Graff Lesedi La Rona Largest Square Emerlad Cut Diamond Model

Dazzling Diamonds and Storied Provenance Headline Sotheby’s New York High Jewellery Auction

Sotheby’s New York is set to host an extraordinary High Jewellery auction on 13 June, featuring 110 remarkable lots — many of them centred around colourless and fancy coloured diamonds. This exclusive sale not only showcases some of the most important stones on the market today but also brings to light jewellery with historic provenance, including pieces from the Vanderbilt and Wade families, and a private collection chronicling a decades-long romance.

The Crown Jewel: 35.01ct Graff Diamond Ring
Leading the sale is a breathtaking 35.01-carat emerald-cut diamond ring from luxury jeweller Graff. This D-colour, VVS2 clarity diamond is described as “highly important,” and is expected to fetch between USD $2 million and $3 million (approximately AUD $3 million to $4.5 million). It’s one of 13 spectacular jewels from a private collection titled Joie de Vivre: Journey in Jewels — a tribute to a husband’s enduring love, with each piece gifted to his wife throughout a 60-year marriage.

Another standout from the same collection is a pair of emerald and diamond earclips by Graff, boasting four sugarloaf cabochon emeralds weighing a total of approximately 84 carats. These exceptional earrings carry a presale estimate of USD $800,000 – $1.5 million.

Additional highlights from this private collection include:

An aquamarine and diamond bracelet: USD $40,000 – $60,000

A jade and diamond pendant-brooch, circa 1910s: USD $25,000 – $35,000

Fancy Colours Steal the Spotlight
The number two lot of the sale is a striking 5.02-carat fancy pink diamond ring with VS2 clarity, estimated at USD $1.5 million – $2.5 million. Following closely is a 2.02-carat fancy vivid blue diamond ring, cut in a modified rectangular mixed style, with an estimate of USD $1.4 million – $1.8 million.

Also drawing significant attention is a pair of flawless D-colour pear-shaped diamonds weighing 10.32 and 10.11 carats respectively. Both diamonds are rated “excellent” in polish and symmetry, with a combined estimate of USD $1.1 million – $1.5 million.

American Legacy: Vanderbilt and Wade Family Heirlooms
Among the historic highlights is a ruby and diamond sautoir by Marcus & Co., dating back to circa 1915. The centrepiece is a 9.60-carat unheated Burmese ruby, surrounded by old European-cut diamonds and accented with calibre-cut rubies. This important jewel is estimated at USD $1 million – $2 million and once belonged to Emily Vanderbilt Wade, the great-granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt and daughter of Rhode Island Governor William Henry Vanderbilt III.

Three other Vanderbilt Wade jewels will also go under the hammer:

Cartier Art Deco diamond bracelet: Estimated at USD $60,000 – $80,000

Rene Lalique Art Nouveau pendant: Crafted from gold, enamel, emerald and pearl, circa 1900, with an estimate of USD $20,000 – $30,000

Multistone tassel sautoir: Featuring rubies, emeralds, pearls, diamonds and enamel, and possibly designed by Paulding Farnham of Tiffany & Co., with an estimate of USD $40,000 – $60,000

A Rare Opportunity for Collectors and Connoisseurs
This Sotheby’s auction is not only a chance to acquire some of the world’s most exquisite diamonds and gemstones but also to own a piece of history. With provenance linking to America’s most prominent families and jewellery houses such as Graff, Cartier, and Tiffany & Co., the pieces represent both artistic excellence and emotional legacy.

For collectors, investors, and jewellery lovers alike, 13 June will mark a significant date on the global jewellery calendar.

Graff Opens Huge Store in Las Vegas

Graff has opened its biggest store in North America, at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas luxury resort and casino.

The 3,300sq ft showroom is second only to the flagship Graff in Paris, at 3,700sq ft.

Graff, founded in 1960 by British jeweler Laurence Graff, is recognized as one of the world’s most prestigious luxury jewelers.

CEO Francois Graff (Laurence’s son) said: “The opening of our new salon at Fontainebleau Las Vegas represents a pivotal moment for Graff in North America, a testament to our continued success and commitment to expansion across the region.”

The Las Vegas store is the brand’s 10th location in North America. It has more than 50 worldwide.

The new showroom features a serpentine counter with angular displays inspired by diamond facets, a bespoke bridal area with engagement rings, wedding bands, and bridal jewelry crafted from celadon wood and chiseled glass.

To celebrate the opening, Graff has curated a special selection of high jewelry featuring rare diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires.

Source: IDEX

Graff and Moussaieff in UK Rich List

Laurence Graff and his son Francois are ranked 44th in the newly-published Sunday Times Rich List 2025 of Britain’s 350 wealthiest individuals.

Their worth is estimated at £3.65bn ($4.85bn), up £50m ($66m) on last year’s figure.

Laurence Graff founded the iconic Graff Diamonds in 1960 and remains chairman, aged 86. Francois, who has been involved in the family business for over 35 years, now serves as CEO.

Also in the Rich List, at number 342, is Alisa Moussaieff and family, with an estimated £342m ($454m) worth.

She is the CEO and creative director of the exclusive Moussaieff Jewellers, founded by her late husband Shlomo in 1963.

Top of the list is Gopi Hinduja and family. He chairs the Hinduja Group, a multinational conglomerate spanning automotive, oil and speciality chemicals, banking and finance, IT, cybersecurity, healthcare, trading, infrastructure project development, media and entertainment, power, and real estate, valued at £35.3bn ($46.9bn).

King Charles II is at 238, with £640m ($851m).

Source: IDEX

Graff Unveils World’s Largest Square Emerald Cut Diamond At 302.37 Carats

Graff Lesedi La Rona Largest Square Emerlad Cut Diamond Model

Luxury jeweler, Graff, has unveiled its latest, and perhaps its greatest, big diamond creation, the “Graff Lesedi La Rona,” a 302.37-carat D-color, high-clarity stone that is being lauded as the world’s largest square emerald cut diamond. The London-based company also says it is the “largest highest clarity, highest color diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).”

Laurence Graff, the prestigious diamond dealer and founder of the eponymous international luxury jewelry brand known for its gem-centric high jewels, who has cut and polished the majority of the 20 largest diamonds discovered this century seemed humbled by his latest creation.

“My love affair with diamonds is life-long and crafting the Graff Lesedi La Rona has been an honor. This diamond, our diamond, is beyond words,” he said. “All our expertise, skill and accomplishment went into crafting this incredible diamond masterpiece, which is extraordinary in every way. The Graff Lesedi La Rona is an exceptional diamond with an exceptional cut and exceptional proportions, earning its place in history as the largest and finest of its kind in the world.”

The gem’s D color grade (meaning colorless) is the highest end of the GIA color scale. It is rare for any diamond to achieve this, much less one of more than 300 carats. While Graff noted its high clarity, meaning that the diamond has few or no inclusions or blemishes, it did not reveal the GIA clarity grade.

It is the principal diamond cut and polished from the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona rough, which was purchased in 2017 by Laurence Graff. In addition to the main diamond, 66 “satellite” diamonds have been polished from the rough, ranging in size from under a carat to more than 26 carats. Each diamond is inscribed with “Graff, Lesedi La Rona” and its unique GIA number, and is accompanied with a certificate of authenticity from Graff and the GIA. Graff began alerting its clients in November 2018 that they can purchase jewels with stones from the rough gem.

The 1,109-carat rough diamond, about the size of a tennis ball, has had a brief but storied existence. It was discovered by Lucara Diamond Corp., a Canadian diamond mining company, in November 2015, at its Karowe mine in Botswana. It is the largest gem-quality diamond discovered in more than 100 years and the second-largest in history. Its size is exceeded only by the legendary 3,016.75-carat Cullinan Diamond, mined in South Africa in 1905, which produced nine major diamonds that are part of the British Crown Jewels.

“There is a huge amount of good fortune involved in unearthing a rough diamond of this extraordinary beauty and importance,” Laurence Graff said. “We had an immense duty to cut the very, very best diamond imaginable from this rough.”

The gem was given the name, Lesedi La Rona, which means “our light” in Botswana’s Tswana language.

Lucara Diamond Corp. originally tried to sell the Lesedi La Rona in a standalone public auction at Sotheby’s London on June, 2016. It was an unusual way to sell a rough diamond. Normally, rough diamonds are sold privately to diamond dealers who then cut and polished it into a finished gem. It created controversy among these dealers. One of those who criticized the sale was Laurence Graff. It had an estimate of more than $70 million. However, it failed to meet its reserve price as bidding stalled at $61 million.

The Graff gemologists and master polishers spent 18 months analyzing, cutting and polishing the stone in order to reveal the 302.37-carat Graff Lesedi La Rona Donald Woodrow

In September 2017, Graff Diamonds announced that it had purchased the diamond for $53 million in a handshake deal between Graff and William Lamb, former president and CEO of Lucara. Once purchased, the diamond was moved to South Africa where Graff’s cutting and polishing processes are carried out.

Laurence Graff said he was confident the Lesedi La Rona would result in “sensational polished gems.” In May 2016, he purchased a 373-carat rough diamond that was believed to have come from the same rough stone. His experience with this gem gave him enough confidence to think he could predict what the Lesedi La Rona might produce.

Even with this experience the Lesedi La Rona presented a unique challenge for Graff’s gemologists. They had never analyzed a stone this large. In fact it was so large that it couldn’t be viewed with existing equipment. A scanner had to be custom built specifically for the Lesedi La Rona with new imaging software capable of probing its immense interior.

With the new equipment, the gemologists were able to explore deep within the diamond and map out the maze of imperfections. They used this information to plot which cuts would yield the largest and highest clarity diamonds possible.

At first, the technical analysis of the Lesedi La Rona concluded that a 300-carat diamond wasn’t possible. However, Laurence Graff said he was convinced that this exceptionally rare weight could be achieved and challenged his staff to accomplish this.

After months of analysis, the plan for cutting and polishing the diamond was so precise there was no room for error. It took hundreds of hours just to polish the table facet, the largest facet at the top of the diamond.

By the time the final finessing of the diamond’s facets had taken place, more than 18 months had elapsed.

”Cutting a diamond of this size is an art form, the ultimate art of sculpture,” Laurence Graff said. “It is the riskiest form of art because you can never add and you can never cover up a mistake, you can only take away. You have to be careful and you have to be perfect.”

The GIA identified the Lesedi La Rona rough as part of an elite group of “super deep” diamonds formed three times deeper than most other diamonds. Rare emissaries of geological information, Graff donated fragments of the Lesedi La Rona to the Smithsonian Institute to help advance diamond research.

Source: forbes.com