Sotheby’s New York expects “The Juno Diamond” to command upwards of $10 million at its Magnificent Jewels sale this month. The stone weighs more than 100 carats.
New York—Two important diamonds are headlining the upcoming Magnificent Jewels auction at Sotheby’s New York.
“The Juno Diamond” is a Type IIa, 101.41-carat, D-color, internally flawless pear-shaped diamond. Sotheby’s estimates it will sell for more than $10 million.
From “an important private collection,” according to Sotheby’s, The Juno Diamond is named for the Roman goddess of light and fertility.
Only 11 diamonds weighing over 100 carats have hit the auction block, Sotheby’s said, and it has sold seven of them.
Recently, “The Rock,” a 228-carat diamond, garnered nearly $22 million at Christie’s Geneva. It ranks as the fifth most expensive white or colorless diamond to sell at auction.
The most expensive was “The Art of De Grisogono, Creation I,” which earned $33.7 million at Christie’s Geneva in 2017. That stone weighed 163.41 carats.
Not content to be upstaged by the colorless stone, Sotheby’s is also offering a fancy deep orange-brown diamond with a unique setting.
Weighing 111.59 carats, the auction house said “The Earth Star” is the second-largest cut and polished brown diamond to come to auction, and one of only three such stones weighing over 100 carats to ever go up on the block.
Recovered from South Africa in 1967, “The Earth Star” returned to the country in 1971 in celebration of the Kimberley mine’s 100-year anniversary. David Webb created the stone’s current setting in honor of its auction appearance this year.
The stone made an appearance in the 1968 tome “Famous Diamonds” by Lord Ian Balfour.
The rough version—weighing 248 carats—was discovered the year before in South Africa at the Jagersfontein mine.
Jagersfontein wasn’t known to produce brown diamonds or diamonds of that size. The stone came from 2,500 feet below the surface, deeper than is typical for such a large diamond.
The Baumgold brothers in New York cut and polished the stone into its current pear shape and named it The Earth Star for its brilliance.
In 1983, it sold for close to $1 million and has remained in private ownership until now.
Sotheby’s is offering the diamond without reserve, estimating it will sell for between $1.5 million and $2.5 million.
It is the largest diamond the David Webb workshop in New York City has ever mounted. The company set it into a pendant with azurmalachite, diamonds, and gold, emphasizing its origin beneath the Earth’s surface.
Another view of “The Earth Star Diamond” in its David Webb mounting with azurmalachite, diamonds, and gold
The Sotheby’s New York Magnificent Jewels sale is set for June 16.
Other highlights include a Type IIa, 26.06-carat diamond, D-color, VVS1 clarity, emerald-cut diamond set in a ring by Kwiat ($2 million-$3 million); a pair of sapphire and diamond ear clips; ($2 million-$3 million); and a Cartier emerald and diamond necklace ($1.5 million-$2.5 million).
