‘THE APOLLO & ARTEMIS DIAMONDS’
THE
MOST VALUABLE EARRINGS EVER TO APPEAR AT
AUCTION
COMPOSED OF
A FANCY VIVID BLUE AND A FANCY INTENSE PINK DIAMOND
Magnificent
Jewels and Noble Jewels
16 May 2017
MANDARIN ORIENTAL, GENEVA
‘THE APOLLO
BLUE’ ‘THE ARTEMIS PINK’
Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond Fancy Intense Pink Diamond weighing
14.54 carats weighing 16.00 carats
Internally Flawless, Type IIb VVS2 clarity, Type IIa
Estimate $ 38 – 50 million Estimate: $ 12.5 – 18 million (CHF 38.1 –
50.2 million) (CHF 12.5 – 18.1 million)
Sotheby’s spring sale of Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels at Mandarin Oriental, Geneva will be led by the ‘Apollo and Artemis Diamonds’. Individually, these captivating diamonds – one Fancy Vivid Blue, one Fancy Intense Pink – are truly exceptional stones and when considered as a pair, they enter a class of their own: the most important earrings ever to appear at auction.
Offered separately as individual lots, ‘The Apollo Blue’ will be presented with an estimate of $38 – 50 million (CHF 38.1 – 50.2m) and ‘The Artemis Pink’ is estimated between $12.5 – 18 million (CHF 12.5 – 18.1m).
Speaking ahead of the sale, David Bennett, Worldwide Chairman
of Sotheby’s International Jewellery Division, said, “’The Apollo and Artemis Diamonds’ will be the stars of our May sale in
Geneva – by far the most important pair of earrings ever offered at auction.
These exquisite coloured diamonds are enormously rare and each is a wonderful
stone in its own right. Together, as a pair of earrings, they are breathtaking.
"We have named them after Apollo and Artemis, a twin brother and sister of great
power and beauty who were among the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek
deities. These are diamonds of great distinction, with extraordinary presence,
and we are honoured that Sotheby’s has been chosen to bring them to auction in
May.”
THE APOLLO BLUE
Graded Fancy Vivid Blue by the Gemological
Institute of America (GIA) and weighing an impressive 14.54 carats, the ‘Apollo
Blue’ is the largest Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Blue diamond ever to be
offered at auction. It has been cut and polished into a beautiful unmodified
pear-shape which flatters its exquisite and truly outstanding colour.
The GIA
has also determined that the ‘Apollo Blue’ is a Type IIb diamond – a group
which contains less than one half of one per cent of all diamonds. The stone
has had an auspicious start to its world tour, having already received many
accolades on its exhibition in Hong Kong.
In recent times, the
only mine to produce blue diamonds with any regularity is the Cullinan mine in
South Africa. When in full production, less than 0.1% of diamonds sourced
showed any evidence of blue colour, according to the GIA. An infinitesimally
small percentage of those is graded Fancy Vivid Blue.
The ‘Apollo Blue’ will be offered as a
single lot on 16 May with an estimate of $38 – 50 million (CHF38.1 –
50.2m).
THE ARTEMIS PINK
The ‘Artemis Pink’ stands as an exquisite
and rare treasure in its own right, displaying an elegant and delicate Fancy
Intense Pink hue. Weighing 16 carats, the stone has been carefully cut into a
captivating pear shape, matching the Apollo Blue, which perfectly showcases the
stone’s colour and clarity. The GIA has declared the ‘Artemis Pink’ to be a
‘Type IIa’ diamond, describing this category as ‘the most chemically pure type’
of diamonds, which ‘often have exceptional optical transparency’.
The occurrence of pink diamonds remains
exceedingly rare: according to the GIA, of all diamonds submitted to their
specialists each year, ‘no more than 3% are classified as coloured diamonds;
less than 5% of those coloured diamonds are predominantly pink’. Thus, a Fancy
Intense Pink stone of such rich colour and impressive size can only be
described as phenomenally rare.
The ‘Artemis Pink’ will be offered as a
single lot on 16 May with an estimate of $12.5 – 18 million (CHF12.5 –
18.1m).
THE MYTH OF APOLLO AND ARTEMIS
In Greek mythology, Leto (Latona in Latin), daughter of the Titans
Coeus and Phoebe, had a liaison with Zeus and became pregnant with twins. When
Hera, wife of Zeus, discovered this, she forbade Leto from giving birth on terra firma, the mainland, any island or
any place under the sun.
Leto eventually found the barren floating island of
Asterios, later named Delos, which was neither mainland nor a real island, and
gave birth there, promising the island wealth from the worshippers who would
flock to the obscure birthplace of the splendid god who was to come. Leto gave
birth to Artemis, the elder twin, without difficulty, but she laboured for nine
nights and nine days with Apollo, according to Homer. In Greek and Roman
mythology, diamonds were believed to be the tears of the gods.
Artemis, Diana for the Romans, became one
of the most venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. She was the goddess of the
hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and protector of young
girls. Also referred to as the goddess of the moon, she was often depicted as a
huntress carrying a bow and arrow, and deer and cypress were sacred to
her.
Apollo is one of the most important of the
Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman mythology. The ideal of the kouros, he has been recognised as the
god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, and poetry. In
Hellenistic times, as Apollo Helios,
he became identified among Greeks with Helios, Titan god of the sun, and his
sister Artemis similarly equated with Selene, Titan goddess of the moon.
AUCTION MILESTONES
FOR PINK DIAMONDS
‘The CTF Pink Star’ ‘The
Graff Pink’
Fancy Vivid Pink diamond Fancy
Intense Pink diamond
59.60
carats 24.78
carats
Oval
Mixed-cut Round-cornered
rectangular step-cut
Internally
Flawless, Type IIa VVS2
Clarity, Type IIa
Sotheby’s
Hong Kong, April 2017 Sotheby’s
Geneva, November 2010
Sold US$
71,192,517 Sold
US$ 46,158,674
US$
1,194,505 per carat US$1,862,739
per carat
WORLD AUCTION RECORD PRICE FOR ANY DIAMOND AND ANY WORLD AUCTION RECORD PRICE FOR A FANCY
INTENSE PINK
GEMSTONE DIAMOND
‘The Princie Diamond’
‘The
Unique Pink’
Fancy Intense Pink diamond Fancy
Vivid Pink
34.65
carats 15.38
carats
Cushion-cut Pear-shaped,
VVS2 Clarity, Type IIa
VS2 clarity,
Type IIa Sotheby’s
Geneva, May 2016
Christie’s
New York, April 2013 Sold
US$31,561,200
Sold
US$39,323,750 US$2,052,094
per carat
US$1,134,885
per carat
AUCTION MILESTONES
FOR BLUE DIAMONDS
‘The Oppenheimer Blue’ ‘The
Blue Moon of Josephine’
Fancy
Vivid Blue diamond weighing 14.62 carats Fancy
Vivid Blue diamond weighing 12.03 carats
Step-cut,
VVS1 Clarity Cushion-shaped,
Internally Flawless, Type IIb
Christie’s
Geneva, May 2016 Sotheby’s
Geneva, November 2015
Sold for
US$57,541,779 Sold
for US$48,468,158
US$3,935,826
per carat US$4,028,941
per carat
WORLD
AUCTION RECORD PRICE FOR A BLUE DIAMOND WORLD
AUCTION RECORD PRICE PER CARAT FOR ANY DIAMOND AND ANY GEMSTONE
‘The
Zoé Diamond’ ‘The
Millenium Blue’
Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond weighing 9.75 carats The De Beers Millenium Jewel 4
Pear-shaped,
VS1 clarity Fancy Vivid Blue diamond weighing 10.10
carats
Sotheby’s
New York, November 2014 Oval, Internally
Flawless Sold for US$32,645,000 Sotheby’s
Hong Kong, April 2016 US$3,348,205 per carat Sold
for US$31,830,766
US$3,151,561 per carat
EXHIBITIONS
HONG KONG TAIPEI
SINGAPORE LONDON DUBAI NEW YORK GENEVA
AUCTION
MAGNIFICENT JEWELS AND NOBLE JEWELS
SOTHEBY’S GENEVA
16 MAY 2017
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