kindly do a new one for us.  I did not see it until the blog went live and I have to say I am really impressed with it.

Ivan you are a genius and the banner looks so professional.  I thank you on behalf of all of us connected with the blog.  I know that when the time comes for a new one I for one hope you will do it. 

Thank you once again.