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De Beers Celebrate Queen’s Elizabeth’s
Diamond Jubilee |
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To mark Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee,
De Beers has unveiled its Talisman Crown,
featuring 974 diamonds, including a 73 carat rough
diamond. According to De Beers the crown was
inspired by The Talisman Wonder.
De Beers explains that the diamonds signify
achievements of the past, while the negative spaces
of the unset crown signify both future aspirations and
coming accomplishments. The De Beers Talisman
Crown is on display at London department store Harrods between 15th May and 15th June this year.
As many as 31 unique crowns created by British
iconic design brands including De Beers adorn
luxury retail brand Harrod’s Brompton Road
windows.
The Talisman Crown is outfitted in De Beers blue
and studded with 974 diamonds, of which 797
are polished and 177 are rough.
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A) Boucheron crown — The brands worked to a replica of the St.
Edwards coronation crown.
B) Tiffany crown — The crowns include designs by Paul Smith, De Beers,
Tiffany and Co, Boucheron, Roberto Cavalli, Prada, Mulberry,
Faberge, Shu Uemura, Jo Malone and Lanvin.
C) De Beers crown — Jewellery brands including Boucheron, Tiffany,
Faberge, Solange Azagury-Partridge and De Beers have taken part in
the special Jubilee celebration in partnership with Harrods, creating
one-off crowns.
D) Solange Azagury-Partridge crown — Each brand has made its own
mark on the designs, including Solange Azagury-Partridge’s, which
takes her love of rainbow gemstones and makes it a central feature of
the design. |
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| British Royal Collection on display |
| An exhibition of royal
gems being staged in London to
mark Queen Elizabeth’s 60-year
reign will feature jewellery made
from the world’s largest diamond.
The major display will reunite for
the first time seven of the nine
principal stones cut from the
Cullinan Diamond. The gems are
set in brooches, a ring and a
necklace, many of which having
been worn by the Queen
throughout her reign, with the
remaining two stones forming part
of the Crown Jewels.
In a fitting tribute to the
monarch’s Diamond Jubilee, the Royal Collection is putting on the
celebration of the precious
gemstones, charting their
association with British monarchs
during the last 200 years. The
exhibition, which will be the focal
point of Buckingham Palace’s
2012 summer opening, will
include an unprecedented display
of some of the Sovereign’s
personal jewels.
At the heart of the display
are the gems from the Cullinan
Diamond, which weighed 3,106
carats in its rough state when
discovered at a mine near Pretoria
in South Africa in 1905. At first it
was thought to be crystal, as it
was three times larger than any
other diamond that had been
found.
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a) The Coronation Necklace and Earrings. b) The Cullinan III and IV Brooch c) Caroline de Guitaut, curator of Royal Collections, holds the Cullinan III and IV Brooch and
the Cullinan VII Delhi Durbar Necklace and Cullinan Pendant |
Exhibition curator Caroline de Guitaut said: ‘’Until 26
January 1905 no one had ever
seen a diamond of this size. So
incredible was its discovery that
the moment it was found at the
Premier mine it was thrown out of
the window of the mine
manager’s office because it was
thought to be a worthless crystal.
Now, for the first time, our
visitors will be able to see seven
of the nine principal stones cut
from this magnificent and highly
important diamond.’’
The clerks who had thrown
the stone away were eventually
persuaded it was a real gem and it
was named after the chairman of
the mining company, Thomas
Cullinan. In 1909, after it had
been cut and polished, the two
largest gems hewn from the rough
diamond were formally presented
to Edward VII. These are the
largest colourless and flawless cut
diamonds in the world, with the
biggest - the Great Star of Africa -
set in the Sovereign’s Sceptre and
the second gem - the Second Star
of Africa - set in the Imperial
State Crown. Both are on display
at the Tower of London.
Among the items that will
go on show at the Palace will be
the Girls of Great Britain Tiara
which the Queen recently wore at
the state banquet for the Turkish
president in November. It was a
wedding present to Princess
Victoria Mary of Teck, later
Queen Mary - the Queen’s
grandmother - on behalf of the
Girls of Great Britain and Ireland
in 1893. Originally crafted with
upright pearls around the top and
a bandeau base, it was altered in
1920 by Queen Mary, who replaced the pearls with diamonds
and removed the base. It is one of
the Queen’s favourites and is
forever known as ‘’Granny’s
tiara’’, being a wedding present
from her grandmother in 1947. It
is said to be very light and easy to
wear. |
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| d) Queen Victoria’s Small Diamond Crown from 1870. e) The Girls of Great Britain Tiara |
Many of the pieces that will
be on display at the Palace have
undergone transformations
through the ages - having been recut
or used in new settings
depending on the fashion or the
preferences of the queens or
princesses who used them.
Visitors will also see the
impressive necklace and earrings
worn by the Queen at her
coronation ceremony in
Westminster Abbey in 1953. The
collet necklace is formed of 25 large graduated cushion-shaped
brilliant-cut diamonds and a
central drop-shaped pendant of
22.48 carats. It was created in 1858 for Queen Victoria - the
only other British monarch to
celebrate a Diamond Jubilee -
from a Garter badge and
ceremonial sword.
The impressive detachable
diamond drop, known as the
Lahore stone, was originally part
of the Timur ruby necklace. Over
time the necklace, which was also
worn at the coronations of Queen
Alexandra and Queen Mary, has
been modified. |
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Christie's important Jewels London |
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An Exceptional Art Deco Diamond and Gem Bracelet, by Cartier
Of Oriental inspiration, the pave-set circular-cut diamond band mounted with stylised
calibre onyx flowering branches, the cabochon ruby and emerald ‘blossom’ interspersed
with single emerald cabochon ‘buds’, to the similarly set buckle clasp, circa 1925, 18.2cm
long.
Estimate: US$160,000-230,000 |
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Christie’s London sale of
Important Jewels on Wednesday
13 June 2012 comprises 368 lots,
including stunning royal and
aristocratic jewels formerly from
both The Collection of Her Imperial
Highness Princess Soraya Esfandiary
Bakhtiary and The Property of
Beatrice Countess of Granard OBE,
as well as from The Collection of
The Late Countess of Dudley which
is led by a superb Art Deco
diamond tiara by Cartier.
The Cowdray Pearls, a rare
natural pearl necklace, composed
of a single row of 38 graduated
natural grey pearls, lead the sale.
From the collection of the late
Viscountess Cowdray, Lady
Pearson (1860-1932), these rare and
beautiful coloured pearls are a
testament to their owner’s
discerning taste. One of 17 jewels
offered from the Collection of The
Late Countess of Dudley, also known as the actress Maureen
Swanson, is the superb Art Deco
Cartier tiara; a star lot in the sale.
Leading the small group of
jewels formerly from the collection
of HIH Princess Soraya Esfandiary
Bakhtiary is a 12.15 carat diamond
circular single-stone ring. Another
ring with notable provenance is an
Edwardian sapphire and diamond
ring, circa 1905, which was formerly
in the collection of Beatrice
Countess of Granard OBE. |
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Left to right : 1) A Pair of platinum and diamond ear
pendants, by Cartier
Each composed of a graduated line of three
brilliant-cut diamonds, suspending a pearshaped
diamond drop, 4.2cm long.
Estimate: US$160,000-230,000
2) A Superb Art Deco Diamond Tiara, by
Cartier
Composed of five graduated shield shaped
clips, each tapered brilliant and baguette-cut
diamond panel raised on the similarly-set
diamond frame, circa 1930, clips 1.1, 4.5,
4.5, 3.5 and 3.5cm long respectively, with
five detachable clip fittings, one brooch
fitting and a cuff bangle.
Estimate: US$160,000-230,000
3) A Rare Natural Pearl Necklace
Composed of a single row of 38 graduated
natural grey pearls, measuring 11.4-6.8 mm,
to the rectangular mixed-cut diamond clasp,
43.2cm long.
Accompanied by report no. 05552 dated 27
April 2012 from The Gem & Pearl
Laboratory, London, stating that the pearls
are untreated natural salt-water.
Estimate: US$438,200-547,750
4) Edwardian
Sapphire and
diamond ring
The oval
mixed-cut
sapphire to the deep
millegrain-set circularcut
diamond gallery,
pierced and engraved
with scroll detailing,
raised on diamond-set
shoulders and a plain
hoop, circa 1905
Estimate:US46,000-60,000 |
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Luxury Week open at Christie’s
New York |
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Christie’s New York sale
of Important Jewels in June
realized US$14.5 million with
strong sell-through rates of 89%
by lot and 92% by value. The top
lot of the sale was a rectangularcut
E-colour diamond ring of
22.46 cts by David Webb, which
sold for US$1.87 million or $83,500
per carat – one of more than a
dozen top-quality diamonds
featured in the sale.
Rahul Kadakia, Head of
Jewelry, Christie’s Americas,
commented: “Diamonds have
been the flavour of the season,
with top prices achieved in
Geneva, Hong Kong and New
York through spring 2012 as
seasoned collectors and new
economies went head to head
for the best.” |
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Left to right : a) A modified oval-cut light pink
IF diamond of 6.77 cts.
$74,800 per carat. Purchase
Price: $506,500
b) A modified rectangular-cut fancy vivid yellow VS1 diamond ring of 39.83
cts, by David Webb. $35,800 per carat. Purchase Price: $1,426,500
c) A rectangular-cut E colour VS2 diamond ring of 22.46 cts, by David
Webb. $83,500 per carat. Purchase Price: $1,874,500 |
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Left to right : a) A circular-cut F colour VS1 diamond of 15.65 cts. $98,300 per carat.
Purchase Price: $1,538,500
b) A rectangular-cut D colour IF diamond of 10.52 cts
$120,000 per carat. Purchase Price: $1,258,500
c) A pear-shaped E colour VVS2 diamond of 14.82 cts
$107,500 per carat. Purchase Price: $1,594,500
d) An Art Deco Diamond Bracelet, By Cartier, circa 1930
Purchase Price: $470,500. |
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