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300+ Colored Diamonds Up for Auction at Christie’s
Late collector Eddy Elzas assembled “The Rainbow Collection,” which is offered as a single lot and estimated to fetch up to $3 million.
“The Rainbow Collection,” a single lot of 300-plus fancy colored diamonds, will be offered at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction, scheduled to take place Tuesday in Geneva.
Geneva—A collection of more than 300 loose fancy colored diamonds is coming to Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction in Geneva Tuesday.
“The Rainbow Collection” features diamonds of varying cuts and sizes in hues spanning the full chromatic spectrum—red, blue, yellow, orange, pink, and grey.
Christie’s said it is one of the “most extensive and conceptually coherent” collections of natural fancy colored diamonds ever created.
The auction houses estimates that it will sell for between $2 million and $3 million.
Each diamond in the collection was chosen for its ability to represent a singular, unrepeatable hue, Christie’s said.
Eddy Elzas, a prominent collector and diamond expert who died in late 2021, assembled the collection.
Elzas got his start as a diamond cleaver and later moved on to diamond trading.
In the 1970s, while working as a broker in South Africa, he was shown a cigar box filled with colored diamonds that had proved difficult to sell because at the time, colored diamonds were considered commercially less valuable than white diamonds.
It sparked his interest, and Elzas became dedicated to sourcing “the rarest hues, the most captivating cuts, and the stories behind each stone,” Christie’s said.
He also taught about colored diamonds at the Gemological Institute of America, where he helped shape future gemologists and influenced the market’s perception of value.
Christie’s said The Rainbow Collection is a symbol of “wonder, elegance, and the pursuit of perfection.”
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“The Rainbow Collection” features diamonds of varying cuts and sizes in hues spanning the full chromatic spectrum—red, blue, yellow, orange, pink, and grey.
Christie’s said it is one of the “most extensive and conceptually coherent” collections of natural fancy colored diamonds ever created.
The auction houses estimates that it will sell for between $2 million and $3 million.
Each diamond in the collection was chosen for its ability to represent a singular, unrepeatable hue, Christie’s said.
Eddy Elzas, a prominent collector and diamond expert who died in late 2021, assembled the collection.
Elzas got his start as a diamond cleaver and later moved on to diamond trading.
In the 1970s, while working as a broker in South Africa, he was shown a cigar box filled with colored diamonds that had proved difficult to sell because at the time, colored diamonds were considered commercially less valuable than white diamonds.
It sparked his interest, and Elzas became dedicated to sourcing “the rarest hues, the most captivating cuts, and the stories behind each stone,” Christie’s said.
He also taught about colored diamonds at the Gemological Institute of America, where he helped shape future gemologists and influenced the market’s perception of value.
Christie’s said The Rainbow Collection is a symbol of “wonder, elegance, and the pursuit of perfection.”
More than 100 jewels will be on offer at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction, including the 9.51-carat Mellon Blue diamond (est. $20 million to $30 million), which once belonged to American horticulturalist and philanthropist Bunny Mellon.
Three notable private collections also will be up for auction.
“A Splendid Casket of Ancestral Jewellery” features ruby jewels from a collection inherited by Helena Violet Alice (née Fraser), Third Countess of Stradbroke (1874-1949).
At the Coronation of Edward VII in 1902, the Countess wore this ruby and diamond tiara (left), which is estimated to achieve $360,000 to $600,000, with this ruby and diamond brooch (right), which is estimated to sell for $1.4 million to $2 million.
A collection of 25 pieces by JAR—the second-largest JAR collection ever to appear at auction, according to Christies—is also a highlight.
A fancy purplish-pink 8.68-carat diamond ring estimated to fetch $2.5 million to $3.5 million is part of the collection.
A ring by JAR featuring an 8.68-carat fancy purplish-pink colored diamond
A diamond-set articulated band depicting a Chinese pagoda and boat within an Oriental Garden, set with caliber-cut emeralds, rubies, and onyx, circa 1925, signed Lacloche Freres No. 65724.
Other highlights include a brooch featuring a 65.46-carat unheated Burmese blue sapphire. Its pre-sale estimate is $2.6 million to $3.8 million.
Also on offer are a Tiffany & Co. Art Nouveau floral brooch designed by Paulding Farnham (est. $110,000 to $150,000) and an Art Deco diamond and gem-set Lacloche Frères bracelet (est. $410,000 to $630,000) unseen on the market for nearly 20 years.
Magnificent Jewels will take place Tuesday at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva.
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