In 1930 John D. Rockefeller, Jr. bought a brooch for his spouse, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. The brooch, mentioned to be by Van Cleef & Arpels, centred upon a big emerald with mesmerising color and impeccable readability. When Abby Aldrich Rockefeller handed away in 1948, Rockefeller turned to Yard to disassemble the brooch, and particular person emeralds from the setting have been distributed among the many Rockefeller youngsters.
The centre emerald, weighing a formidable 18.04 carats, was given to David Rockefeller, who commissioned Raymond Yard to mount it as a hoop. The Rockefeller Emerald was supplied by Christie’s in the summertime of 2017 and was bought by Harry Winston for $5,511,500, or $305,500 per carat — the best value per carat ever obtained for an emerald. After the public sale, the gemstone was instantly rechristened the Rockefeller-Winston emerald.
Based on Richard Burton ‘the one phrase Elizabeth [Taylor] knew in Italian was “Bulgari”’. Through the filming of Cleopatra, Burton visited the Bulgari boutique in Rome, the place he bought this emerald and diamond brooch as a marriage present for his fiancée. Worn by the actress at their marriage in 1964, the brooch was later offered in The Assortment of Elizabeth Taylor: The Legendary Jewels Night Sale at Christie’s in New York in December 2011. It realised $6,130,500, and stays the most costly single stone emerald jewel ever offered.
The Maharajas & Mughal Magnificence public sale in June 2019 supplied a once-in-a-lifetime group of jewels and objects from the Al Thani assortment. One of many many highlights was the The Taj Mahal Emerald, which in itself is a surprise of nature. This emerald of 141.13 carats got here from Colombia and has by no means been subjected to any therapy. The final lot in a marathon 12-hour public sale, it was fought over by personal collectors and establishments earlier than promoting for slightly below $2 million.
This emerald and diamond necklace was bought by Princess Faiza of Egypt — King Farouk’s sister — in 1947 at Van Cleef & Arpels in Paris. In addition to its beautiful craftsmanship, the necklace’s imposing diamonds are complemented by elegant emerald drops. Auctioned at Christie’s Geneva in November 2013, it was bought by Van Cleef & Arpels to grow to be an iconic jewel of the home’s heritage assortment.
It is not uncommon information that essentially the most well-known emerald mines are positioned in Colombia, however few are conscious of the mines of Afghanistan, that are positioned within the Panjshir valley, some 130 km north of Kabul. These fields yielded the exceptionally pure 10.11 carat Afghan Emerald, which was supplied in Christie’s Magnificent Jewels public sale in Hong Kong in December 2015 and achieved $225,000 per carat — an public sale world file for any emerald from Afghanistan.
Catherine the Nice’s beautiful jewelry assortment is famend amongst connoisseurs. Notably keen on emeralds, the Empress collected among the largest stones then in existence. This extraordinary brooch was designed within the mid-18th century and set with a Colombian emerald weighing roughly 65 carats.
In addition to being the technical visionary behind Etcetera, Edmond Chin can be the artistic director at Boghossian, one of many world’s solely family-owned jewelry homes. In Might 2017, Christie’s introduced this extraordinary creation in its Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels public sale — a necklace that includes 11 Colombian emeralds, starting from 12.34 to three.03 carats and displaying no proof of readability modification. The necklace soared previous its pre-sale estimate earlier than promoting to an Asian personal collector for over $6 million.
The rarest and costliest emeralds are mined from Muzo, Coscuez and Chivor within the inexperienced foothills of the Colombian Andes, which is the place the stones on this magnificent pair of earrings, weighing a formidable 23.34 and 23.18 carats and each exhibiting a richly saturated homogenous inexperienced color, come from. Terribly well-matched and spared any therapy, the Grand Muzos have been first supplied by Christie’s in 2012, realising $4.2 million. In 2019, they have been introduced for a second time by Christie’s and offered for $4.5 million, demonstrating the continued demand for jewels and gems of the best high quality.
Simón Iturri Patiño (1860-1947) managed over 60 per cent of the world’s tin output, making him one of many 5 wealthiest males on the planet. Referred to as ‘The Andean Rockefeller’, Patiño developed a connoisseur’s eye for the rarest of gems, and his assortment included this superb emerald and diamond necklace, which comprises greater than 100 carats of the best high quality Colombian emeralds alongside 60 carats of diamonds, mounted by Cartier in 1937. Provided at Christie’s in Geneva in November 2013, The Patiño Necklace made the second highest value for an emerald jewel in public sale historical past.
This legendary gem weighing 75.61 carats was a part of the Russian Imperial assortment for greater than 100 years earlier than Tsar Alexander II of Russia gave it to Grand Duchess Vladimir in 1874, on the event of her marriage ceremony to his son, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia.
After the Grand Duchess’s loss of life in 1920, it was bequeathed to her son, Grand Duke Boris, after which handed via the fingers of well-known collectors akin to Pierre Cartier, the Payne Whitney Household and Raphael Esmerian. Provided at public sale by Christie’s in Geneva in Might 2019, it was bought by a personal collector for $4.5 million, almost double its low estimate.
Be taught extra with Christie’s Schooling
Historical past of Jewelry Design: Half II on-line course
Enroll at the moment
