Investment wizard Bernie Madoff was involved in the Ponzi Scheme and now faces 150 years in prison.  A Ponzi Scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to separate investors from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned.

United States Marshals have started auctioning goods that were confiscated from the Madoffs, with the elegant penthouse in New York he shared with his wife Ruth being the first thing to go.
An exquisite diamond ring owned by Ruth is now going to go under the hammer on November 13th along with many other valuables the couple owned.

The platinum ring has an emerald cut centre diamond which over 10 carats, flanked by two baguette cut diamonds.

When you are buying a diamond ring or any other piece of diamond jewellery you will find that cut, shape and setting all have an impact on the diamond’s apparent size.

Below are few techniques that you can use if you want to buy a diamond engagement ring that looks larger than its true carat weight.

1. Fancy shaped diamonds often look larger than round brilliant cut diamonds of equal weight:  especially diamonds with elongated shapes like marquise, oval and pear shaped diamonds.
2. A pavé or channel (pictured) setting is made up of small diamonds set side by side in a channel with their surfaces nearly level with the setting. Tiny beads of surrounding metal hold the diamonds in place giving the overall appearance of a large block of diamonds instead of many small ones. Bear in mind that diamond rings with intricate pavé settings can be expensive, so sometimes it can be cheaper to buy a larger diamond.
3. Diamonds in an illusion setting are mounted to a mirror-like plate before being set into the band. This makes them look larger with added brilliance.
4. If you choose a ring with small diamonds set into the band on either side of a centre stone it will not necessarily make the focal diamond look larger, but can give the ring the overall appearance of being larger.
5. Bezel settings are where a rim of metal totally encircles the stone. White gold or platinum will blend in white a diamond making it appear larger
6. Resist the temptation to buy an engagement ring set with diamonds that are cut shallow ie: not as deep as they should be. Shallow cut diamonds do appear larger than the same size stones, but what you gain in size you lose in brilliance as the light travelling through a shallow cut tends to go out the back of the diamond instead of bouncing off of the sides of the stone and back into your vision.