Christie’s is set to auction “The Yellow Rose,” a 202-carat loose diamond (left), while Sotheby’s will feature the 101-carat “Allnatt” in its upcoming sale.
New York—With the spring auction season in full swing, Christie’s and Sotheby’s have two special diamonds to share.
The highlight of Christie’s “Magnificent Jewels” auction in Geneva will be “The Yellow Rose,” a 202.18-carat fancy intense yellow pear modified brilliant-cut diamond mined in South Africa.
“The Yellow Rose” is a 202.18-carat unmounted fancy intense yellow diamond.
The pre-sale estimate is about CHF 4 million ($4.41 million).
There have been only two other yellow diamonds weighing more than 200 carats sold at auction, said Christie’s.
The “Magnificent Jewels” auction is slated to take place at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues on Wednesday, a sale that is continuing despite the fact that the auction house’s website has been offline since Thursday evening following a cyberattack.
In an Instagram post Tuesday morning, Christie’s said it is “pleased to reassure our clients that secure bidding for Magnificent Jewels will be available in person, by telephone, absentee, or through Christie’s Live.”
Christie’s Live is its livestream of the auction. The statement on Instagram said that clients who want to bid online should contact a member of the team or the bids department to register.
The accompanying “The Jewels Online: The Geneva Edit” sale was scheduled to be open for bidding online from May 8-22. Christie’s did not respond to a request for comment about the status of the sale.
Meanwhile, Sotheby’s has a sizable yellow diamond of its own heading to its “Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels” sale, which will be held today in Geneva.
“The Allnatt” is a 101.29-carat fancy vivid yellow diamond, mounted in a Cartier brooch.
“The Allnatt” was named after its first known owner, Major Alfred Ernest Allnatt.
It has a pre-sale estimate of CHF 5.6 million to 6.5 million ($6.2 million to $7.2 million).
The stone was named after its first known owner, Major Alfred Ernest Allnatt, a British sportsman, racehorse owner, philanthropist, collector, and patron of the arts.
Allnatt acquired the diamond in the early 1950s, said the auction house, and had it mounted by Cartier.
The brooch’s floral design is similar to the mounting Cartier created for the “Williamson Pink” diamond around the same years of production (1952-1953), said Sotheby’s.
The Allnatt is “one of the largest and most historically significant yellow diamonds ever discovered,” said Sotheby’s.
The diamond is from South Africa and likely was mined more than 100 years ago, it said, adding this sale marks its first appearance on the market in nearly 30 years.
The stone has been included in several exhibitions, including “The Splendor of Diamonds” in 2003 at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, which highlighted seven diamonds representing the best of their colors.
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As for other notable auction highlights, Christie’s sales will feature diamonds, gemstones, and signed jewels from several designers, including Buccellati, Cartier, Georges Fouquet, Tiffany & Co., Jean Schlumberger, Marina B, Van Cleef & Arpels, Sterlé, and JAR.
Up for auction is an early 20th century brooch, circa 1915, belonging to Queen Victoria Eugenia, set with sugarloaf and oval-shaped cabochon emeralds and old mine-, rose-, and calibré-cut diamonds.
This emerald and diamond brooch, circa 1915, is said to have belonged to Queen Victoria Eugenia.
It has a pre-sale estimate of CHF 150,000 to 200,000 ($165,525 to $220,700).
At Sotheby’s, another top lot is a pair of earrings set with Burmese sapphires, weighing 14.66 carats and 13.94 carats, framed by marquise-shaped diamonds “of a blue tint.”
These Burmese sapphire earrings are up for auction at Sotheby’s.
The pre-sale estimate is CHF 1 million to 1.46 million ($1.1 million to $1.6 million).
