New York— With the spring auction season in full swing, Christie’s and Sotheby’s are set to present two remarkable yellow diamonds.
Christie’s “Magnificent Jewels” auction in Geneva will feature “The Yellow Rose,” a 202.18-carat fancy intense yellow pear modified brilliant-cut diamond from South Africa. The diamond is estimated to fetch around CHF 4 million ($4.41 million).
Christie’s noted that only two other yellow diamonds exceeding 200 carats have ever been sold at auction. Despite a recent cyberattack that left their website offline since Thursday, the auction at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues will proceed on Wednesday. Christie’s reassured clients via Instagram that secure bidding options will be available in person, by telephone, absentee, or through Christie’s Live, its auction livestream. For online bidding, clients are advised to contact the team or the bids department to register.
“The Jewels Online: The Geneva Edit” sale is also scheduled to run from May 8-22. Christie’s has yet to comment on the status of this sale.
Simultaneously, Sotheby’s will feature “The Allnatt,” a 101.29-carat fancy vivid yellow diamond set in a Cartier brooch, at its “Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels” auction in Geneva today. The diamond is estimated at CHF 5.6 million to 6.5 million ($6.2 million to $7.2 million).
Named after its first known owner, Major Alfred Ernest Allnatt, a British sportsman and philanthropist, the diamond was acquired in the early 1950s and set by Cartier in a floral design similar to the “Williamson Pink” diamond brooch from 1952-1953. Sotheby’s describes The Allnatt as “one of the largest and most historically significant yellow diamonds ever discovered,” likely mined in South Africa over a century ago. This auction marks its first market appearance in nearly 30 years. The diamond has been showcased in several exhibitions, including the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History’s “The Splendor of Diamonds” in 2003.
Other notable highlights at Christie’s include diamonds, gemstones, and signed pieces by Buccellati, Cartier, Georges Fouquet, Tiffany & Co., Jean Schlumberger, Marina B, Van Cleef & Arpels, Sterlé, and JAR. A particularly significant item is an early 20th-century brooch (circa 1915) belonging to Queen Victoria Eugenia, featuring cabochon emeralds and old mine-, rose-, and calibré-cut diamonds, estimated at CHF 150,000 to 200,000 ($165,525 to $220,700).
At Sotheby’s, a top lot is a pair of earrings set with Burmese sapphires weighing 14.66 and 13.94 carats, surrounded by marquise-shaped diamonds of a blue tint, estimated at CHF 1 million to 1.46 million ($1.1 million to $1.6 million).
