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https://www.barrons.com/articles/sothebys-selling-two-100-plus-carat-diamonds-at-new-york-auction-01654010200
Sotheby’s is selling two pear-shaped 100-plus carat diamonds on June 16 at its jewels auction in New York that are expected to sell for a total of more than US$12.5 million.
Diamonds this voluptuous are an auction house’s best friend. “Just a handful of diamonds over 100 carats have ever been offered at auction,” says Quig Bruning, head of jewelry for Sotheby’s Americas. “The fact that we have two in one sale is rare beyond rare.”
One showcased sparkler, the Juno, is a 101.41 carat, D color, internally flawless diamond named for the goddess of light and fertility. It is the “fourth-largest pear-shaped diamond of its kind to be offered at auction,” according to Sotheby’s. It is expected to command more than US$10 million.
The second showcased gem, the Earth Star, is a 111.59 carat fancy deep orange-brown diamond. Back on the market for the first time in four decades, it is being offered without reserve and is anticipated to fetch between US$1.5 million and US$2.5 million.
For the auction, American jeweler David Webb created a custom azurmalachite mounting for the Earth Star to suggest the Big Blue Marble as seen from a star.
Bruning compares the size of the stones to “a small egg. With any major diamond, you feel the weight when you hold it in your hand,” he says. “Part of that is the impressiveness.”
The Juno is a type IIA diamond, an “extremely uncommon” subset. Less than 2% of all gem diamonds fit the rarefied category, according to Sotheby’s.
A D color diamond appears colorless when viewed by eye and under magnification. Only 11 D diamonds weighing more than 100 carats have ever sold at auction, according to Sotheby’s. Of the 11, the auction house has sold seven.
Polished and cut brown diamonds as big as the Earth Star, which gets its name from its high degree of brilliance, are also very rare. Only three have come to auction, and this one is the second largest.
The Earth Star is listed in the historic book of Famous Diamonds by Lord Ian Balfour. TThe original 248.9-carat rough diamond was found at the Jagersfontein mine in South Africa in 1967. It was later fashioned into a pear shape in New York. It was sold in 1983 for US$1 million and has been in private hands ever since.
Pear-shaped stones like the Juno and Earth Star are considered ideally suited for statement pendants, Bruning says. “Beyond a shadow of a doubt, these diamonds make statements.”
Sotheby’s is selling two pear-shaped 100-plus carat diamonds on June 16 at its jewels auction in New York that are expected to sell for a total of more than US$12.
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