$1m diamond show comes to city

The single largest collection of diamonds seen in New Zealand - worth at least $1 million before they are even crafted into rings - will be on display in Tauranga this weekend.

Experienced Tauranga jeweller John Tulloch has arranged for the cut and polished diamonds, from Antwerp in Belgium, to be displayed in Diamond Design, in the State Insurance Arcade on Saturday.

The collection would include round brilliant cuts, heart and oval ones, sparkling marquise, emerald and princess cuts.

"It's a very exciting occasion," said Mr Tulloch, who has been a manufacturing jeweller for 40 years.

"To have that amount of product in the store at one time, and to see them as loose diamonds ... that's very special.

"It's the first time that this happened in New Zealand, that I know of," he said.

Mr Tullock has operated his shop for 21 years.

For the past 10 years he has bought stock from the world's oldest diamond broker, Backes and Strauss, which was established in Antwerp in 1789.

One of Backes and Strauss' marketing executives is bringing the diamonds to Tauranga for a day, following a sales trip to Australia.

Mr Tulloch has already made 50 appointments with clients, from Tauranga, other parts of the Bay, Hamilton and Auckland, to view and possibly buy the diamonds. The public would be able to pop in from 10am to 4pm and take a look.

Mr Tulloch expected a two carat round brilliant diamond stone to be the feature of the collection. It could be bought for about $100,000 and once it was part of a ring it would be worth $250,000.