(11 May 2018) LEADIN:
Magnificent jewels worth millions of dollars have gone on show to the public in Geneva ahead of an auction by Christie's.
One of the highlights is a 50 carat diamond ring that's expected to fetch up to seven million dollars.
STORYLINE:
They say diamonds are a girl's best friend, and this one could outshine them all when it goes up for sale next week (16 May 2018).
It's just one of the 400 items making up the Christie's Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva, ranging from diamonds to high-quality coloured stones, Art Déco, Retro and animal-themed jewellery.
This late 19th century emerald and diamond necklace by Tiffany and Co. is estimated to be worth between 700,000 to 1.2 milion dollars.
Other top lots include a spectacular vivid yellow diamond ring of 20.49 carats, valued at between 3.8 million to 4.5 million dollars, and an intense purplish pink diamond ring.
But all the attention is on this 50.47 carat diamond ring by Harry Winston, according to Max Fawcett, a specialist in the Christie's jewellery department.
"This is so here you have an incredibly impressive D Flawless diamond of over 50 carats. So D, the highest color, flawless, completely free of any imperfections at all. And the ring was made by Harry Winston."
"Pre-sale estimate of this diamond ring is 5 to 7 million dollars, which is 100,000 dollars per carat at the first bid. But we expect this ring to make six-and-a-half to seven million dollars in the auction next Wednesday," adds Fawcett.
Christie's international head of jewellery Rahul Kadakia says one of is favourite items in the emerald and diamond necklace from the 1880s.
"This is a 19th-century emerald and diamond necklace made by Tiffany and Co. Beautiful necklace with stones that are quite special, in that they are circular-cut emeralds, which you don't normally see. Emeralds are normally cut into rectangular-shaped stones, square-shaped stones. So a circular cut line of emeralds that weigh almost 40 carats of this fine quality is quite rare."
"This is a special shape for an emerald in that it's not easy to do. They are very soft stones, and you have an entire line of very fine quality emeralds weighing almost 40 carats, and we expect it to fetch upwards of a million dollars," he adds.
The jewels will be on show to the public at Christie's Geneva's auction room, located at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues from 11 - 15 May.
The Magnificent Jewels sale will take place on May 16.
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15 май 2018
