Russian royal gems, rare coloured diamonds on Geneva auction block

                               

Russian royal jewels smuggled out of the country during the 1917 revolution, alongside rare coloured diamonds, are on offer at auction next week in Geneva, looking for deep-pocketed collectors emerging from the pandemic.

An orange-pink diamond weighing 25.62 carats, estimated at 3.6 million to 5.38 million Swiss francs ($3.9 million to $5.9 million), set in a ring, is the star lot at auction house Sotheby’s semi-annual jewellery sale in the Swiss city on Nov. 10.

“A beautiful crystal, it’s a fantastic colour with a little bit of orange but not too much, so it’s a very subtle colour,” Olivier Wagner, head of sale and jewellery expert at Sotheby’s Geneva, told Reuters in the showroom in a lakeside hotel.

“The market is currently very dynamic and after the pandemic people are very keen to buy jewellery today and to buy something tangible they can enjoy.”

For collectors of historic gems, a large oval sapphire and diamond brooch and matching earclips from the jewellery box of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, the aunt of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, is back on the block.

“They belonged to the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia who was the queen of social life in St. Petersburg. She was the wife of the Grand Duke Vladimir, so the son of the tsar (Alexander II), and she had a fantastic collection of jewels,” Wagner said.

The royal set, entrusted to her friend the British diplomat Albert Henry Stopford, who took them to London for safekeeping along with other jewels, is estimated at 280,000-480,000 francs, the auction house said.

Pavlovna escaped from revolutionary Russia and died in France in 1920. Her brooch and earrings are being sold by a European princely family who bought them at auction in 2009, the auction house said.

Source: DCLA

Russian royal gems, rare coloured diamonds on Geneva auction block

                               

Russian royal jewels smuggled out of the country during the 1917 revolution, alongside rare coloured diamonds, are on offer at auction next week in Geneva, looking for deep-pocketed collectors emerging from the pandemic.

An orange-pink diamond weighing 25.62 carats, estimated at 3.6 million to 5.38 million Swiss francs ($3.9 million to $5.9 million), set in a ring, is the star lot at auction house Sotheby’s semi-annual jewellery sale in the Swiss city on Nov. 10.

“A beautiful crystal, it’s a fantastic colour with a little bit of orange but not too much, so it’s a very subtle colour,” Olivier Wagner, head of sale and jewellery expert at Sotheby’s Geneva, told Reuters in the showroom in a lakeside hotel.

“The market is currently very dynamic and after the pandemic people are very keen to buy jewellery today and to buy something tangible they can enjoy.”

For collectors of historic gems, a large oval sapphire and diamond brooch and matching earclips from the jewellery box of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, the aunt of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, is back on the block.

“They belonged to the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia who was the queen of social life in St. Petersburg. She was the wife of the Grand Duke Vladimir, so the son of the tsar (Alexander II), and she had a fantastic collection of jewels,” Wagner said.

The royal set, entrusted to her friend the British diplomat Albert Henry Stopford, who took them to London for safekeeping along with other jewels, is estimated at 280,000-480,000 francs, the auction house said.

Pavlovna escaped from revolutionary Russia and died in France in 1920. Her brooch and earrings are being sold by a European princely family who bought them at auction in 2009, the auction house said.

Source: DCLA

Travis Scott gifts Kylie Jenner and Stormi matching diamond rings

                                    

On Tuesday, Kylie Jenner revealed that the “Sicko Mode” rapper, 29, gifted her and the couple’s 3 year old daughter, Stormi Webster, a set of matching diamond rings.

The mommy and me sparklers each feature a pear cut stone nestled next to an princess cut diamond, in a “Toi et Moi” style.

“Daddy got us matching rings,” Jenner, 24, captioned a photo of her hand next to Stormi’s.

And Khloé wasn’t the only one impressed by the sparklers; Mike Fried, CEO of The Diamond Pro, told Page Six Style that the bling is worth some serious cash.

“These matching rings are absolutely stunning due to their unique design and presentation of the diamonds,” he said. “Kylie’s enormous diamonds look to be 5 or 6 carats each, with an estimated value of $325,000 for both. Stormi’s diamonds appear to be 1.5 carats each, with an estimated value of $120,000 for both.”

Source: DCLA

Travis Scott gifts Kylie Jenner and Stormi matching diamond rings

                                    

On Tuesday, Kylie Jenner revealed that the “Sicko Mode” rapper, 29, gifted her and the couple’s 3 year old daughter, Stormi Webster, a set of matching diamond rings.

The mommy and me sparklers each feature a pear cut stone nestled next to an princess cut diamond, in a “Toi et Moi” style.

“Daddy got us matching rings,” Jenner, 24, captioned a photo of her hand next to Stormi’s.

And Khloé wasn’t the only one impressed by the sparklers; Mike Fried, CEO of The Diamond Pro, told Page Six Style that the bling is worth some serious cash.

“These matching rings are absolutely stunning due to their unique design and presentation of the diamonds,” he said. “Kylie’s enormous diamonds look to be 5 or 6 carats each, with an estimated value of $325,000 for both. Stormi’s diamonds appear to be 1.5 carats each, with an estimated value of $120,000 for both.”

Source: DCLA

Number of US Jewelry Businesses Decreases

                          

The industry continued to downsize in the US in the third quarter, according to the latest data from the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT).

Some 113 businesses exited the sector during the three months ending September 30, compared with 101 in the same period a year earlier, the figures showed Friday. In total, the number of companies active in the US industry fell 1.9% year on year to 23,984.

Bankruptcies dropped to zero from nine a year earlier, while closures due to consolidation — mergers, acquisitions and similar transactions — declined to 28 from 37 a year before. However, 85 companies left the industry for other reasons that the JBT does not specify, up from 55 for the same quarter in 2020.

Source: DCLA

Number of US Jewelry Businesses Decreases

                          

The industry continued to downsize in the US in the third quarter, according to the latest data from the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT).

Some 113 businesses exited the sector during the three months ending September 30, compared with 101 in the same period a year earlier, the figures showed Friday. In total, the number of companies active in the US industry fell 1.9% year on year to 23,984.

Bankruptcies dropped to zero from nine a year earlier, while closures due to consolidation — mergers, acquisitions and similar transactions — declined to 28 from 37 a year before. However, 85 companies left the industry for other reasons that the JBT does not specify, up from 55 for the same quarter in 2020.

Source: DCLA

Final Argyle Pink Tender Sees Record Result

                            Argyle pink tender

Rio Tinto achieved record-breaking figures at its 2021 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender, with prices strong amid dwindling supply from the mine.

                        Once in a Blue Moon 

The Australian miner offered 70 rare pink and red diamonds at the last-ever edition of the tender, which follows Argyle’s closure in November 2020. The “historical” collection, called The Journey Beyond, comprised the final diamonds mined during the Western Australian deposit’s last year of operation, Rio Tinto said Thursday.

“The 2021 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender delivered a record-breaking price performance across individual diamonds and for the overall collection,” the company noted. “The diamonds were fiercely contested around the world in a series of virtual and face-to-face viewings.”

A total of 19 bidders from nine countries successfully acquired lots, with prices maintaining their upward trajectory, Rio Tinto explained. Australian jeweler Calleija bought several stones, including the Argyle Eclipse, a radiant-shaped, 3.47-carat, fancy-intense-pink diamond, and the Argyle Bohème, a radiant-shaped, 1.01-carat, fancy-red diamond.

A veteran bidder in Singapore took home both the Argyle Stella, a square radiant-shaped 1.79-carat, fancy-vivid-purplish-pink diamond, and the Argyle Solaris, a radiant-shaped, fancy-intense pink weighing 2.05 carats. Another, based in the US, won the Argyle Lumiere, a square radiant-shaped, 2.03-carat, fancy-deep-pink diamond.

Alongside the pink-diamond tender, Rio Tinto sold a record-breaking collection of 41 blue and violet diamonds from Argyle to a single buyer. Hong Kong fancy-color specialist Kunming Diamonds purchased the entire 24.88-carat lot in a “history-making global bid” at the separate Once in a Blue Moon tender, the miner said. The stones are the final blues to come from Argyle. Kunming also won nine pink lots.

“I don’t think it’s ever been so competitive, so mind-blowing in terms of how the prices have been, how much competition we faced, and there was a lot of emotional premium everyone added, as this was the ultimate tender,” Harsh Maheshwari, executive director of Kunming, told Rapaport News. “So I guess everyone felt that they would like to at least own a few tender stones while they had the opportunity.”

It’s rare for there to be so many successful bidders at the pink tender, Maheshwari noted. Usually, only half that number would take home diamonds.

“This basically shows how varied the prices must have been, and that these stones went to jewelers from all over the world,” Maheshwari added.  

Source: DCLA