Editor’s Note
This article explores the world of legendary gemstones, from the Hope Diamond to record-breaking auction sales. It serves as an introduction to these natural wonders whose exceptional qualities and histories have cemented their status as objects of enduring fascination.
Gemstones have always been objects of dreams, whether they are diamonds, sapphires, rubies, or emeralds. The Blue Moon Diamond, The Hope Diamond, The Star of the East, The Taylor-Burton… So many stones with such exceptional qualities that their names have traversed history. An overview of these natural wonders in blue, pink, white, or yellow tones, which have passed under the hammer at auctions by Bonhams, Christie’s, or Sotheby’s. The latter oversaw the record-breaking sale ‘Magnificent Jewels Achieves’ on June 8, 2023, in New York, which reached $95.9 million, and also presented two historic stones sold for over $30 million. An opportunity to look back in pictures at the most extraordinary gemstones of all time.
During that same Sotheby’s sale on June 8, 2023, The Eternal Pink, the most vivid pink diamond ever brought to market, was also sold for $34.8 million ($3,292,763 per carat), setting a new world record for a Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink diamond and a new price per carat for this color category. The 10.57-carat vivid pink diamond with no internal flaws was discovered by De Beers in partnership with Botswana at the Damtshaa mine. Six intense months were required by the team of artisans at Diacore to meticulously shape this diamond into a cushion cut.
Estrela de Fura is the name of the 55.22-carat Mozambican ruby that was acquired by a private collector from the Middle East for $34.8 million ($630,288 per carat) during the historic Sotheby’s sale on June 8, 2023, establishing a new world auction record for a ruby. Cut from an exceptional 101-carat rough stone discovered in July 2022 at the FURA Gem ruby mine in Mozambique, one of the world’s largest ruby deposits, this jewel becomes the largest gem-quality ruby ever sold at auction. Rubies of this importance and size are extremely rare; only two examples have surpassed the $15 million mark at auction.
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Christie’s Geneva signed one of its legendary sales in November 2018 by auctioning one of the largest Fancy Vivid Pink diamonds the house had ever offered. Weighing 18.96 carats, this incomparable type IIa pink diamond comes from the Oppenheimer family and was estimated between $30 and $50 million. Its rarity? Its purity, both external and internal. It was acquired for $49.9 million by the house of Harry Winston and transformed into a ring in February 2021.
1,098 is the number of carats of the latest diamond extracted in Botswana, announced Debswana, jointly owned by the government of Botswana and the De Beers group, a member of the Natural Diamond Council. This discovery places this nugget directly on the podium of the 3 most valuable diamonds in the world, in third place of this already impressive ranking.
These are two extraordinarily rare type IIa diamonds, discovered in Botswana, offered by Sotheby’s. The first stone is a 51.71-carat brilliant diamond, placing it directly in the top ranks of the largest diamonds ever to appear at auction. The second, more oval, weighs 50.39 carats and is also among the largest diamonds of its shape to be offered. Faithful to the four reference criteria (color, clarity, cut, and weight), each diamond ranks among the most perfect stones ever presented. The first diamond is estimated between €6.7-7.7 million and the second between €6-6.5 million.
Discovered hundreds of years ago in the mythical mines of Golconda in India, the Farnese Blue, remarkable for its size of 6.16 carats, is simply one of the most important historical diamonds in the world. From Philippe I to Elias de Bourbon and Charles II… For nearly 300 years, this exceptional stone passed through the hands of all the descendants of the royal family of Elisabeth Farnèse.
Hidden for three hundred years, the Farnese Blue was one of the most anticipated lots in the high jewelry sale at Sotheby’s in Geneva.
Sotheby’s Diamonds unveils an extraordinarily rare type IIa diamond. Six months: that’s the time it took the Diacore teams to cut this incredible 425-carat stone discovered by De Beers.
