Heading into the holiday season, Christie’s New York will offer over 300 lots in their Magnificent Jewels auction on December 10 at its flagship Rockefeller Center saleroom. From rare and important colored and colorless diamonds, superb gemstones, natural pearls, signed and period jewels, the auction features elegant creations from famed jewelry houses such as Boivin, Boucheron, BVLGARI, Cartier, Fouquet, Graff, JAR, Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arpels, and Harry Winston to name a few. The two-session auction includes prices ranging from $1,000 to $10,000,000 and is expected to realize in excess of $55 million.

Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Christie’s Jewelry, noted: “Christie’s has seen record results for jewelry sales in 2014 reflecting the continuing demand for the finest and most rare jewels in the world.  Just recently in Geneva, we established a new world auction record for a sapphire at US$17.3 million. On December 10, for our final jewelry auction of 2014, we are looking forward to presenting a magnificent selection of jewels perfectly fit for the collector interested in investment-quality jewels of the highest caliber or a one-of-a-kind gift for the holidays.”

Colored and Colorless Diamond Highlights

The December auction marks another exciting finale for the diamond market with no less than 16 D-color diamonds on offer. This selection is anchored by a pear-shaped 89.23-carat D-color diamond (pictured above; estimate on request) graded by the Gemological Institute of America as a Type IIa diamond, known as the most chemically pure type of diamond with exceptional transparency. Additional top diamonds include, pictured from left to right, include:

• A pear-shaped K-color diamond ring of 74.89 carats, by Van Cleef & Arpels. Estimate: $2,200,000 – 3,200,000.
• A rare oval-cut fancy red diamond of 1.42-carats. With origin from the Argyle Diamond mine in Australia, it is the third largest fancy red diamond ever offered at auction. Estimate: $1,500,000 – 2,500,000.
• An oval-cut D-color potentially internally flawless diamond of 32.32-carats, by Bvlgari. Estimate: 3,500,000 – 5,00,000.
• A pair of pear-shaped fancy light yellow diamond ear pendants of 52.88 and 51.46 carats. Estimate: $2,500,000 – 3,500,000.
• A rectangular-cut fancy blue diamond of 5.70-carats. Estimate: $1,500,000 – 2,500,000.

A Fancy Light Pink Golconda Diamond of 21.30-carats

Christie’s is proud to offer an outstanding fancy light pink Golconda diamond of 21.30-carats (estimate: $4,000,000 – 6,000,000), which displays an antique cutting style as well as superior quality in purity of color and transparency.

• The name Golconda comes from a city west of Hyderabad, in south central India, where the first diamond mines in the world were located and which yielded the world’s most beautiful and illustrious diamonds including the Koh-i-Noor, now part of the British Crown Jewels, and the Hope, gifted by Harry Winston to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
• Diamonds from this legendary mine possess an incomparable quality, mystery and romance and are sought after by Royal Houses all over the world and still reign supreme among gem connoisseurs.
• In April 2013, Christies New York sold The Princie Diamond, a cushion-cut fancy intense pink diamond of 34.65 carts for $39,323,750 which holds the world auction record for a Golconda diamond and for the most expensive diamond ever sold in the United States.

Superb Gemstones

Colored gemstones are in great supply in the upcoming sale, led by an octagonal-cut Kashmir sapphire of 12.06 carats, estimated to achieve in excess of $1,200,000. Further highlights include:

• A cushion-cut Burma ruby of 5.25-carats, by Harry Winston (pictured left). Estimate: $450,000 – 700,000.
• A twin-stone ring of a cushion-shaped Mozambique ruby of 7.03-carats and an old-mine cut diamond of 5.00 carats. Estimate: $450,000 – 650,000
• A cushion-shaped cabochon Colombian emerald ring of 11.52-carats. Estimate: $130,000 – 180,000

Rare Natural Pearls

Commonly regarded as the “queen of gems,” the pearl has been a prized adornment in all cultures since ancient times. Today, matched strings of natural pearls have become increasingly hard to source, as the traditional pearl industry has all but vanished in the Middle East. As a result, natural peals of important size and quality have become progressively more sought-after by collectors from all regions of the world, marking the present lot, pictured right, a major event of the December 10Magnificent Jewels auction at Christie’s New York. On offer is an important single-strand natural pearl and diamond necklace composted of thirty-seven natural pearls measuring from 13.10 to 8.00 mm (estimate: $1,500,000 – 2,500,000).