BLUE MOON & QUEEN MARIA-JOSÉ RUBY LEAD HIGHLIGHTS AT SOTHEBY’S GENEVA SALE

Published by: Jewels du Jour

Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale is jam-packed with incredible jewel after incredible jewel. Leading the 500-lot sale is the exceedingly rare and outrageously beautiful Blue Moon diamond. This rare wonder, graded Fancy Vivid Blue and Internally Flawless, was unearthed at the Premier Mine at Cullinan – owned by Petra Diamonds – in South Africa, the only known mine today for producing blue diamonds with some regularity. In fact, out of the eighteen million tons mined and five million carats recovered from the mine, only five world-class blue diamonds have emerged from Cullinan, or less than 0.1 percent of the mine’s annual yield.

 

The 29.62-carat rough found in January 2014 was expertly cut by Cora International, one of the world’s leading firms specializing in cutting large important diamonds. The resulting stone, a cushion-cut 12.03-carat diamond of perfect proportions, is a masterpiece of mother nature enhanced by the hands of man. The Blue Moon is expected to fetch between $35.5 and $56 million.

Opposite in color but no less exceptional, the Queen Maria-José ruby ring is a fiery wonder of impeccable provenance. Formerly part of the personal collection of the last Queen of Italy, Maria-José, the historic ruby was a gift from the Italian bibliophile Tammaro de Marinis on the occasion of Maria-José’s wedding to Crown Prince Umberto in 1930. The Burmese ruby weighs 8.48 carats and is noted to have the coveted ‘pigeon’s blood’ red hue. The rare ruby is estimated at $6 to 9 million.

 

Sotheby’s has a knack for record-breaking rubies in the past year. In November 2014, the auction house sold the ‘Graff Ruby’ for $8.6 million, a new world record for a ruby at the time. Then, in May of this year, Sotheby’s Geneva bested the world record for a ruby again with the sale of the ‘Sunrise Ruby’, an exquisite 25.59-carat Burmese ruby that sold for $30.3 million – more than three times the previous record.

 

Another important stone in the sale is a pear-shaped 8.24-carat Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink diamond, estimated at $12.6 to 16.6 million. Last year, in October, Sotheby’s Hong Kong offered a 8.41 carat Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink diamond, which sold for $17,778,247, a world auction record price for a fancy vivid pink diamond.

 

While the sale boasts a bevy of remarkably rare gems, it also offers a plentitude of highly collectible jewels, including hree magnificent tiaras. Cartier is well represented in the sale, with terrific examples illustrating the breadth and talent of the maison throughout the 20th century: from a delicate 1920s natural pearl, emerald and diamond jabot pin, its design inspired by a traditional Indian sarpech, a turban ornament, to a more modern emerald, ruby, mother-of-pearl and diamond ‘New Khandy’ parrot brooch and everything in between.

 

A number of Cartier pieces from the 1940s and 1950s display the creative spirit during and after World War II. A citrine suite in particular is a stunning illustration of beautiful jewelry made during the wartime rationing, during which the more precious materials were strictly limited.

The sale also includes beautiful pieces by renown jewelers such as René Lalique, Suzanne Belperron, René Boivin, and Jacques Lacloche as well as notable jewels from the world’s most prestigious jewelry houses, including Bulgari, Harry Winston, Tiffany & Co. and Van Cleef & Arpels. For connoisseurs looking to add contemporary pieces to their collections, the sale offers stunning jewels by JAR, Alexandre Reza and Hemmerle.

Gemstone trends: cool colours and cuts for 2016

Author:  Rachael Taylor

Source: The Jewellery Editor

Whether it’s a quirky setting, an unusual cut or a colourful stone, these gemstone trends for 2016 stand out from the crowd.

There is no doubt that, when it comes to jewellery trends, the popularity of coloured gemstones has skyrocketed. No longer are the windows along Bond Street or Place Vendôme achromatic pockets of diamonds, but bouquets of colour, and according to Bonhams, the prices achieved for coloured gemstone jewellery have risen 2,200% in the past 10 years.

“Coloured gemstones continue to appeal immensely to our customers looking to invest in fine jewellery, with pieces featuring coloured diamonds and multi-coloured gemstones constantly growing in popularity,” confirms Helen David, fashion director at luxury London jewellery destination, Harrods.

See more fine jewellery available at Harrods

This year, there has been a very clear trend within coloured gemstones – a desire for blue stones. The shimmering black opals set into the Capri jewels of the Acte V collection by Louis Vuitton; the mesmerising Paraiba tourmaline set into a Chopard ring unveiled at Paris Couture Week; the clusters of turquoise and aquamarine worn around the neck of Cate Blanchett at the Oscars, plucked from the Tiffany Blue Book collection.

Hinatuan ring set with labradorite by Biiju.

But what will next year hold? “I think we’ll continue to see the trend for organic shapes, rough cuts and textures,” offers Joanna Boyen, who runs jewellery brand Biiju, which allows shoppers to customise designs online by selecting composable gemstone elements. “I think it’s going to get very interesting, with more of the unusual stones taking centre stage. It’s an exciting time because consumers are much more aware and more accepting of these stones now, and with bespoke and personalised jewellery being so much in demand, having a statement stone which is different and a talking point is very attractive.”

As well as choosing stones that are lesser known, one of the ways to make a statement with gemstones is to opt for an unusual cut over a classic cut. The shape of the gemstone might look the same at first glance, but peer into the stone and you may be able to see unusual facet work underneath it, such asSheldon Bloomfield’s large aquamarine cocktail ring.

Some new jewellery designs for 2016 even have smaller gemstones hidden beneath the main gem. Suzanne Kalan jewellery, which recently launched at Harrods, includes wonderful pieces that layer transparent stones such as topaz and quartz over clusters of round brilliant or baguette diamonds.

The Caged collection by Melanie Georgacopoulos traps pearls inside golden cages.

Another quirky twist in the realm of jewellery trends is overprotective settings. For these designs, gemstones are wrapped inside extra, often diamond-set, fronds of metal, such as Kiki McDonough’s Luna collection, or trapped inside cages such as the pearls in the Caged range of Melanie Georgacopoulos jewellery. And Brazilian jeweller Moritz Glikoffers an interesting line with diamonds or coloured gemstones trapped inside sapphire glass cases.

For London jeweller Gee Woods, coloured gemstones have become very popular with her clients – particularly yellow hues of sapphires, citrines and diamonds – but she says that demand for unusual stones also applies to diamonds. “Recently I’ve noticed clients seem to be looking for something a bit more exciting than a modern brilliant cut,” she says. “I’m being asked to find old mine-cut diamonds, fancy coloured diamonds and interesting cuts.”

Whether your choice of gemstone jewellery in 2016 will be set with white diamonds or one of nature’s cornucopia of coloured gemstones, just make sure that you opt for something that makes you stand out.

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