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Christie's twinkles big with 'Evening Star'

November 13, 2009
The 39-carat "Evening Star" derives its name from its owner's custom of wearing the 39-carat, D-color diamond to her most important evening events and galas.

New York--Just weeks after the record-setting $7.7 million sale of the 32-carat Annenberg Diamond, Christie's is poised to put another exceptional gem--this time from India's legendary Golconda mines--on the auction block in New York.

"The Evening Star" diamond, a pear-shaped, 39-carat, D-color Golconda diamond, will be the highlight of "Magnificent Jewels from a Distinguished Private Collector," a single-owner sale of 10 jewels set for Dec. 10, according to a news release from Christie's.

The special auction will immediately follow the larger "New York Jewels" sale, which is expected to realize more than $10 million in sales.

The "Evening Star" originates from India's ancient Golconda mines, the source of the Hope Diamond and the historic Wittelsbach Diamond, which sold for $24.3 million at Christie's London in 2008, the highest price achieved for any jewel sold at auction, the release states.

The value of the "Evening Star" is estimated at $3.6 million to $5.5 million. The diamond derives its name from its unnamed owner's habit of wearing it to evening galas, often as a pendant suspended from a diamond necklace that consisted of 68 graduated pear-shaped diamonds.

That necklace, which has an estimated value of $400,000 to $600,000, is mounted in platinum and offered as a separate item in the sale.

A matching pair of diamond ear pendants completes the set, with two pear-shaped, D-color diamonds of 10.21 and 10.51 carats estimated to fetch $1.7 million to $2.5 million, respectively.

According to the release, both the "Evening Star" and the stones used in the matching earrings are Type IIa diamonds-- the most chemically pure type of diamond--and each possesses the exceptional clarity associated with Golconda diamonds.

Located in eastern India, the Golconda diamond fields are an ancient source for the stones, with roots dating back to 400 B.C. Until about 1725, when diamonds were discovered in Brazil, the Golconda field and a small mine on the island of Borneo in southeast Asia were the world's only sources of these gems.

According to the release, Golconda diamonds are universally esteemed as the world's finest diamonds and have a special whiteness often described as soft, watery and pure; light appears to pass through these stones completely unimpeded.

"Amongst jewelers, Golconda gems are said to be 'diamonds of the first water,' a reference to the water-clear transparency and soft, luminescent quality that is their trademark," Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry for Christie's New York, said in the release. "The 'Evening Star' diamond bears all the traits that collectors value so highly in these superb diamonds. With its charming old-mine pear shape and exceptional color, clarity and size, we have no doubt that collectors will revel in the opportunity to acquire this prized gem."  

Other items in the "Magnificent Jewels from a Distinguished Private Collector" sale include:
  • An art deco bracelet by Van Cleef and Arpels, set with five old European-cut diamonds on a diamond foliate band, with an estimated value of $100,000 to $150,000.
  • A 36.78-carat, rectangular-cut, D-color, internally flawless diamond ring mounted in platinum with an estimated value of between $2.75 million and $3.5 million.
  •  An  11.22-carat, oval-cut ruby ring and matching pair of ear clips with oval-cut rubies of 8.59 carats and 8.23 carats, with an estimated value of $350,000 to $550,000, respectively.
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