Magnificent Jewellery

Sotheby's annual spring sale of Magnificent Jewellery will take place this year on Thursday 16th May at 14.30 and 20.00 in the rooms of the Hotel Beau-Rivage. Alexandra Rhodes, Senior Director and Senior European Jewellery Specialist in charge of the sale, said: “The sale is characterised by jewels which we have selected for their quality, rarity and originality. Rare stones, particularly diamonds, among which is the largest”briolette“ever to be sold at auction, will appear alongside historic pieces such as a bracelet once in the collection of the Duchess of Windsor. The sale will also include designer pieces, in particular a bracelet signed by the renowned jeweller Pierre SterlÉ.”

Leading the impressive array of diamonds in the sale is a heart-shaped “Fancy vivid blue”. Estimated between 3'100'000 and 3'500'000 Swiss Francs ($ 1'830'000 - 2'060'000, lot 251), the diamond which weighs 5.35 carats is mounted as a pendant between two pear-shaped stones on a platinum chain. Also heart-shaped, is a D colour impressive diamond pendant (lot 247) weighing 18.61 carats and claw-set on a chain of cable linking decorated with brilliant cut diamonds set in platinum which is estimated CHF 850,000-1,000,000, $ 500'000 - 600'000.

In their purest form, diamonds are white. However, fine examples of colours such as blue, pink, red or yellow can be extremely rare and therefore much sought after.
Continued in europastar.com's Auctions section

Source: Sotheby's press release
April 2002