Juno Diamond, a 101.41 carat D-color pear-shaped stone, internally flawless, was sold in New York at Sotheby’s for 13 million dollars. The result places the stone among the highest prices ever achieved for a D, Flawless or Internally Flawless color diamond of over 100 carats at auction. The diamond was bought by telephone from a private collector in Asia. As often happens, the buyer changed the name of the gem, which is now called Claire G Diamond, as he dedicates to his wife, probably arousing no small amount of envy.
The Claire G Diamond was the star lot in the Magnificent Jewels sale, which totaled $ 52 million. Along with this week’s Fine Jewels sale, Sotheby’s World Jewelery auctions exceeded $ 230 million, a 14% increase over the same period in 2021.
We are thrilled to see this exceptional diamond achieve such a strong result, confirming that there is continued demand from collectors at the highest levels of the market. This diamond has captivated customers around the world on our long travels this spring, but it has been a special privilege to offer it at our global headquarters, where it now ranks among the top five jewels sold in Sotheby’s New York sales room. . Including today’s result, only five pear-shaped perfect diamonds weighing over 100 carats were sold at auction, including four at Sotheby’s.
Quig Bruning, Head of Jewels, Sotheby’s Americas
The Claire G Diamond has obtained superlative gradations both in color (D Color – the highest grade for a white diamond) and in purity (Internally Flawless). As with the famous Cullinan I and Koh-i-noor diamonds, which are part of the British crown jewels, the stone is part of the rare subgroup comprising less than 2% of all gem diamonds, known as type IIa. Diamonds in this category are the purest chemically, giving them exceptional optical transparency.
When curating our Magnificent Jewels sales, we’re continually on the hunt for not only extraordinary, timeless designs but also for of-the-moment jewels and gemstones that signal growth areas in the market. In particular, it’s been thrilling to witness the increase in our clients’ appetite for stones beyond the standard canon of diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds, and to see the evolution in their appreciation for specimen stones, such as the Paraiba Tourmaline and Diamond Pendant Necklace, which sold for an incredible $1.2 million. We also saw exceptional results for signed jewels by the iconic maisons, including a Mystery-Set Ruby Holly Leaf brooch by Van Cleef & Arpels that sold for nearly $1 million.
Catharine Becket, sales manager of Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels in New York
The sale included colorful diamonds and beautiful sapphires owned by George C. Thomas Jr., which totaled 7 million. The group was led by two exquisite old-cut colored diamonds: a 4.08-carat Fancy Intense Pink, sold for 3.8 million (estimate 1.2-1.8 million), and a 3.46-carat Fancy Gray-Violet. carat, which reached 2 million (estimate 500-700,000).
A magnificent ring with emerald-cut Type IIA diamonds, color D, weighing 26.06 carats by Kwiat, yielded 2.3 million (estimate $ 2/3 million). Three bidders pushed a major Burmese ruby and diamond ring from 8.80 carats to 1.6 million (estimate 1.3-2 million). An exceptionally rare Brazilian Paraiba tourmaline and diamond pendant necklace, weighing 10.31 carats, has risen to 1.2 million (estimate 500-700,000). Collectors vied for a Van Cleef & Arpels Boreal diamond necklace, which sold for 1.2 million (estimate 1-1.5 million) and a Harry Winston sapphire and diamond necklace, which made 1 million (estimate 800,000). -1.2 million).
