6.「Graff ruby」：Historical moments of colored gemstones
At the end of 2005, senior international jewelry expert Jean-Marc Lunel received a call from Christie's Monaco office and learned that a customer wanted to value jewelry placed in a bank safe.
The collection contains nine pieces of jewelry, including signature jewelry from Faraone and Van Cleef & Arples , as well as three Bulgari rings . The first ring is set with a Burmese sapphire, the second is set with a D-color diamond, and the third is set with an unheated 8.62-carat Burmese ruby.
Rare and magnificent ruby ring, designed by Bulgari . This lot was sold for CHF 4,724,000 at a Christie's auction held at the Palace Hotel in St. Moritz on February 15, 2006.
Such a huge unheated Burmese ruby is very rare. It is pure, clear, free of impurities, and bright red in color. It is a rare treasure.
The nine pieces were launched at a Christie's auction in St. Moritz in February 2006, and before previews even began, the ruby had become the talk of the town. The ruby was originally purchased by Bulgari in Italy in the 1960s and was estimated to be worth $400,000 to $600,000.
On the day of the auction, after 20 minutes of fierce bidding, the ruby was finally sold for US$3,637,480, setting a record of US$421,981 per carat for rubies at the time. After the auction, the identity of the buyer was revealed, and the ruby was named "The Graff Ruby." The auction witnessed a historical moment for colored gemstones, highlighting their extraordinary value, importance and rarity.
7. Rockefeller Emerald: A rare gemstone of perfect size and distinguished origin
Since the time of Cleopatra, there has been a legend that Cleopatra commissioned an emerald engraved with her image as a gift to Julius Caesar. From then on, until the Romanov dynasty, the Mughal Empire and the British royal family, every batch of royal jewelry included stunning emeralds.
Christie's presented an 18.04-carat gem-quality emerald in June 2017, which was originally collected by the Rockefeller family and was given to David Rockefeller by his father after his wife's death. This gem is set in a diamond ring designed by Raymond C. Yard in 1948. It is magnificent and eye-catching.
"Rockefeller Emerald": a rare and legendary emerald and diamond ring, designed by Raymond Yard . This lot was sold at Christie's New York on June 20, 2017 for US$5,511,500
The day after the auction, a representative of the buyer, Harry Winston, announced: “This emerald comes from the most prominent family in the United States, and we are deeply honored to own this top-notch emerald.
8. JAR 'Tulip' Bracelet: Jewelry that Sparked a Craze
At the magnificent jewelry auction held in Geneva in November 2014, lot number 305 isThe 'Tulip' bracelet made by JAR in 1994, estimated at a relatively conservative 190,000 to 290,000 Swiss francs. The bracelet had been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art the previous year. At that time, few people probably expected that this piece of jewelry would be in the auction room where two buyers competed to acquire it through telephone bidding.
Gold, diamond and green garnet "Tulip" bracelet, designed by JAR, 1994 . This lot was sold at Christie's Geneva on November 11, 2014 for CHF 3,525,000.
The bracelet was mainly made of gold, decorated with diamonds and garnets, and finally sold for an astonishing 3,525,000 Swiss francs, which is a testament to the exquisite craftsmanship of master jewelry craftsman Joel Arthur Rosenthal.
Rosenthal came to prominence in Paris in the 1960s, working with Pierre Jeannet to open a small shop specializing in embroidery art with specially colored wool threads. He applied this meticulous craftsmanship spirit to jewelry design, and opened a jewelry store with Janet in Place Vendôme, naming it JAR after his initials.
JAR only produces 70 to 80 pieces of jewelry for its most distinguished customers every year. Rosenthal is good at designing three-dimensional and detailed jewelry, and uses exquisite pavé technology to combine gemstones of different colors, making him unique.
Rosenthal has held three solo exhibitions, namely at the National Academy of Design in New York in 1987, at Somerset House in London in 2002, and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in November 2013. This was the museum's first exhibition for a living jewelry designer. personal retrospective exhibition.
8. Jade Beads Necklace: The Origin of the Prosperous Jade Market
The value of jadeite depends on three important factors: color, transparency and texture. Color is the most important factor affecting value, and the evaluation criteria include saturation, gloss, uniformity and purity. Jadeite comes in light purple, yellow, russet and black, while green jadeite containing chromium is most favored by experienced collectors.
Magnificent jade beads and star-shaped ruby necklace , this lot was sold at Christie's Hong Kong for HK$56,660,000 on June 1, 2010.
Jadeite is formed between narrow slits, making it extremely difficult to cut and polish beads that fit perfectly, so high-quality jadeite bead necklaces are always in high demand.
Christie's Hong Kong presented an emerald bead and star-shaped ruby necklace as the lead auction piece on June 1, 2010. The necklace is made of 51 intertwined jade beads. Each one is uniform in color, bright green, and has a diameter ranging from 9.80 to 11.18 mm. All jade beads are uniform, plump, flawless and crystal clear.
The necklace was bought by a prominent Asian collector for HK$56,660,000 (approximately US$7,275,000), making it the first jade bead necklace of this size to be auctioned for more than HK$50 million.
10. "The Winston Pink Legacy": a unique 18.96 carat fancy vivid pink diamond
exist「Pink Legacy」Before the diamond was auctioned in Geneva in November 2018, Rahul Kadakia, international head of Christie's Jewelry Department, said: "It feels like a dream to find a diamond of such a large size and with such a fascinating color. You can find diamonds of less than 1 carat on the market. It’s a pink diamond of the same color, but it weighs nearly 19 carats and has the most stunning and brilliant pink color, which is unbelievable.”
"The Winston Pink Legacy" - a stunning color diamond ring: 18.96 carats of vivid pink . Sold at Christie's Geneva on November 13, 2018 for CHF 50,375,000.
Scientists divide diamonds into two categories: "Type I" and "Type II". Type II diamonds have a very rare uniform color. Experts explained: "Pink diamonds belong to the rare Type IIa grade, which contains extremely low nitrogen. Among all gem-quality diamonds, the proportion of such diamonds is less than 2%. Since the chemical composition of Type IIa grade gemstones is the purest, Therefore, it is exceptionally crystal clear and stunningly bright.”
This 18.96-carat pink diamond has an evenly distributed color, is full and deep, and exhibits a pure pink color. It has been certified as the highest grade of "Fancy Vivid" by the Gemological Institute of America. Among 100,000 diamonds, there is only one "Fancy Vivid" diamond with deep color.
"The Pink Legacy" was originally collected by the Oppenheimer family and attracted fierce bidding on the day of the auction. Fancy Vivid Pink diamonds weighing more than 10 carats are almost unheard of at auction, and in Christie’s more than 250-year history, only four Fancy Vivid Pink diamonds weighing more than 10 carats have been auctioned. The diamond was finally sold for 50,375,000 Swiss francs. The transaction price not only reflected the rarity of the diamond, but also set a new world auction record for pink diamonds per carat. After the auction, the new owner of this exceptional diamond, Harry Winston, renamed it "The Winston Pink Legacy".
Source: Christie's Auction House
Immediately browse the WILLS JEWELLERY March ruby collection:
https://wills.hk/collections/rubyseries
More WILLS editor sharing:https://wills.hk/blogs/wills-blog/tagged/wshare
