There is also a necklace with a large emerald that belonged to the Tsarina Catherine the Great among the Magnificent Jewels at Christie’s auction ♦ ︎
Tsar jewels have always been a myth. And in Geneva, on May 15th, among the jewels on sale at Christie’s auction, the necklace that belonged to Catherine the Great of Russia stands out, with a pear-shaped emerald. It has belonged to the Russian imperial collection for over a century. The emerald originally weighed over 107 carats and had a rectangular cut.
When Catherine of Russia died in 1796, her jewels were passed on to her children. And Tsar Alexander II gave the stone to the Duchess Mary of Mecklenburg-Schwerin when she married her son, Grand Duke Vladimir, in 1874. Cartier bought the stone from the Russian royal family in 1927 and in 1954 cut the pear-shaped emerald to increase its brightness. The emerald was then added to a diamond necklace purchased by the Payne Whitney family and, later, by John D. Rockefeller. The estimate is between 2.5 and 3.5 million dollars.
For fans of blue-blooded jewels, the auction also includes the wedding gift tiara of Federico Francesco IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin to his wife Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland. The tiara, made in 1904, consists of nine graduated pear-shaped aquamarines and rose-cut diamonds. The jewel is not signed, but is attributed to Fabergé.
That of the zarina is not the only great jewel that stands out in the catalog. There is, for example, a rare series of 110 natural pearls: this one is also 2.5-3.5 million. Furthermore, under the lens there is also an unmounted colored diamond of 118.05 carats which was exhibited in the auction rooms of Christie’s in London, on 9 April 2019. The diamond is estimated between 2.5 and 3, 5 million dollars. Another necklace, of emeralds and diamonds, with a less adventurous history is estimated at 1.5-2.5 million dollars.
Curious is the story of the Jonker Diamonds emerald-cut stone signed by Harry Winston. It is one of the diamonds made from a diamond, called Jonker, found on 17 January 1934, of an extraordinary weight of 726 carats. She was portrayed in a photo with the actress Shirley Temple as a child. The Jonker was the fourth largest quality diamond ever brought to light. The stone was cut into 13 pieces. The Jonker V, the diamond for sale, weighs 25.27 carats. Federico Graglia
l’assoluta bellezza, creata da artisti, che sola, può competere con le bellezze della natura