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The wife and husband team of Nancy and David Stone have long been recognized as pioneers of modern jewelry design since launching Nancy and David in 1980.
Courtesy of Christies
Sold at the Christies Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels sale, this 75.36 carat briolette diamond pendant necklace sold for a record $11,145,734. Originally valued at $8.5 million to $12.5 million, the D Color, Internally Flawless Clarity, Type IIa diamond was the biggest diamond ever to appear at auction.
The entire Magnificent Jewels sale netted $82,947,664.
D-Flawless 101.73 Carat Diamond
The Swatch Group and Harry Winston are celebrating their new partnership with the purchase of a pear-shaped, D color, flawless diamond of 101.73 carats for more than $26.7 million at Christie's Geneva Magnificent Jewels Sale Wednesday.
Billed by the auction house as the “perfect diamond,” the price paid set a world auction record for a colorless diamond. The diamond (which sold for $254,400 per carat) has been renamed “The Winston Legacy.”
The diamond was the top lot in a sale that fetched a record-breaking $102.1 million, selling 86% by lot and 93% by value, the highest result ever for a various-owner jewelry auction at Christie’s. It included several world records for diamonds, pearls and sapphires. A total of 20 lots sold above $1 million with 147 buyers coming from 31 countries across five continents, Christie’s said.
Among the other notable purchases at Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels Sale, are:
* 19.88-carat cushion-shaped Kashmir sapphire, named “The Star of Kashmir” sold for more than $3.4 million, or $175,202 per carat, breaking the world auction record for a per-carat sale of a sapphire.
* Single strand of natural pearls measuring from 13.7 to 10.4mm sold for more $8.4 million, setting a world auction record for a single-strand natural pearl necklace.
Drop-shaped natural pearl ear pendants of 261.66 and 216.37 grains sold for more than $2.4 million, setting a world auction record for a pair of pearl ear pendants.
* 1.92-carat fancy red diamond sold for $3.2 million, setting a world auction price for a red diamond.
We might lose our minds over these French crown jewels, but at least we can still keep our heads.
A 28 ct. D internally flawless diamond set a per-carat record at Sotheby’s April 8 Hong Kong sale of Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite.
The stone, which had excellent cut, polish, and symmetry, achieved $6.9 million, or $239,352 per carat—a world record per-carat price for a round white diamond.
Other notable sales:
If you're of the analog age you've likely seen it years ago and loved it. If you're of the digital age, we recommend you try Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief (1955), for just one night in lieu of your favorite reality show. The film is among the great romance-suspense-thriller movies of all time, and magnificent jewels play a large role in the plot.
When a rash of high profile jewel thefts occur along the French Riviera, fingers point to urbane American bachelor John Robie (Cary Grant), a retired cat burglar living the high life in the South of France. He must catch the jewel thief using his old tradecraft before the thefts are pinned on him. At the top of the list of likely victims is Jessie Stevens (Jessie Royce Landis), who's on a European Grand Tour to find a suitor for her daughter, Frances (Grace Kelly). But is Robie as innocent as he claims? Is anyone? Rent or buy it and find out, and make sure you choose the latest, remastered "To Catch a Thief Special Collector's Edition DVD" for pristine viewing and surround sound.
Lest you thought diamonds are extruded on an assembly line by the millions...
April 24th, 2013: A magnificent blue diamond broke a world record, pulling $9.6 million, or about $1.8 million per carat, according to Bonhams Auctioneers.
The diamond is a brilliant blue and is set in a ring made by Italian jeweler Bulgari around 1965. Less than 1% of all diamonds mined are blue diamonds.
"Blue diamonds, especially those over 5.00 carats, are extremely rare to see on the market and continue to be highly sought-after," Jean Ghika, the director of Bonhams' European jewelry department, said in a statement. According to Bonhams, the previous record for the price of a diamond per carat was $1.68 million.
A rare blue diamond has been unearthed at a mine in South Africa. The 25.5-carat stone was recovered by Petra Diamonds at its Cullinan mine and is expected to sell for more than $10,000,000.
"It's very unusual for a diamond of this quality and size to come to market," said company spokeswoman Cathy Malins.
The mine, north-east of Pretoria, has produced hundreds of large stones and is famed for its production of blue diamonds. A similar 26.6-carat blue rough diamond discovered by the company in May 2009 was cut into a near perfect stone and fetched just under $10 million at a Sotheby's auction. Another deep-blue diamond from Cullinan was auctioned for $10.8 million last year and set a world record for the value per carat.
In 1905, the renowned Star of Africa blue diamond - the world's second largest cut diamond - was discovered at the Cullinan mine. The pear-shaped 530-carat stone was presented to King Edward VII and became part of the British crown jewels.
