‘Oppenheimer Blue,’ ‘Unique Pink’ Set For Auction In Geneva

The Oppenheimer Blue could fetch $45 million

Two rare statement colored diamonds will highlight the upcoming Sotheby’s and Christie’s jewelry auctions in Geneva this week. 

The item getting all the press (and for good reason) is the 14.62-carat “Oppenheimer Blue,” which is the highlight of Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues on Wednesday. It is “the largest and finest fancy vivid blue diamond ever offered at auction,” according to the auction house. 

If it goes beyond its high estimate of $45 million, it could outpace the “Blue Moon of Josephine,” a 12.03-carat cushion-shaped fancy internally flawless vivid blue diamond that set a world auction record of $48.4 million in November, 2015.

The diamond was previously owned by Sir Philip Oppenheimer, a member of the family that once controlled the De Beers Mining Company. He is credited with serving for 45 years as chairman of the Central Selling Organization, the sales cartel set up by De Beers to keep strict control over the diamond supply worldwide. He died in 1995 at the age of 83.

While the Oppenheimer Blue is the star of the Geneva jewelry auctions, there will be several other statement pieces on the auction block. In particular, the “Unique Pink,” (pictured above) which goes on sale at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale at the Hôtel Beau-Rivage. The pear shaped 15.38-carat fancy vivid pink diamond has a high estimate of $38 million. It is the largest fancy vivid pink pear shaped diamond ever offered at auction, according to the auction house. “In my experience, such outstanding vivid Pink color in a stone over 15 carats is truly unique,” said David Bennett, worldwide chairman of Sotheby’s International Jewellery Division.

At the same auction, a pear shaped 7.32-carat fancy vivid blue diamond ring will be offered with a high estimate of $25 million (pictured above).

Meanwhile, Christie’s will be offering earrings with matching fancy vivid orange-yellow diamonds of 12.20 and 11.96 carats (above). One diamond with this color is extremely rare, let alone two matching diamonds. The high estimate for the pair, named “The Oriental Sunrise,” is $12.2 million. The origin of the diamonds is unknown or unavailable. 

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Chopard Sparkles On The Cannes Red Carpet

Julianne Moore in emerald earrings from Chopard's Green Carpet Collection

The Cannes Film Festival red carpet is one of the world’s top fashion stages. It’s the only international red carpet presentation that I know of where the jewels are on a near equal footing with the gowns and the stars who wear them. Other companies use the stage to adorn the stars with their jewels and watches but the Cannes Film Festival is Chopard’s world.

It’s a world that began in 1998, when the film festival introduced the first Palme d’Or designed by Chopard. It's the trophy awarded to the best film of the festival. The Swiss luxury brand’s partnership broke new ground in 2007 when it introduced its Red Carpet Collection. The collection of one-of-a-kind jewels is unveiled every year during the festival is worn by the stars throughout the event. This year, the company introduced 69 jewels, which honors the 69th edition of the annual festival.

It has to be one of the great marketing coups by a jewelry and watch company.

In recent years the collection included the “Green Carpet Collection” of jewels, which are crafted with Fairmined gold. This year for the first time the collection includes emeralds, mined in a responsible sustainable manner by Gemfields, a colored gemstone mining and marketing company, from its mine in Zambia.

The following stars appeared on the Cannes Red Carpet Wednesday wearing Chopard Red Carpet, Green Carpet and High Jewellery collections.

Julianne Moore wore earrings from the Green Carpet Collection in 18k white Fairmined gold set with two pear-shaped emeralds (10 and 11 carats each) and marquise-cut diamonds; and a ring from the Green Carpet Collection in 18k white Fairmined gold adorned with a 10.3-carat cushion shaped emerald and set with marquise-cut diamonds (top photo and above). All emeralds are responsibly mined at Gemfields’ Kagem mine in Zambia. All diamonds are sourced from a producer who is an RJC certified member.

Chinese Actress Zhao Tao chose a necklace in 18k rose gold set with rubies (131.5 carats) and diamonds (31.34 carats), a pair of earrings in 18k rose gold set with rubies (24.97 carats) and diamonds (2.84 carats) and a bracelet in 18k rose gold set with rubies (20.09 carats) and diamonds (20.15 carats, all from the Red Carpet Collection.

Victoria Beckham wore two bracelets in 18k white gold set with diamonds and a ring in 18k white gold set with a 8.88 carats of cushion-cut diamonds, all from the High Jewellery Collection. Caroline Scheufele, Chopard co-president and artistic director, walked the red carpet with Beckham in Chopard.

Kirsten Dunst, wore a pair of earrings in 18k white gold with diamonds (20.24 carats), a bracelet in platinum set with diamonds (9.12 carats) and a bracelet in 18k white gold set with diamonds (18.27 carats), all from the High Jewellery Collection.

Italian Actress Valeria Golino, wore a pair of pink spinel and diamond earrings and pale pink spinel ring, all from the High Jewellery Collection.

Thai Actress Araya Hargate wore an 18k white gold necklace set with 76.5 carats of conch pearls and 90.76 carats of diamonds. She also word diamond stud earrings in 18k white gold set with brilliant cut diamonds and a ring in 18k white gold with 5.21 carats of diamonds, all from the High Jewellery Collection.

French singer Line Renaud wore an 18k white gold necklace with 82.48 carats of diamonds, all from the High Jewellery Collection.

Italian Model Bianca Balti shined in a pair of earrings in 18k white gold set with sapphires and diamonds and a bracelet in 18k white gold set with sapphires and diamonds, all from the High Jewellery Collection.

French Actress Frédérique Bel wore a pair of 18k white gold earrings featuring diamonds and rubies and bracelet featuring rubies and diamonds, all from the High Jewellery Collection. 

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Cartier Necklace Could Fetch $60,000 At Bidsquare Online Jewelry Auction

Cartier bib necklace with moonstone, diamonds, and sapphire

Signed jewels by Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Hermes, Chanel, Tiffany and David Webb are among the items that will be presented at a live online auction Tuesday hosted by Bidsquare. 

The "Spring Jewels: Fine Estate & Signed Jewelry" sale is by Fortuna Auction, a New York-based auction house, but registration and bidding can be done online through Bidsquare, a New York-based online auction site. 

A total of 397 lots will be presented with the top lot being a Cartier bib necklace with moonstone, diamonds, and sapphire (top photo). This has an estimate of $50,000 - $60,000 with an opening bid set at $45,000. 
   

But it is far from the only quality item in this diverse selection of jewels. For example, natural pearls are among the hottest items at auction in recent years and this sale features a 14.90-carat beauty that measures 14.20" x 11.13" (with SSEF certificate) set in a platinum and diamond ring (pictured above). Its estimate is $40,000 - $50,000. 

There are even some surprising items, such as timepieces, objets d'art and handbags. In fact one of the top lots is a Hermès patent black porosus crocodile Kelly bag in new condition (pictured above). This has an estimate of $22,000 - $25,000. 

A fun jewel being presented is an 18k, two-tone, diamond, enamel “Humpty Dumpty” brooch by Donlad Claflin for Tiffany & Co. with an estimate of $20,000 - $24,000. 

While the live auction date is May 17, people can place absentee bids anytime online up to the day of the live auction. 

“This is ideal for users that may not be available on the 17th but can still place their maximum bid,” said Allis Ghim, Bidsquare president and CEO. “Once they place their max bid online, the system automatically bids on their behalf up to their max bid on the day of the live sale.”

Go to the Bidsquare website to register for the live online sale or to bid in advance. 

Marilyn Cooperman Large Emerald and Kunzite Star Brooch. Estimate $20,000 - $25,000

Bidsquare is an auction website that sells merchandise from established auction houses. It was launched when six auction houses (Cowan’s Auctions, Rago, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, Skinner, Pook & Pook and Brunk Auctions) joined forces. Bidsquare auctions range from fine art to estate jewels, to modern design and historical artifacts, all vetted by America’s foremost auction houses. The site also boasts a free, searchable database of more than a million auction records.

Jewelry News Network has been featuring items from the auction daily on its social media sites and will continue to do so until May 17. 

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19% Decline In Gold Jewelry Demand

Higher prices for gold and market-specific difficulties led to a steep decline in gold jewelry demand for the first quarter of 2016, according to the World Gold Council. 

Global gold jewelry demand fell 19 percent, year-over-year, to 481.9 tons for the period (a four-year low) led by large declines in demand in India and China, the two largest gold markets, the WGC said in its quarterly “Gold Demand Trends” report.

But the decline in demand spread worldwide as a 122 percent increase in gold investment demand led to a surge in the price of the precious metal. The WGC attributed this increase in demand to a “swirling uncertainty" created by a "mix of factors" that "undermined confidence in traditional asset classes.” This included Negative Interest Rate Policies implemented by the central banks of Japan and Europe, China’s devaluation of the yuan fueling fears over the country’s economic health, and the expected slowing pace of interest rate rises in the U.S. 

This resulting increase in the price of the precious metal slowed jewelry making activity in much of the world. There were few bright spots. 

India’s jewelry manufacturing operations “virtually ground to a halt” in March due to “a combination of surging prices and industrial action in protest at government policy,” the WGC said. The protests erupted with the India’s government announced plans to impose a 1 percent excise tax on jewelry manufacturing. Jewelry stores throughout much of the country closed for the entire month of March and into April. 

The result was that first quarter gold jewelry demand fell 41 percent to 88.4 tons in India, a seven-year low. However the WGC added that it believes business will soon return to normal as most stores re-opened in the second half of April for the Akshaya Tritiya festival in early May and the start of the wedding season. 

Meanwhile, China saw a 17 percent decline in gold jewelry demand year-over-year to 179.4 tons due to “sharply rising gold price against a background of continued economic slowdown,” the WGC said.

The high price of gold took its toll in other Asian markets. Malaysia (-23%) and Indonesia (-10%) were the weakest performers. 

Vietnam was an exception to the depressed regional market, with jewelry demand 6 percent higher year-over-year. However, the WGC warned that at least some of this growth could be attributed to investment demand. 

The US proved to be one of the few bright spots in the world as demand for gold jewelry continues to grow. In the first quarter demand increased 2 percent year-over-year to 22.6 tons, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of year-over-year gains, “impressive for a market where economic growth has remained relatively anemic,” the WGC said. 

Some retailers were re-entering the gold jewelry market after slashing or completely eradicating their gold product offerings, WGC said. In addition, double digit gains in gold jewelry imports in January and February “was a clear indication of US consumers’ continued desire for gold jewelry.” 

The lone bright spot in the Middle East was Iran where gold jewelry demand rallied by 10 percent year-over-year to 9.9 tons as the market continues to feel the benefit of the lifting of Western sanctions. However, the WGC added that this growth was tempered by the impact of 9 percent VAT. 

The remaining Middle Eastern markets uniformly saw double-digit losses in the first quarter as the region is beset with low oil prices and weak tourism revenues, in addition to the high price of gold. Egypt was the worst casualty as demand fell 18 percent to 7.7 tons.

In Turkey, gold jewelry demand declined 18 percent to 8.5 tons as the high price of gold, a struggling domestic economy and terrorist activities weighed on sentiment, the WGC said.

In Europe, gold jewelry demand was lackluster with a 1 percent increase to 12.7 tons. 

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Jewels For Mother’s Day

There’s still time to buy an exceptional jewelry gift for Mother’s Day and in the spirit of gift giving five designers have ideas on what you can purchase for this special day. 

Zorab Creations
This three-gem ring may threaten the budget of last-minute gift givers but it’s worth it. The crossing white gold and palladium mounting houses a green tourmaline, tanzanite and spessartite garnet, each surrounded by a sprinkling of white and colored diamonds. Find retailers in the U.S. by following this link.

Etienne Perret
This pendant features 14mm blue-grey Tahitian pearl rests comfortably in its circular 18k rose gold frame. It’s made by jewelry designer Etienne Perret. His jewels are available at a number of independent retailers around the country. 

Alex Soldier 
The colorful Astra collection (including the ruby and diamond rings pictured), are well-designed and crafted by the jewelry artist. You can contact the jeweler directly to learn where to purchase.

Jewels With A Message
The U.S. jewelry brand, Lagos, now provides engraving services with its Caviar line of jewels. The customer has the option to engrave a monogram, significant date or message on the inside of select Caviar pieces. The brand’s products are available at major department stores around the country but the engraving service is offered exclusively through Lagos.com.

Colorful Flower Earrings
These earrings by Rita Fusaro are made of 18k white gold with yellow or pink –pear-shaped sapphires and diamonds. They can be ordered by contacting the company directly through its website. 

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$70 Million Auction Estimate For 1,100-Carat Rough Diamond

Photo credit: Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Sotheby's

Using over-exuberant superlatives is commonplace among international auction houses but the item that Sotheby’s will be auctioning in London on June 29 may defy ordinary words.

Calling it “one of the greatest finds of the century,” the auction house is offering a 1,109-carat rough diamond in a standalone auction. Is it hyperbole? Not likely. It is the largest gem-quality rough diamond to be discovered in more than a century and the largest rough diamond in existence today, the auction house said.

Named the “Lesedi la Rona,” it is estimated to sell for more than $70 million.

Photo credit: Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Sotheby's

The gem was unearthed by Lucara Diamond Corp., a Canadian diamond mining company, in November 2015, at its Karowe mine in Botswana. Described as being about the size of a tennis ball (measuring approximately 66.4 x 55 x 42 mm), this rough diamond of “exceptional transparency and quality” is around 2.5 to more than 3 billion years old, the auction house said.

Sotheby’s said it has been more than 100 years since a diamond of this size and quality of the Lesedi La Rona has been found. Its size is exceeded only by the legendary Cullinan Diamond, mined in South Africa in 1905. The 3,016.75-carat diamond produced nine major diamonds that are part of the historic Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, including the Great Star of Africa—considered to be the largest top-quality polished diamond in existence, weighing 530.20 carats.

Photo credit: Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Sotheby's

According to Sotheby’s, the Gemological Institute of America said the Lesedi La Rona’s “top color and transparency has the ‘limpid’ appearance commonly associated with type IIa diamonds,” which accounts for fewer than 2 percent of all gem-quality diamonds. They are considered “the most chemically pure and often show extraordinary optical transparency,” according to the GIA.

Sotheby’s adds that, according to independent reports, it has the potential to yield the largest top-quality diamond that has ever been cut and polished with an additional “high probability” that the resulting polished diamonds will be “D” color—the highest color classification for white diamonds.

Photo credit: Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Sotheby's

“The Lesedi la Rona is simply outstanding and its discovery is the find of a lifetime,” said David Bennett, worldwide chairman of Sotheby’s Jewellery Division. “Every aspect of this auction is unprecedented. Not only is the rough superlative in size and quality, but no rough even remotely of this scale has ever been offered before at public auction.”

“We are very excited to be partnering with Sotheby’s on this landmark auction,” added William Lamb, president and CEO of Lucara Diamond Corp., “The forthcoming sale presents a unique opportunity to present this extraordinary diamond to a worldwide audience.”

Photo credit: Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Sotheby's

The Lesedi la Rona will be on view at Sotheby’s New York on May 7 and at Sotheby’s London from June 18 - 28.

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Montblanc Unveils Peggy Guggenheim Pen While Celebrating 25 Years Of Arts Patronage

Montblanc Patron of Art Peggy Guggenheim 888 limited edition writing instrument

Each year Montblanc creates “Patron of Art” limited edition writing instruments to honor an historical figure noted for his or her patronage to the arts. This year the honoree is Peggy Guggenheim, the late American heiress who spent her last 30 years in Venice displaying her modern art collection in her residence, which is now home to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. 

Guggenheim is credited with advancing the careers of several important modern artists including the American painters Jackson Pollock and William Congdon, the Austrian surrealist Wolfgang Paalen, the sound poet Ada Verdun Howell and the German painter Max Ernst, whom she married in December 1941. 

Montblanc Patron of Art Peggy Guggenheim 4810 writing instrument

In addition, the German luxury brand presents the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Awards to individuals in 16 countries (including its newest countries Greece, Brazil and Colombia) who are currently supporting arts and cultural programs and making them more accessible to larger audiences. 

This year’s award winner in Italy is Giorgio Marconi, founder of the historic Studio Marconi in Milan, who established the Marconi Foundation for Contemporary and Modern Art in 2004, a non-profit institution for the promotion and diffusion of contemporary art and culture through exhibitions, publications, cultural events and meetings. It publicizes and promotes contemporary art and enhances important archives and art collections of the 20th century. In conjunction with Expo 2015, Giorgio Marconi celebrated fifty years of activity with a group exhibition and with a tribute to Lucio Fontana at the recently renewed and extended Marconi Foundation’s premises.

The Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage awards cocktail reception on the roof of Peggy Guggenheim Collection overlooking the Grand Canal of Venice. Photo by Anthony DeMarco

Both Guggenheim and Marconi were honored at a cocktail reception April 26 on the rooftop of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, overlooking The Grand Canal of Venice, followed by tour of a new museum exhibition, “Imagine: New Imagery in Italian Art, 1960–1969” and finally a dinner for 130 guests in a candlelit room inside the historic Palazzo Polignac. Guests included socialite Chloe Delevingne, model Amber Le Bon, designer Jasmine Guinness, actress Camilla Rutherford with Dominic Barker, and actor Jack Guinness.

Guests receiving a tour of the exhibition, “Imagine: New Imagery in Italian Art, 1960–1969,” inside the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Photo by Anthony DeMarco

In addition to being the home of Guggenheim, Venice also served as Montblanc’s 25th anniversary celebration for this award. Since 1992, when the award was first handed out (in the neighboring Italian city of Florence), Montblanc has presented more than 240 awards along with more than four million euros in prize money, which is donated to a cultural project of the winner’s choice. 

Dinner inside the Palazzo Polignac. Photo by Anthony DeMarco

Montblanc created three writing instruments to honor Guggenheim. The Limited Edition 888 that features a geometric art deco-inspired pattern on the cap and barrel, accented with red lacquer. The engravings of lion heads on the red gold cap ring are inspired by the exterior of the “Palazzo Venier dei Leoni,” the historic name of Guggenheim’s home and museum. The cap ring is embellished with 10 garnets—the eyes of the lions—and the end of the barrel is reminiscent of the red and white striped mooring pillars found on the Venice waterways. The Montblanc snow-cap emblem, in white marble, crowns the cap. The paws engraved on the gold nib of the fountain pen recall the affection she had for her 14 Lhasa Apso dogs.

The two Montblanc Patron of Art Peggy Guggenheim writing instruments on display at the cocktail event. Photo by Anthony DeMarco

The Montblanc Patron of Art Peggy Guggenheim Limited Edition 4810 series (comprising 4,810 pieces) features the geometric art deco design on a black lacquered and platinum-coated cap and barrel, contrasting with the red and platinum-coated stripes on the end of the barrel. The platinum-coated cap ring is elegantly embossed with lion heads, while the Montblanc emblem that crowns the fountain pen is made of the traditional black and white resin.

A third limited version of the pen comprises 81 pieces, representing the age at which Guggenheim died, is crafted in gold with a “skeletonized” façade.

A wax of the Montblanc Patron of Art Peggy Guggenheim writing instrument on display at the event. Photo by Anthony DeMarco

“We are very excited to host the first of the 16 international award ceremonies here in Venice, being a city of particular significance for the arts, culture and architecture with a flourishing artistic community since many centuries,” Jérôme Lambert, Montblanc CEO, said on the rooftop of the Guggenheim. “Furthermore, Venice became the home of Peggy Guggenheim, one of the great patrons of the 20th Century, a pioneering woman who understood the cultural importance of nurturing creative talent just like the outstanding patrons we will be honoring around the world this year.”

From left: New co-chairs of the Montblanc Foundation, Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, and Montblanc CEO, Jérôme Lambert. Photo by Daniele Venturelli

Lambert also used the stage to announce new directions for the awards program and to announce new co-chairmen for the Montblanc Cultural Foundation, which oversees the awards program and other cultural and arts initiatives funded by the company. 

“It is a good thing when you are a German company that you have a common sense of what is consistency,” Lambert said. “After 25 years we understood it is necessary to give the award a new dimension a new energy.”

Giorgio Marconi (left) receives the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award for Italy from Till Fellrath and Sam Bardaouil. Photo by Daniele Venturelli

In a private interview Lambert said that for the Patronage Awards, it means creating ways to make the winners more visible and providing more resources to attach Montblanc products to the awards program. The same holds true for the foundation’s other projects, including its “Cutting Edge Art Collection” and “Young Directors Award.”

“We want the foundation to be more present as a source of inspiration, particularly when it comes to writing instruments,” he said. 

The new foundation co-chairs are Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, co-founders of Art Reoriented, a multidisciplinary curatorial platform based in Munich and New York. They both spoke at the event.

“The art of patronage award is actually quite visionary,” Fellrath said. “It was started at a time when it was not (fashionable) to talk about what is a patron and how can we support them and what is the role of such patrons.”

Bardaouil added, “A true patron is someone who really takes risks and allows an artist to flourish and allows an arts community to develop a discourse with a platform and with all the things that is required to be really thriving and healthy. That is what we think the arts patronage award stands for and we are happy to be a part of it and see it move forward to the future.”

A calligrapher demonstrating the art of writing. Photo by Anthony DeMarco

Marconi received a Patron of Art Peggy Guggenheim limited edition fountain pen encased in a trophy and 15,000 euros ($17,160) to be donated to a cultural project of his choice.

He joins a long diverse list of honorees presented with the award that includes Prince Charles, British maestro Sir Simon Rattle, Italian architect Renzo Piano, American recording artist Quincy Jones and Japanese artist Yoko Ono. 

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