CHRISTIE\u2019S TO PRESENT AN EXPANDED PRE-HOLIDAY SALE OF OVER 300 LOTS, <\/b>LED BY A STUNNING 50-CARAT D-COLOR DIAMOND RING BY GRAFF<\/b>
<\/b>ESTIMATED AT US$7-10 MILLION<\/b><\/p>\n
IMPORTANT DIAMONDS, FINE COLORED GEMSTONES, NATURAL PEARL<\/i><\/b>S,<\/strong>VINTAGE<\/strong> JEWELS <\/strong>& <\/strong>SCORES OF HOLIDAY GIFTS READY FOR BIDDING<\/strong><\/i><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
New York –<\/strong> An exceedingly rare red diamond, a stunning three-stone emerald ring, and a 50-carat D color diamond ring by the celebrated jeweler Graff are among the star lots of Christie\u2019s upcoming Magnificent Jewels<\/em> sale on Monday, December 10. With over 300 lots, this blockbuster sale offers the perfect solution to the age-old question of what to buy a loved one for the holidays. Large colored and colorless diamonds, rare gemstones, natural pearls and exquisite signed jewels from the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods will be featured in the day-long auction at Christie\u2019s in Rockefeller Center, with estimates ranging from $500 up to several million dollars. The total sale, which is accessible for bidding in person, on the phone, online, or by absentee bid, is expected to realize in excess of $25 million.<\/div>\n
\u201cSince the start of 2012, this has proven to be a vibrant year of strong prices for top-quality diamonds, <\/em>colored gemstones, <\/em>natural pearls, and signed jewels at auction. Christie\u2019s New York is pleased to present this expanded selection of fine jewelry that truly offers something for every client, whether your thoughts are on finding a special gift for the holidays, or acquiring a great investment-<\/em>quality diamond for the long-term,\u201d <\/em>noted Rahul Kadakia, head of Jewelry for Christie\u2019s Americas <\/strong>and Switzerland<\/strong>.<\/div>\nPer-carat prices for exceptional diamonds have continued to climb this auction season, spurred by collector demand for investment-quality gems. At Christie\u2019s recent jewelry auction in Geneva, the historic 76.02 carat, D-color Archduke Joseph Diamond<\/strong> fetched US$21.5 million, setting a new world auction record for a colourless diamond. It also set a new record per-carat price for a colorless diamond at $282,545 per carat, surpassing the landmark $266,000 per carat price achieved for the 33.19 carat, D-color Elizabeth Taylor Diamond, sold at Christie\u2019s New York in December 2011.<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
In response to the deep appetite among collectors for diamonds of this caliber, Christie\u2019s has assembled a superb selection of top-quality colored and colorless diamonds for this pre-holiday sale, led by a dazzling array of twelve D-color diamonds \u2013 the whitest shade possible. The star of the group is a stunning rectangular-cut, D-color, potentially internally flawless diamond ring of 50.01 carats (pictured at left and page one, center). Offered for sale from an important private collection, the stone is mounted in a platinum setting designed by the celebrated jeweler Graff, with two baguette-cut diamonds flanking the center stone. This spectacular ring is estimated at $7,000,000 \u2013 10,000,000.<\/div>\n
A RARE REDDISH-ORANGE DIAMOND<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
For collectors of colored diamonds, perhaps no shade of diamond is as alluring \u2013 and elusive \u2013 as the rare red diamond. This season, Christie\u2019s is proud to present a 3.15 carat circular-cut fancy reddish orange diamond \u2013 the largest reddish orange diamond ever graded at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), and the largest ever to be offered at auction. Exhibiting excellent symmetry and polish, this special stone is estimated at $700,000-$1,200,000 (pictured at right and on page one).<\/div>\n
The diamond\u2019s exceptional rarity is a function of both its intense color and large size; highly saturated diamonds in shades of red and orange are considered to be among the rarest of all fancy colored diamonds. The cause of their coloration is a natural phenomenon that is not thoroughly understood, but is believed to occur when minute quantities of nitrogen or hydrogen are present when the diamond\u2019s crystal lattice is forming deep within the earth\u2019s crust.<\/div>\n
Very few red diamonds larger than one carat are known to exist. Among the largest is a circular-cut 5.03 fancy dark red diamond that is now in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The appearance of this rare diamond at auction presents a unique collecting opportunity for gem connoisseurs who appreciate both the aesthetic appeal and serendipitous nature of this true geological wonder.<\/div>\n
TOP JEWELS AND HOLIDAY GIFTS<\/strong><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n
In addition to top colored and colorless diamonds, the Magnificent Jewels<\/em> sale features an outstanding selection of rare gemstones as well as signed jewels from coveted design firms such as Buccellati, Cartier, David Webb, Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arpels, and Verdura, among others. Among the star lots is an impressive three-stone Colombian emerald ring mounted with an 8.51 carat cushion-cut center stone and flanked by matching emeralds of 4.04 and 3.94 carats, respectively (estimate: $475,000-550,000; pictured page one, right).<\/div>\n
For devotees of fine period jewels, the sale features an impressive group of signed creations from the Art Nouveau, Belle \u00c9poque and Art Deco periods, including original designs by R\u00e9n\u00e9 Lalique, Cartier, and the late American jeweler Paul Flato, known as the original Hollywood celebrity jeweler. A spectacular sapphire and diamond bracelet by Paul Flato from circa<\/em> 1935 graces the cover of the sale catalogue (pictured previous page; estimate: $120,000-180,000). Designed as an openwork bracelet with alternating rectangular-cut sapphire and diamond bricklink bands, this stunning jewel is offered from a prominent private collection.<\/div>\n
The complete e-catalogue for Magnificent Jewels<\/em> is now online at:<\/div>\nhttp:\/\/www.christies.com\/salelanding\/index.aspx?intSaleID=23584<\/a> <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
AUCTION:<\/strong> Monday, December 10, Christie\u2019s Rockefeller Center (2 sessions): 10am & 2:30pm<\/div>\n
PUBLIC PREVIEW:<\/strong> Friday, December 7 through Sunday, December 9: 10am-6pm daily<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CHRISTIE\u2019S TO PRESENT AN EXPANDED PRE-HOLIDAY SALE OF OVER 300 LOTS, LED BY A STUNNING 50-CARAT D-COLOR DIAMOND RING BY GRAFFESTIMATED AT US$7-10 MILLIONIMPORTANT DIAMONDS, FINE COLORED GEMSTONES, NATURAL PEARLS,VINTAGE JEWELS & SC…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[522,261,1437,85,777],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/dailyjewel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1276"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/dailyjewel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/dailyjewel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/dailyjewel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/dailyjewel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/dailyjewel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1276\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/dailyjewel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/dailyjewel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/dailyjewel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}