The Light of Africa Diamond, a D-color, Flawless, Type IIa, emerald-cut diamond of 103.49 carats, with excellent polishing and symmetry, was sold by Christie’s, New York, for 20 million dollars. The gem therefore ranks as the fifth most precious colorless diamond ever offered by Christie’s. The 299.3-inch rough stone was mined at the Cullinan diamond mine and then cut and polished by Stargems Group. Overall, the Magnificent Jewels auction reached a total of $ 48.8 million, with 95% sold by lot and 98% in value.
The jewels on sale also included Jar’s The Ann & Gordon Getty and Twelve Jewels collection. The sale totaled 5.9 million dollars and consisted of one of the largest and most important private collections of the master Joel Arthur Rosenthal. The result of the sale is considered exceptional by Christie’s: the Parrot Tulip brooch with more gems, diamonds and lacquer, was sold for 831,600 dollars, a set of three Fleur-Pompons brooches with diamonds, rubies and colored sapphires, for 579,600, and the Zebra brooch in agate, diamonds and sapphires, for 554,000. Part of the proceeds from the collection will be donated by Gordon Getty to a Ukrainian relief fund.
The Magnificent Jewels auction at Christie’s New York rounded off an incredible sale season with solid results worldwide. Ann Getty’s extraordinary JAR collection sold for a total of $5,065,000, over double the pre-sale estimate. The 103.49ct Light of Africa D Flawless diamond achieved an incredible $195,000 per carat demonstrating the strength of the diamond market at the highest levels. The stone was unearthed at the Cullinan Mine and polished by the Stargems Group. We look forward to the rest of our online jewelry sales in London, New York, and Paris, which run through the end of June.
Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Jewelry, Christie’s
The sale also achieved excellent results for jewels from important private collections, such as a selection of Bulgari jewels from the collection of the Italian actress Silvana Mangano, led by a Bulgari Fancy Intense Trombino ring with a 15.98-carat yellow diamond, sold for 693,000. dollars, a set of coral and gold jewelry Van Cleef & Arpels, formerly in the collection of Brooke Astor, who made 75,600 and a pair of emerald and diamond earrings of 13.79 and 12.14 carats from the property of a private collector , which reached $ 1,260,000.
