If you are jewelry buff, and have loads of cash to buy some exquisite pieces, then this November 15, 10 a.m. you must be at Sotheby’s auction in Geneva. The show stealer here is going to be the Sun-Drop Diamond, which is a 110.03-carat yellow gem. That’s a lot of carats! Infact it is the biggest known pear-shaped yellow diamond in the world and comes with a purity rating of VVS1 and the highest color rating from the Gemological Institute of America. It is expected to be sold for around CHF 10.2-14 million ($11-15 million).
Sharing the spotlight is a suite of diamond jewelry comprising a necklace, brooch, and pair of earrings that has adorned royalties of different countries for the past 300 years. These royal jewels carry with it an estimated price tag of $10 million. What it also carries with it is a very interesting history. Its first owner was Empress Catherine I of Russia. She gave it to Sultan Ahmed III in return for peace when the Ottoman Army surrounded her near Pruth River in 1711 during the Great Northern War. In the late 19th century, the set left its Ottoman home and went to Emine Hanim, the wife of the Egyptian Khedive(a regional ruler) as a gift. The last royal owner was Princess Neslishah Abdul Moneim — the wife of Hanim’s grandson, who gave it to Christie’s London in 1963, and was bought by a European collector.
Other pieces to be auctioned off include 38.88-carat cushion-shaped diamond expecting an estimated bid of $6.5 million, and 10.09-carat blue diamond ring set studded between two pink diamonds of one carat each, expected to fetch a price of $7.5-10 million. If this much sparkle is not enough then you can also read about the Elizabeth Taylor jewelery auction.
