Diamond gift to Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
Prince William and Katherine
looked surprised when the Northwest Territories
Premier presented them with a gift of diamonds
from the northern mines - made into polar bear
jewels by Harry Winston. A brooch for her and
cufflinks for him.
The Northwest Territories and its people
presented Their Royal Highnesses with Northwest
Territory (NWT) diamonds as gifts to mark their
visit. The diamonds are from the
Diavik mine and were donated by Harry
Winston Inc. The Harry Winston Diamond
Corporation, a Canadian company, as well as owning the
famous New York jeweller, also control 40% of the mine. The
brooch and cufflinks feature the
Northwest Territories polar bear symbol and were
designed by Harry Winston Inc. This gift highlights the importance
of Canadian diamonds and it is no surprise that
the diamond is the official gem stone of the Northwest Territories.
Nearly 80 million carats of gem quality diamonds have been mined in
the region, worth an estimated $11.4 billion Canadian dollars. With
its fourth mine in development, the NWT already produces 15% of the
world's rough diamonds positioning Canada as the world's
third-largest diamond producer by value after Botswana and Russia.
Look out for Prince William and Katherine wearing
their gifts - they are quite distinctive and won't be mistaken for
any of the Queen's more traditional jewels.