The Blue Belle sapphire and diamond necklace is to lead a Christie’s New York sale next month with an estimate of $8m to $12m.
The tassel pendant features a 392.52 carat unheated, cushion modified, mixed-cut sapphire from the famed Ratnapura region of Sri Lanka, together with oval-shaped diamond terminals, and a brilliant-cut diamond neckchain, mounted in gold.
The estimate is well below the $17.6m the piece sold for at Christie’s Geneva when it last changed hands in November 2014.
The sapphire was recovered in 1926 and was sold in 1937 to was sold to British motor magnate Lord Nuffield, founder of Morris Motors.
There were reports at the time that the gem would be gifted to HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on her coronation day, though this didn’t actually happen.
“Sapphires of this caliber are extraordinarily rare,” said Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s international head of jewelry.
“This remarkable stone must be considered among the most prestigious colored gemstones to appear on the market in many years – truly worthy of any world-class collection.
Among other highlights at the Magnificent Jewels live auction on 17 June, is the Marie-Thérèse Pink Diamond, 10.38-carat kite-shaped fancy purple-pink diamond that is said to have belonged to Marie Antoinette.
It has recently been set into a contemporary ring by the Parisian jeweler Joel Arthur Rosenthal
A diamond necklace by Bulgari featuring a cushion-shaped, 118.35-carat, royal-blue sapphire from Sri Lanka is set to realize up to $4.5 million at an upcoming Phillips sale in Hong Kong.
The necklace was created in 2004 by the Italian high-jewelry house, and it is the first time it is available at auction, Phillips said. The piece, from “an esteemed private collection,” will lead the May 23 Jewels & Jadeite sale at the new Phillips Asia headquarters in the West Kowloon Cultural District, the company added.
The sapphire is accompanied by SSEF and Gübelin gemological reports and appendix letters “expressing the rarity and exceptionality of the sapphire,” the auction house said. In addition, Gübelin awarded it the royal-blue color grade, meaning it has an even saturation not often seen in unheated blue sapphires of this size.
The necklace was featured in Bulgari’s “125 Years of Italian Magnificence” retrospective in China from 2011 to 2012.
The combination of the exceptional qualities of the sapphire, its Sri Lankan origins and the design by Bulgari make this a particularly important jewel, said Benoît Repellin, worldwide head of jewelry at Phillips.
“Unique in its size, color and origin, the stone embodies the transparency and luminosity pursued by Bulgari for its high-jewelry creations,” he explained. “This jewel is a holy grail for any collector, with a classic and elegant design typical of Bulgari that emphasizes the beauty and extraordinariness of the gem.”
A rare sapphire necklace was the top seller at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction in Hong Kong, which garnered about $60 million in total on Tuesday.
The Peacock Necklace, which had a presale estimate of $12 million to $15 million, became the most expensive Kashmir sapphire necklace per carat in auction history, Christie’s said. The piece contains 21 cushion-cut Kashmir sapphires weighing a total of 109.08 carats. It fetched $15 million at the sale, achieving a price of $137,146 per carat.
Christie’s also garnered $1.3 million from the sale of the 24.04-carat, fancy-yellow Moon of Baroda pendant, which Marilyn Monroe wore to the premiere of her 1953 movie, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The piece smashed its estimate of $500,000 to $750,000. An autographed photo of the actress wearing the necklace fetched $35,302, compared with its original estimate of $10,000 to $15,000.
An oval-shaped, 10.04-carat, Burmese pigeon’s blood ruby and diamond ring brought in $7.2 million in line with an expected $6.9 million to $8.7 million. A set of pear brilliant-cut, fancy-pink earrings weighing 5.21 carats and 5.01 carats sold for $4.3 million, within its presale valuation range of $3.8 million to $4.5 million .
Christie’s sold 70% of lots on offer at the auction.
