Francois Graff ?

I have done this site especially for Francois Graff
in order to visit thishousewillexist.org

Sorry for my poor english translation.





Treasures by Laurence Graff

The British citizen who weighs 3-4000000000 in our ranking started with nothing and built his fortune on the diamond. Geneva resident, he opened his shop on the rue du Rhone in Geneva this spring. Meeting.

The rendezvous took place on a Saturday morning in October in the Graff store in the Rue du Rhone in Geneva. One of these mornings end of the world as the planet has been legion in recent weeks. We were right in the heart of the crisis, without knowing that it was only the beginning. The street is the luxury that morning completely deserted. The shop also famous jeweler. Anna Y throne - a Ukrainian sublime, at once charming ambassador and head to the iron hand of the place - accompanied by her colleagues.

Laurence Graff welcomed us very warmly. At 70 years, citizens of His Majesty could be the father of Daniel Craig, the James Bond of the moment. Similar traits, even elasticity of body, hypermusculature less. In jeans and moccasins, three-button jacket, shirt and tie silky, the man who ruled the diamond world has raised the voice and sweet.

Better to have the diamond in his pocket as gold

-> It's created for Francois Graff

The markets are collapsing, but what about his personal wealth? "She has not moved. I still weighs as much as last year. I certainly have meetings with my bankers telephone several times a day. But I have never invested or personally or through my company in speculative investments. "The businessman who has lived through some crises during nearly five decades of career fears only one thing: "The left punch, that is to say what we least expect, which could further destabilize the world."

This "random" aside, Laurence Graff evolving area of trust: "The last fifty years have been good for me in terms of business. At each crisis, I check that my life was not in vain. In these times more than any other, there is an investment that is truly interesting diamond. "


-> Site for Francois Graff

By soaking my lips velvety coffee served by Anna, I remember meeting with this other superrich few days ago for the needs of our ranking. He had slipped with a conspiratorial air: "All my friends are buying gold. They are crazy, it's too heavy. If you must run away, you better have diamonds in your pocket! "The prospect of the Apocalypse would make it the superrich ... superinstables?

The story brings a smile Laurence Graff. He who is not from this world knows perfectly the excess, it can keep its nerve and certainly better than some. His family is from Ukraine and Romania. His parents have joined Great Britain in the darkest hours of European history. Today, our diamond gentleman lives in luxury, knowing fully appreciate the difference between measuring end of an era and the end of the world.

Despite the prevailing climate, he assures us store sales up in its main markets. And the shop empty? "In this business, one or two sales can suffice. Here we have customers in the Middle East, Russians and even Geneva. During crises, notably in 1929, the price of diamonds has only mounted. Some remember it and invest, "one witness that Forbes magazine has dubbed the" King of Bling. "

The key to success

Competitor Graff home on the rue du Rhone complain about the propensity of the jeweler to put coins worth millions in the window, they fear the robberies. "This reaction is strange because the wealthy want to see beautiful things. Why hide them, "we slip one who is about to open its 35th New York shop, the flagship store of its network, on three floors.

A coronation for the man who happened by itself. Born and raised in East End, a poor district of London, he worked as an apprentice and cleaned the latrine when he became enamored of the beautiful stone before starting to trade them, opening the first two shops at the age of 24. Today, he owns the whole industrial chain that runs from the mine in South Africa to finishing plants to the distribution network that sells the brand bearing his name. Home Graff has the largest inventory of diamonds there for a billion, "and this is not the sale price."

He meets his clients moving with his spray can connect Europe to Asia or distant, as in the case of Larry Ellison, he concluded a sale by putting his yacht alongside with the boss of Oracle warmer seas. "Graff is the man behind the brand when other jewelers have mostly disappeared or are integrated into groups," said Francois Curiel about it at Christie's. So, those who buy exceptional pieces also want to meet the character.

-> It's created for Francois Graff

His success, our interlocutor is attributed largely to having managed to remain passionate about the subject throughout his life. "What differs are the zeros that have accumulated behind my first sales figures." For the entrepreneur that puts integrity as a cardinal value, there were two key moments in his career. The day he became a publicly traded ... and the day it came out! "I own my business and it delights me. Graff was quoted a few years. During the first oil shock, the share price fell while our business did very well. And I found myself every year to talk about their "society" to my shareholders in general meeting, when I realized all the work alone. " Laurence Graff was the first to voluntarily delist a company in London. Remains a mystery. What is the element that was taking off his work for the passing of a simple trader to that of Emperor of the diamond which is said that for twenty years he had in his hands all exceptional pieces? His relations with the Sultan of Brunei, as suggested by the British press? "No, because I was already very rich when I started doing business with his family. We have longstanding clients around the world.

The money is spent recently won easily, while the one in the family have long invested in something noble, like diamonds. " Still, the Queen of Brunei, who is considered the largest buyer of rare stones in the world, is among his relatives. Like Donald Trump or Elizabeth Taylor. The Beckhams and Paris Hilton are also regularly on the guest list.

Private side, Laurence Graff is married to Anne-Marie, a French woman who gave her two son and a daughter. He collects modern and contemporary art. Just last year, he was robbed of $ 24 million in a sale in New York for legendary pieces of Andy Warhol. "I buy many things, especially the masterpieces. And whatever happens, I'll continue on this path. Whether prices rise or fall, I'm happy to enjoy these paintings. Money weighs only because it allows you to make acquisitions. Art, properties and diamonds of course, these are my treasures. "

----> Site for Francois Graff

The most expensive gemstone in the world costs 33 million

A curious pink diamond of 24 carats has reached 33 million euros on Tuesday in an auction held by Sotheby's in Geneva (Switzerland). The spectacular gemstone and has doubled the previous record for the most expensive stone ever sold at auction and underlines the strength of the international jewelry market.

Jewelry magnate Laurence Graff bid by phone to get this piece, embedded in a platinum ring, which has been defined as "the most fabulous diamond," which has been in the history of his career.

"It's a record price in the world of jewelry at auction," said David Bennett, head of the jewelry department of Sotheby's Europe and Middle East, while applauding the crowded showroom just know the price paid by diamond. "It's like pink champagne, had said before the auction.

The gemstone, which was acquired by American jeweler Harry Winston for 60 years by an anonymous owner, had a starting price of 20 to 28 million euros.

Previously, the title of most expensive jewel sold at auction was held by the historic blue diamond Wittelsbach. This is a gem of the seventeenth century that reached 17 million euros in December 2008 in the rival house Christie's. A jewel that was also acquired by the company of Laurence Graff.

The jewelry, a strong market

Graff is the majority shareholder in the South African Diamond Corporation, a company dedicated to the diamond trade, based in Johannesburg. Also controls much of the company Gem Diamonds, which earlier this month said it had found a 185-carat white diamond in a mine in Lesotho.

"Laurence Graff is a connoisseur of precious stones. Now has two of the best stones in the world," Bennet told after the auction. "Four people have actively bid for the diamond, which at this level is extraordinary," he added. "That says a lot about the health of the market."

An elegant blue diamond earrings from the same material belonging to the French jeweler Alexandre Reza have reached 1.3 million, triple the asking price.

Overall, the auction of jewelry has added more than 77 million euros, an unsurpassed world record since 1993, when another auction of jewelry in the same place and by the same company made 50 million euros.

"Prices are stronger now than in 2007-2008, so everyone has a smile painted on his face," Eric has confessed Valdieu, a jewelry expert who formerly worked for Christie's, the other major auction house, which made his own bid for jewelry on Wednesday.

----> It's created for Francois Graff

Laurence Graff, who exhibited to the public the Wittelsbach, one of the most famous diamonds in the world, without having had decades

The jeweler Laurence Graff has been done with the Wittelsbach diamond, originally from the legendary Golconda mines, and will proceed with its carved anew and exposure. This blue diamond of more than thirty-five and seven grams carats has been sixty years since the Brussels Expo without exposure to the public. The diamond, which has a Hispanic story, Philip IV gave it to the Infanta Margarita Teresa, will be able to see the magnificent Museum of Natural History in Washington.

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Pink diamond sold for U.S. $ 45.75 million

A rare pink diamond was sold Tuesday by 45.44 million Swiss francs (45.75 billion), doubling the previous record to become the most expensive gemstone in an auction market, Sotheby's said. The rectangular pink diamond of 24.78 carats and whose size is close to that of a bunch of "pinball" was the star lot among the 550 in the section semi-annual jewelry sales in Geneva. The renowned diamond merchant Laurence Graff was the buyer, bidding by telephone, said an official at Sotheby's told reporters. "The price is a world record at auction for a jewel," said David Bennett, president of the jewelry department of Sotheby's Europe and Middle East, as he went down the hammer. "It's like pink champagne," he told Reuters before the sale.



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