Top 5 Jewels of 2018
22.11.18
As we are approaching the end of 2018, the IGR team decided to look back at all the magnificent jewels this year brought us and make a top 5 of the sparkliest of them all!
Number 5 on the list is the record breaker round brilliant diamond. The 102.34 carat D colour Flawless Type IIa diamond was unveiled in London on 8th February 2018. Sotheby’s described the stone as 'the rarest white diamond ever to come to market'. According to them is also the only known round brilliant diamond over 100-carats with perfect critical criteria for colour, clarity, cut and carat making it the largest, round, D, Flawless diamond for sale.
Moving on to something a little bit more Fancy! 4th place goes to the London jewellery house Moussaieff, who created a necklace of every girl's dream. The necklace featured a pear-shaped, 8.01-carat fancy vivid blue internally flawless diamond topped with a white round brilliant diamond followed by a 1.06-carat round brilliant cut fancy intense pink diamond, suspended on a diamond double neck-chain, mounted in gold. The necklace was sold for sold for HK$160 million (US$20.5 million).
The next on the list is the blue diamond with very rich history. You might have already guessed that we are talking about the famous Farnese Blue Diamond that once belonged to the Queen of Spain, Elisabeth Farnese. Originating from the Golconda mines in southern India, the fancy dark grey-blue diamond was a wedding present for the Queen in 1715 and later was passed down as a family heirloom. The 6.16-carat pear-shaped blue diamond was sold for $6.7 million. However, there is another pear-shaped blue diamond coming up to Sotheby’s this December. The stone weighs 10.62 carats and graded as Fancy Vivid Blue VVS1. Although it doesn't have such intriguing history, the experts estimate it at $20-30M.
The second place goes to a magnificent diamond that was recently bought by Harry Winston. ‘The saturation, the intensity of this stone is as good as it gets in a coloured diamond,’ states Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Jewellery, of the Pink Legacy, an extraordinary 18.96-carat Fancy Vivid Pink diamond that sold for CHF50,375,000 in the Magnificent Jewels auction on 13 November at Christie’s in Geneva, and was promptly renamed The Winston Pink Legacy by its new owners.
What can be more mesmerizing that Pink Legacy? Sotheby's surprised us with an amazing collection of jewels that once belonged to French Queen, Marie Antoinette. "No other queen is more famous for her love of jewels, and her personal treasures, pearls, and diamonds that survived intact the tumults of history captivated the interest of collectors around the world." The highlight of the collection is the Queen’s famous pearl pendant that was sold for a whopping $36,427,000, setting a new record for a natural pearl.
The pearl measures 26 mm x 18 mm (1.023 in x 0.71 in) and is an "exceptional and highly important natural pearl and diamond pendant" from the 18th century. The pearl and diamond bow once hung from Marie Antoinette’s three strand necklace, according to Sotheby's catalogue. They also say the piece was given to Antoinette by Marie Thérèse de France. The pearl sold for far beyond the pre-auction estimate. Other pieces from Marie Antoinette's collection, including a crown and brooch, haven't been seen publicly in over 200 years and were auctioned off and sold for a total of $43 million.
This year was full of sparkling surprises and historically important jewels. The IGR team cannot wait to see what the next year will bring. But in the meantime, we are counting down to the New York sale at Sotheby's where the pear-shaped fancy vivid blue diamond will shine. Get yourself clued up before the sale! Check our previous blog post about what makes blue diamonds so special.
Zhanna @ IGR
