Of f to London Town Joseph Brando Awarded Private Tour of The Crown Jewels
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Joseph Brando of J. Vincent Jewelers in Colts Neck ranked as the number one retail diamond seller for Forevermark Diamonds US, a DeBeers owned company, earning him an incredible prize. The top ten retail diamond sellers were awarded a trip in September to London and Antwerp that included a private tour of The Crown Jewels housed in the Tower of London. When asked his secret for such an accomplishment, Brando replied, “Listening closely to what your clients are asking for in their diamond search, to be assured that their diamond will be the most beautiful, rare, and responsible sourced one they can find." Each of the ten Forevermark partners was flown to London from various regions of the United States and housed at The Corinthian Hotel. “The hotel is beautiful and classic in its design, the entire staff polished like a perfect diamond ready to please and pamper,” Brando shared. “The hotel is nested in the center of Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and of course Big Ben. That first evening, most of us in the group met and we feasted at the local Pub on local favorites like, Fish N’ Chips, Bangers & Mash and Yorkshire Pudding.” On the second day in London the group was treated to a trip to the Meiden Lane division of DeBeers London grading center for Forevermark. This is one of the locations DeBeers uses to test new technologies for detection of synthetic diamonds. Machinery is developed there to assure that every diamond mined is identifiable and tracked through a very rigorous process. The tour was followed by lunch at Windsor Castle. But it was the third day of the excursion that held a truly special honor. “We were driven to the Tower of London where our group had a private
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tour of The Crown Jewels after closing hours,” Brando said. “After our tour we remained on site with our own private Beefeater guiding us to the Chambers of King Henry VIII, where a special dinner was prepared for us. This experience is extremely limited to a select few throughout the world. What an honor and privilege.” After dinner the retailers were moved to the Pouter Courts of the Tower. “We were able to see just how the passing of the keys from Her Majesty's Guard takes place,” Brando said. “It’s a tradition that has been done every evening for more than 700 years in order to protect and secure The Queen’s Castle and Tower.” once-in-a-lifetime trip The continued on to Antwerp, Belgium for a unique learning experience. Brando and the others toured the six various diamond grading labs at the Forevermark Diamond Institute and were instructed by some of the most educated gemologists and scientists in the industry. The tour concluded with a lecture from Brian Campbell, considered to be the go-to expert in the diamond industry.
Brando with one of the ‘Beefeaters’. Also known as The Queen’s Body Guard, known as the Yeomen of the Guard, a bodyguard of the British Monarch.