01 | The Spirit of the Rose
You know a gemstone is worth a pretty penny when it’s got it’s own special name. For The Spirit of the Rose — the world’s largest vivid purple-pink diamond ever to appear at an auction — that name, along with its provenance from the largest pink rough ever mined in Russia, has earned it an estimate of US$23 – 38 million.
At 14.83 cts, the gem is one of the largest Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink diamonds ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America. Aside from its exceptional grades — it received the highest rating possible for both colour and clarity — The Spirit of the Rose was also found to be part of a rare subgroup that comprises of less than 2 percent of all gem diamonds in the world. Translation? Chemically, stones in that rare subgroup are the purest of all diamond crystals in the world, boasting an extraordinary optical transparency.
We, for one, will definitely be keeping a close eye on this stunner when it goes for auction at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels auction in Geneva on November 11.
02 | A Muzo Emerald and Diamond Double Rivière by Edmond Chin for The House of Boghossian
A show-stopping necklace deserves a name to match. Enter this breath-taking necklace that’s set to lead Christie’s flagship auction of Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels sale on November 29.
The necklace is wrought of 28 perfectly cut emeralds that were sourced from Colombia’s famed Muzo mines, home to some of the greatest emeralds ever found, and unsurpassed in terms of colour, lustre, clarity and size. Gems are also mined to “the highest ethical standards” at the Muzo mines.
These gems come together in a stunning statement necklace, weighing a combined total of 117.60 cts, and was envisaged and assembled by Singaporean-born craftsman Edmond Chin for the illustrious House of Boghossian, the Geneva-based jewellery house that has been helmed by six generations of stalwart diamantaires. It’s a necklace made by royalty, for royalty.
03 | The Maiko Star
This 102.39 ct flawless oval diamond didn’t originally have a name when it went up for a standalone auction earlier this month. But after attracting a flurry of bids — and ultimately being sold for some US$15 million — the winning bidder renamed the diamond the ‘Maiko Star’, after his second daughter.
The diamond was heralded as the first world-class diamond to ever be auctioned without reserve, and for good reason. Listed as perfect according to every critical criterion of gemmology: entirely flawless both internally and externally, the gem is D colour — the highest grade for a white diamond — and has excellent polish and symmetry, one of the most sought-after grades for an oval-shaped stone.
Fun fact: the private collector who purchased (and named) the Maiko Star had just last year bought an 88.22 ct diamond from Sotheby’s too: he named it the Manami Star after his eldest daughter. How’s that for a coming-of-age gift?