Just two weeks to go as famed auction house Christie’s sets to begin its spring auction in New York on 16 April 2013. The sale has close to 300 jewels, including top-quality colored and colorless diamonds, gemstones, and natural pearls, and signed vintage creations, up for sale at the one-day auction. The event’s highlight is definitely going to be the Princie Diamond, a magnificent 34.65 carat fancy intense pink cushion-cut diamond. The large fancy intense pink diamond has a royal history. Its origins are traced back to the famous diamond mines of Golconda in South Central India and first recorded in the holdings of the Royal family of Hyderabad. The diamond had first come up for auction in the 1960s and was purchased by the London branch of Van Cleef & Arpels for £46,000 ($70,000). The party’s host was totally delighted by the little prince and decided to name the gem “Princie” after him (his nickname).
After more than fifty years, this princely diamond is set to take the stage at the auction. François Curiel, Chairman of Christie’s Jewelry Department, commented, “One of the largest and finest pink diamonds in the world, the Princie Diamond carries a fabulous provenance, which brings together the legendary names of Golconda, Nizam of Hyderabad, and the Maharani Sita Devi of Baroda. This rich history, combined with its rare pink hue, conveys a special charm, which will speak to all collectors in the world seeking the best of the best in gemstones.”
Among other important private collections featured at the auction will be part of the Extraordinary Diamonds from an American Private Collection. The seven diamonds in the collections have had the same owners for a number of decades. Four of the diamonds from the collection will be put up for auction on April 16 at Christie’s Rockefeller Center saleroom, with two more diamonds offered in Geneva on May 15 and the final lot in Hong Kong on May 28.
Another private collection is the so-called Property of an Elegant Lady featuring a diamond cluster necklace by William Goldberg set with more than 160 carats of top-quality diamonds.
Christie’s
Update –
The 34.65-carat pink Princie diamond sold for $39.3 million almost ($40 million) at Christie’s.
