HEART-SHAPED 92-CARAT DIAMOND IS COMING TO MAGNIFICENT JEWELS AUCTION BY CHRISTIE’S
Coming to Christie’s this May 17th at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva, is a magnificent 92-carat heart-shaped diamond. It is among 250 other exceptional jewels from around the world and part of this year’s Magnificent Jewels auction by Christie’s.
You know how much I love heart-shaped diamonds, so I just had to pay a visit myself to see this giant beauty, and of course, show you the highlights of the show and give you the real deal of what a jewellery auction is like behind the scenes.
This is the first of many weekly jewellery vlogs, showing you behind-the-scenes highlights from all kinds of jewellery events, so make sure you subscribe to my GEMOLOGUE YouTube channel so you don’t miss out.
Heart-shaped diamonds make me weak in the knees! So you can imagine how excited I was to touch and feel the headliner of this show – La Légende a fabulous 92 carat D colour flawless heart-shaped diamond pendant, signed by Boehmer et Bassenge – a Maison de Haute Joaillerie launched last year and named in honour of 18th Parisian jewellers Charles Boehmer and Paul Bassenge. The Maison only works with large D colour, flawless clarity diamonds of perfect polish and symmetry, and produce just a few magnificent pieces each year.
La Légende is mesmerizing; I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It took my breath away just to hold it, but when I put it on, I didn’t want to take it off. The stunning 92.15 carat heart-shaped diamond pendant hangs from a beautiful sautoir of cultured pearls, and sparkles with a purity and magnitude that is mesmerizing. It is the largest diamond of its kind to go to auction and is estimated at US$14-20 million.
Check my YouTube video as I try on this beauty and can’t let go!
This magnificent diamond and platinum necklace from The Doris Duke Collection originally came up for auction in 2004 in one of the highest private jewellery collection sales in America. The total collection amounted to just under US$12 million.
This necklace was purchased from Cartier New York on April 30, 1937 for $65,000. When it was auctioned off, all the diamonds had been removed and only the setting remained. But that didn’t matter to buyers, in a surprising purchase, the original setting sold for as much as the complete necklace. The buyer then spent much of the next several years searching for diamonds to replace the originals.
Today, this necklace is estimated at US$ 3-5 million.
The auction features many rare coloured diamonds, such as the 4.05-carat Fancy Deep Blue square-cut diamond, the 7.97-carat Fancy Intense Blue cushion-shaped diamond, and a 6.07 carat Fancy Purple pink diamond ring.
This 16.65-carat fancy deep orange-brown rectangular cut diamond caught my eye and I just had to try it on. This colour has it’s own distinct colouring outside of the D-to-Z range. Diamonds like these get their colours from certain geological conditions, making them rare and highly prized.
Yellow and brown diamonds are the most common, followed by pink and blue diamonds. Red, green, purple and orange are generally considered the most rare.
You will have to watch my GEMOLOGUE YouTube video to hear the remarkable story behind this beautiful ArtDeco ruby brooch. “A property of a lady” by Cartier, it once belonged to actress Emmy Wehlen.
I haven’t seen a Padparadscha sapphire of this size ever before! When I was studying at GIA NYC, this was my favourite stone.
Here, I’m wearing a 46.92-carat cushion-shaped Padparadscha sapphire, turquoise and diamond ring by Bulgari. Padparadscha is a Sinhalese word for ‘aquatic lotus blossom’, because of its unusual salmon color – somewhere between pink and orange.
According to SSEF Swiss Gemological Institute the origin is Ceylon (SriLanka), no heating! Look at this colour! Mesmerising!
Getting back to some real colour now, I couldn’t resist the splendour of this piece. The way it moves and undulates like the ocean waves. Pave-set with emeralds and sapphires and eleven blue ceramic drops mounted in gold, it’s a magnificent sculptural piece by De Grisogono that definitely makes a statement, estimated at $US70-100,000.
Christie’s Magnificent Jewels Geneva auction takes place on May 17 at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues.
Don’t forget to subscribe to my GEMOLOGUE YouTube channel for all the real deal behind-the-scenes highlights!
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I am extremely happy to announce that my new jewelry book – GEMOLOGUE: Street Jewellery Styles & Styling Tips – is now on Amazon. I’m so excited. It’s the first book of its kind solely dedicated to jewellery.
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GEMOLOGUE jewelry blog by Liza Urla is a celebration of fine, fashion and vintage jewellery featuring talented jewellery designers, trendy urban street style, exclusive interviews and rare jewellery reviews. This jewellery blog’s goal is to encourage and educate about jewellery online in a fresh and original fashion to inspire women and men across the globe in a fashion and travelling context.
Jewellery blogger, writer Liza Urla, the founder of GEMOLOGUE, is a London-based and NYC-educated gemologist, who has travelled to and lived in many countries. She is now one of the most influential digital jewellery tastemakers. Her jewellery influence has been acknowledged by Financial Times, The New York Times, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.
*Photographed by Yulia Harding. Styling and Art Direction by Liza Urla. All photos belong to GEM Kreatives for GEMOLOGUE.
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