FEATURE
can find some of pieces featuring
these rare stones it always brings
in higher auction sales”.
This is a sentiment shared
by Emily Barber, head of the
UK jewellery department at
Bonham’s: “I think it’s fair to say
that there is an increase in demand
for the very best examples in
period jewellery and top-quality
gemstones. Superlative jewels
that are new to the market tend to
come from old private collections
and thus a diminishing pool so
when they appear at auction they
generate enormous interest with
our global buyers.”
During her time at Bonhams
Barber has presided over a
number
of
record-breaking
auction results, including the sale
of ‘The Hope Spinel’.
by 19th Century connoisseur
Henry Philip Hope,” she says.
“Hope’s collection of precious
gems, diamonds and natural
pearls was one of the finest ever
assembled. Hope also owned the
‘Hope Diamond’, a 45.52ct Fancy
Deep Blue diamond, believed to
have belonged to Louis XIV of
France and now in the National
Museum of Natural History in
Washington DC.”
Fancy Deep Blue diamond,
‘trombino’ ring, by Bulgari - Sold:
24 April 2013 - Price: £6,201,250
Emily Barber, head of the UK jewellery department at Bonham’s
November 2018 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk
‘‘
La Peregrina is
one of the most
famous pearls
in the world. Its
history spans
almost 500 years,
and it has passed
from the African
slave who found
it at Pearl Islands
in the Gulf of
Panama, to
European kings
and queens
‘‘
carat diamond (which sold for
$254,400 per carat) was acquired
by Harry Winston just months
after the brand was acquired
themselves by the Swatch Group.
“101 carat D-colour, completely
flawless. Again they cannot
come any better there was no
imperfection
whatsoever.
A
fabulous and perfect diamond
which
was
purchased
by
Harry Winston, thus the name.
Everything about this piece is just
triple-A,” comments Curiel.
Along with these pieces Curiel
cites signed pieces from very
famous makers from the ‘20s
and ‘30s like Van Cleef, Bucherer,
Bulgari are all in “great demand”.
He explains it is because some of
those pieces contain “beautiful
Colombian emeralds or cashmere
sapphires
or
Goldconda
diamonds from India”. He says
these older pieces contain “those
types of rare gems and are so
difficult to find today - when we
The Hope Spinel
Sold: 24th September 2015,
London - Price: £962,500
A 50-carat spinel that once sat
alongside The Hope Diamond
in the great 19th Century gem
collection belonging to Henry
Philip Hope. This historic jewel
was sold to international acclaim
by Bonhams London in September
2015 for a world record price of
£962,500 - a world record price
for a spinel at auction.
Describing the piece, Barber
explains the spinel came from
a private collection and had not
been seen on the market since
1917. “Through extensive and
brand-new research undertaken
by Bonhams, we were able to
prove that it had once been owned
The fancy deep-blue diamond
is set in a ‘Trombino’ ring made
by Bulgari, the renowned Italian
jeweller favored by Hollywood
film stars, and the epitome of
fashion and innovation during the
1960s. The ring was made circa
1965 and set an auction world
record of US$1.8m price per carat,
for a fancy deep blue diamond, a
record Bonhams still holds.
Barber says: “At the time
the blue diamond was sold in
2013, fewer than 30 fancy blue
diamonds, weighing over 5cts in
weight, had appeared at auction
in the previous 10 years, giving
a good indication just how rare
exceptional and large coloured
diamonds are. The diamond had
a high degree of transparency and
‘liquid fire’ and had a beautiful
flat antique cut that suggested
it might have been from an old
Indian mine, perhaps even the
legendary Golconda mines that
are known to have yielded the
world’s most famous historic
blue diamonds.”
JEWELLERY FOCUS
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