COFFEE AND CHOCOLAT: Who knew Joanne Harris had a taste for sugar-free treats? The author of novels including “Chocolat” and “Peaches for Monsieur le Curé” has written an ode to gemstones — diamonds in particular — in a coffee table book about Graff, published recently by Rizzoli.
In a book that covers the history of the company, its ad campaigns and the tale of its diamond-obsessed, self-taught gemologist founder Laurence Graff, Harris offers up a sensual poetic analysis of her own Graff rock, which she purchased a little over six years ago.
“It is a cube of sunlight, set in gold, and worn on a fine chain around my neck,” she writes of the yellow diamond, a Graff specialty. She describes the color as having a daffodil hue that smells of Eau Sauvage, citrus, pine and walks along the seashore. “It is the color of happiness, of springtime and of young love — and all of this lives in a single stone, like a genie in a bottle.”
Earlier, she writes that the gemstones’ colors reflect “the textures and tastes of the sweetshops of my childhood, but with those shining glass jars magically transformed by the sun into a kaleidoscope of riches.”
The book also includes some of the stones that made Graff famous, including the 603-carat Lesotho Promise, which he famously cut into a necklace of 26 perfect stones; and the largest D-flawless round diamond in the world, the Graff Constellation, at 102.79 carats.
Graff is priced at 65 pounds, or $98 at current exchange, with proceeds donated to the brand’s charitable foundation, FACET, which supports charities in sub-Saharan Africa that offer education and training to children and local communities.