Matthew the Diamond Hunter

Next weekend my brother Matthew visited on way to NZ.   It was great to see him again.  We had a nice dinner together at the Lung Wah hotel enjoying live music.   

Video:  Lung Wah Hotel

But Matthew had a mission to accomplish in Hong Kong - buying a diamond engagement ring for his beloved.   So we spent Saturday and Sunday shopping for diamonds.

Many of the jewelry shops were closed for CNY so we mainly ended up in Nathan Road TST at Chow Tai Fook, one of the major jewelers in Hong Kong, and also Tiffany in the Peninsular Hotel.

Matthew cut a dashing figure as he carefully considered different stones and settings.  The shop quietly doubled security....

It is very hard to evaluate diamonds in the store as they have so many lights in the ceiling all he stones sparkle really well.  You can't see what they be like in daylight.

But Matt took his time, weighed his options and and carefully listened to the opinions of experts.

After Mat had decided on a short-list we went home to consider.  I used the Holloway Cut Advisor software and confirmed which diamonds had good proportions.

We looked at the 'wholesale' prices for similar stones on the Blue Nile website and a  Hong King website to see what sort of mark-up he would be paying.    This confirmed that CTF was pretty reasonable value-for-money.  Whereas Tiffany was very expensive (as you'd expect).  

On Sunday we went back, and after a few more agonizing hours Matt bought this classic ring.  I think  it was a very nice choice.

As an aside, Chow Tai Fook advertises heavily on the back of Hong Kong busses.  To the extent that almost every bus displays their motto 'sincerity - eternity' on the back.  When I first arrived I naively thought Chow Tai Fook was the bus company!   I thought 'sincerity - eternity' was a very intriguing slogan for a bus company!

CNY Lion Dance at Work

Back at work after Chinese New Year,  one of the important events was the visit from the lion dancers to bring good luck and chase away evil-spirits.

For luck we placed 'lai see' envelopes with money into the lion's mouth.

Video:  Lion Dance

Sightseeing and the Museum of Coastal Defense

For Granny and Grandad's last day in Hong Kong we did some gentle sightseeing, mainly by public transport.

First we took the scenic 680 bus from Shatin through Tate's Cairn and around the harbor to North Point.  Then by bus and taxi to  the Museum of Coastal Defence.

Hannah and I played in the tunnels while Granny and Grandad looked at the exhibits.   And needless to say there was a detailed exhibition on Japanese aggression and atrocities.

We enjoyed the view of Lei Yue Mun which as the narrowest part of the harbour.  We recalled that this is the main path for Qi flowing into Hong Kong Island from China (link).



Queen Mary 2 (76,000 tones) docked at the HK Cruise Terminal (left)

Video:  Lei Yue Mun from the Brennan Torpedo Station

After the museum we took a long ride on the tram across Hong Kong Island from Shau Kei Wan to Central.  This was Granny's #2 request which she'd missed out last time.

The weather was nice and cool and we had an interesting glide through town.

And then our holiday was over.

Granny and Grandad flew back home on Monday and I reported back to duty at work.