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182-Carat Paraíba-Type Tourmaline Heading to Auction in Hong Kong
Bonhams will offer the “Kat Florence Lumina” at its May 22 jewelry auction.
The “Kat Florence Lumina” is named for jewelry designer Kat Florence, who is married to Don Kogen, the gem hunter who found the original 830-carat rough crystal in Mozambique more than 20 years ago.
Toronto—A Paraíba-type tourmaline weighing more than 180 carats is headed to auction at Bonhams Hong Kong next month.
The 181.61-carat unheated “Kat Florence Lumina” will go up for auction on May 22 as part of the auction house’s “Hong Kong Jewels and Jadeite” sale.
Bonhams said the gemstone is estimated to sell for HK$3 million to HK$5 million (approximately $386,100 to $643,500, or about $2,126 to $3,543 per carat).
The gemstone was named after jewelry designer Kat Florence, who runs her eponymous jewelry brand.
Florence’s husband, gem hunter Don Kogen, found the gemstone and later cut it to fit her vision, according to a news release circulated by the brand last week.
When it was unearthed in the Mavuco district of Mozambique’s Nampula province in 2003, the rough crystal weighed 830 carats.
Kogen estimated that it could be cut into a clean gem weighing more than 300 carats, the release states, but the stone sat untouched for many years.
This year, Florence began encouraging Kogen to revisit the crystal, and the initial result was a 315-carat gemstone.
While remarkable in size, the brilliance of the giant Paraíba-type tourmaline was compromised.
Like many Paraíba, or Paraíba-type tourmalines, weighing more than 100 carats, it displayed “windowing,” a “flatness that dulls fire and life at the center of the gem,” the release states.
After deliberation and precision work by the brand’s cutting team, the stone was recut to its current weight, 181.61 carats.
Related stories will be right here …
The 181.61-carat unheated “Kat Florence Lumina” will go up for auction on May 22 as part of the auction house’s “Hong Kong Jewels and Jadeite” sale.
Bonhams said the gemstone is estimated to sell for HK$3 million to HK$5 million (approximately $386,100 to $643,500, or about $2,126 to $3,543 per carat).
The gemstone was named after jewelry designer Kat Florence, who runs her eponymous jewelry brand.
Florence’s husband, gem hunter Don Kogen, found the gemstone and later cut it to fit her vision, according to a news release circulated by the brand last week.
When it was unearthed in the Mavuco district of Mozambique’s Nampula province in 2003, the rough crystal weighed 830 carats.
Kogen estimated that it could be cut into a clean gem weighing more than 300 carats, the release states, but the stone sat untouched for many years.
This year, Florence began encouraging Kogen to revisit the crystal, and the initial result was a 315-carat gemstone.
While remarkable in size, the brilliance of the giant Paraíba-type tourmaline was compromised.
Like many Paraíba, or Paraíba-type tourmalines, weighing more than 100 carats, it displayed “windowing,” a “flatness that dulls fire and life at the center of the gem,” the release states.
After deliberation and precision work by the brand’s cutting team, the stone was recut to its current weight, 181.61 carats.
According to the release, the gemstone is the largest known Paraíba-type tourmaline of its kind, “unheated, vividly saturated, and masterfully cut.”
“The Kat Florence Lumina holds global recognition for its rarity, uniting size, color, clarity, and cut in a way never before seen in the world of Paraíba tourmalines,” the release states.
It has reports from Bellerophon Gemlab, American Gemological Laboratories, and Gübelin Gem Lab.
The stone will be exhibited in Taipei, Taiwan, on Apr. 11-13, Singapore on May 10-11, and Hong Kong on May 17-21, prior to being auctioned on May 22.
More details on the other lots in the Bonhams jewelry and jade auction will be available shortly.
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