Sotheby’s is offering a 10.57-carat flawless pink diamond at its Magnificent Jewels auction in New York June 8, expected to sell for more than $35-million. The sale also includes a 55.22-carat Mozambique ruby, estimated to sell for $30-million. Also on the block are selections from the collections of Constance Prosser Mellon and Constance “Connie” Barber Mellon, the mother and daughter duo who were members of one of America’s most prominent philanthropic families.
The Eternal Pink diamond is internally flawless and rated as a fancy vivid purplish pink, the most valuable of that color ever to appear at auction. It is cut in a cushion shape and set into a ring and flanked by two diamonds. It has the highest price per carat estimate ever placed on any diamond or gemstone ($3,311,258).
The sale also includes the 55.22-carat “Estrela De FURA” ruby, expected to sell for $30-million. The ruby was mined in Mozambique, by FURA Gems. It has outstanding clarity and a vivid red hue known as pigeon’s blood. It is the largest gem-quality ruby ever to appear at auction, and is set to test the record for a ruby at auction: the Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59-carat Burmese ruby, sold for $30.3-million ($1,185,451 per carat) at Sotheby’s Geneva in 2015, and still holds the world auction record for a ruby.
Signature pieces from the collections of Constance Prosser Mellon and Constance “Connie” Barber Mellon, made by Cartier and David Webb, are also featured in the auction. “Like Bunny Mellon, Constance and Connie were staples in society with legacies to match. Considered to be ineffably glamorous, the mother/daughter duo were praised for being ahead of their time in the world of fashion and jewelry, and this is expertly demonstrated in their collection of bold, yet timeless designs,” says Catharine Becket, head of Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auctions in New York.
Highlights include a Cartier necklace with five Kashmir sapphires totaling about 35 carats, accented by round, baguette and square-cut diamonds. sapphire and diamond necklace made in the 1950s, estimated at $2.5-million – $3.5-million. There is a matching ring set with a 33.51-carat Burmese sapphire ring, flanked by two diamond baguettes, estimated at $1.5-million – $2.5-million. Also by Cartier is a ring set with a 9.90-carat Colombian emerald and diamond ring with a top estimate of $250,000.
The David Webb pieces include a ruby, emerald, enamel and diamond “elephant” brooch with a top estimate of $60,000, and a ruby and diamond necklace and ring, estimated at $50,000 and $60,000 respectively.
Forbes
