The lowdown on some history-making rocks
By Manish Mishra
High jewellery has always been a synonym for luxury, regalia and rarity. Whether it’s tiaras, crowns, or a big honking piece of diamond, baubles set in precious stones and previously owned by monarchs have always denoted wealth, power, and status. Take one look at some of the iconic auctions in high jewellery history, and it’s hard not to get transfixed by the exquisite pieces going under the hammer and garnering exorbitant prices. Over the years, some ultra-expensive diamonds and other precious gems have fetched eye-popping prices, which speaks volumes about their rarity, historical relevance and unmatched savoir-faire. The Peacock Magazine puts together some of the most expensive antique jewels ever sold at auction across the world–some of which once belonged to kings, queens and avid collectors. These extraordinary jewels tell countless stories of their previous owners and how they refuse to age, emitting incredible sparkle. Read on.
The Pink Star Diamond
Price: $71.2 million
Auction House: Sotheby’s, Hong Kong (2017)
Carat: 59.60
A vibrant pink diamond, well-known for its phenomenal size and shimmering hue. Embodying unparalleled clarity and striking colour, this masterpiece is one of the most sought-after diamonds in the world. Mined by De Beers in 1999 in South Africa, Steinmetz Diamonds took a cautious 20 months to cut the Pink Star into its mixed Oval brilliant cut. Easily the most expensive jewel sold at auction of all time.
The Eden Rose
Price: $13.3 million
Auction House: Christie’s, New York (June 2024)
Titled the Eden Rose, this ring is set with a round brilliant, 10.20-carat, fancy-intense-pink, internally flawless, type IIa centre stone. It is surrounded by eight pear-shaped brilliant-cut diamonds ranging from 0.73 to 3.11 carats and two marquise brilliant-cut diamonds weighing 1.02 and 2.24 carats. Surpassing its $12 million high estimate, this piece brought in $13.3 million at the Magnificent Jewels sale at Christie’s, New York.
The Memory of Autumn Leaves & The Dream of Autumn Leaves
Price: $57.4 million
Auction House: Sotheby’s, Geneva (May 2017)
In May 2017, Sotheby’s presented the most exquisite in coloured diamonds: Apollo and Artemis, since renamed to The Memory of Autumn Leaves and The Dream of Autumn Leaves, comprised of a blue diamond weighing 14.54 carats, internally flawless, type IIb, and a pink diamond weighing 16.00 carats, VVS2 clarity, type IIa. The stones were mounted as a spectacular pair of earrings, offered separately, on account of their extreme rarity, power and presence.
The Blue Moon Diamond
Price: $48.4 million
Auction House: Sotheby’s, Geneva (November 2015)
Carat: 12.03
This exceptional collectable reconciles beauty with rarity. Classified as a fancy vivid blue–the highest grading for blue diamonds, it is the largest cushion-cut blue stone classified as “fancy vivid” ever to appear at an auction. The head of Sotheby’s international jewellery division stated this to be the highest-ever price per carat (over £4 million per carat). This makes it the most expensive jewel sold at auction per carat and the world’s most expensive diamond, regardless of colour. Fun fact: Hong Kong billionaire (and fugitive with felony convictions) Joseph Lau Luen-hung bought the diamond and named it after his daughter, Josephine.
The Princie Diamond
Price: $39.3 million
Auction House: Christie’s, New York (16th April, 2013)
Carat: 34.65
Flickering with a fantastical, intense pink hue, this diamond’s noble lineage dates to the Nizams of Hyderabad. However, of late, it’s been the subject of an unpleasant family feud. It belonged to Italian politician and businessman Renato Angiolillo. After his death, his children fought over his estate and claimed that his stepsiblings stole the stone.
The Pink Legacy
Price: $50.7 million
Auction House: Christie’s, Geneva (2018)
Carat: 18.96
Purchased by Harry Winston, this emblematic pink diamond exudes a stunning pink hue and embodies incredible clarity. Pink Legacy was mined in South Africa (c. 1918) and was once owned by the Oppenheimer family, famous for their historical connection to diamonds as runners of De Beers. Crafted with a cut-cornered rectangular cut, this beauty has likely not been altered since it was first cut in 1920.
Queen Marie Antoinette’s Pearl Pendant
Price: $36.2 million
Auction House: Sotheby’s, Geneva (November 2018)
A natural pearl pendant once owned by Queen Marie Antoinette; it was smuggled out of France just before her arrest in 1791. Relentless bidding shot up the price to more than 18 times the pre-sale high estimate and destroyed the previous record for the highest price ever paid for a natural pearl. The ill-fated French queen’s natural pearl and diamond pendant is set with an oval diamond in a diamond bow motif. The mildly baroque, drop-shaped natural saltwater pearl measures approximately 15.90mm x 18.35mm x 25.85mm and originally hung from Marie Antoinette’s three-strand pearl necklace.
The Aga Khan Brooch
Price: $8.8 million
Auction House: Christie’s, Geneva (November 2024)
Setting a world record for the most expensive emerald ever sold at auction was the Aga Khan Brooch, which garnered $8.8 million against a high estimate of $7.9 million at the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva. The piece can also be worn as a pendant, and contains a square-shaped, 37-carat Colombian emerald surrounded by marquise-shaped diamonds. The jewel— which French-born Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, a former activist and UN diplomat, originally commissioned from Cartier Paris in 1960 as a gift to his wife—first hit the auction block in 1969 at the inaugural jewellery sale at Christie’s, Geneva.
Estrela de Fura
Price: $34.8 million
Auction House: Sotheby’s, New York (2023)
Carat: 55.22
This Mozambiquan ruby is known for its luscious red tone, synonymous with “pigeon-blood” red. In the world of high jewellery, this is the highest compliment of ruby colouring (though unappealing in sound). Sotheby’s billed it as the world’s largest gem-quality ruby; it is now also the most expensive coloured jewel sold at auction.
The Blue Moon of Josephine
Price: $48.468 million (Approximately)
Auction House: Sotheby’s, Geneva (November 2015)
Carats: 12.03
Smashing all records, the Blue Moon Diamond, renamed The Blue Moon of Josephine, sold in November 2015 at Sotheby’s, Geneva, for over $4 million per carat—the world auction price-per-carat record for a diamond or gemstone. The cushion-shaped, fancy, vivid blue 12.03-carat diamond’s shape is informed by a Full Moon.
De Beers Millennium Jewel 4
Price: $32.013 million (Approximately)
Auction House: Sotheby’s (April 2016)
Carats: 10.10
To celebrate the Millennium in 2000, De Beers, together with The Steinmetz Group, showcased an exceptional collection of eleven important blue diamonds, the De Beers Millennium Jewel 4, in a specially designed exhibit at London’s Millennium Dome. Offered for sale from an Asian private collection, this rare and internally flawless 10.10-carat blue diamond is the largest oval-shaped fancy vivid blue diamond ever to appear at auction and was the most expensive diamond ever sold in Hong Kong before the CTF Pink Star in April 2017.
The Farnese Blue
Price: $6.713 million (Approximately)
Auction House: Sotheby’s, Geneva (May 2018)
Carats: 6.16
The Farnese Blue—a 6.16-carat fancy dark grey-blue diamond which has subsequently passed down through four of the most important royal families in Europe: Spain, France, Italy and Austria—appeared on the market for the first time during May 2018. Having travelled around Europe for three centuries, the stone was hidden away in a royal jewellery box. Except for close relatives, and of course, the family jewellers, no one knew about its existence.
Oppenheimer Blue
Price: $57.5 million
Auction House: Christie’s, Geneva (2016)
Carat: 14.62
This dazzling beauty is likely to hypnotise you with its brilliance. This blue diamond is set in a platinum ring, flanked on either side by a trapeze-shaped diamond. Commissioned by De Beers owner Philip Oppenheimer for his wife, this enchanting diamond’s history is cloaked in mystery. Not much is known about it except the fact that it was mined in South Africa, likely sometime in the early 20th century.
Oriental Sunrise
Price: $8 million
Auction House: Christie’s, Hong Kong (October 2024)
Taking the sixth spot was a pair of earrings named the Oriental Sunrise, which were offered at the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale in Hong Kong. The set contains two oval, mixed-cut, fancy-vivid-orange-yellow diamonds, one weighing 12.20 carats and the other 11.96 carats, as well as white diamonds. It brought in $8 million, within its presale range.
The Zoe Diamond
Price: $32.645 million
Auction House: Sotheby’s (December 2018)
Carat: 9.75
In the November 2014 sale of the Collection of philanthropist and art collector Mrs Paul Mellon, collectors anxiously aimed for jewellery that evoked her celebrated style. After 20 minutes of competitive bidding, Mrs Mellon’s magnificent and rare 9.75-carat fancy vivid blue diamond pendant sold for more than double its high estimate, driving the 98%-sold auction total to $218 million. It was renamed The Zoe Diamond.
Yellow Rose
Price: $6.7 million
Auction House: Christie’s, Geneva (May 2024)
Carat: 202.18-carat
An unmounted 202.18-carat, fancy-intense-yellow diamond, known as the Yellow Rose, led the Magnificent Jewels sale at Christie’s, Geneva. The pear, a modified brilliant-cut, SI1-clarity stone, went for $6.7 million, well above its $4.4 million high estimate. It also earned a record at the auction house for the second-highest price for a stone of its colour and size.
India Tutti Frutti Necklace by Cartier
Price: $8.7 million
Auction House: Christie’s, Hong Kong (May 2024)
An India tutti frutti necklace by Cartier was the top-selling item from Hong Kong Luxury Week at Christie’s, where it brought in $8.7 million. The multi-gem jewel, which contained carved rubies, emeralds, sapphires, as well as round diamonds, shot past its $4.9 million high estimate at the May 27 Magnificent Jewels sale last year.
The Orange
Price: $35.5 million
Auction House: Christie’s, Geneva (12th November, 2013)
Carat: 14.82
It is believed to be easily the world’s largest orange diamond. It is approximately three times larger than the two other known large orange diamonds: The 5.54-carat “Pumpkin Diamond,” which was sold privately, and a 4.19-carat fancy vivid orange diamond sold at auction for a record price of $2.95 million in October 2011.
Van Cleef & Arpels Maharaja Necklace
Price: $6.2 million
Auction House: Christie’s, Geneva (December 2024)
This piece-de-resistance comprises three pear-shaped brilliant-cut diamonds weighing 25.5, 11.24 and 11.13 carats. The jewel, which can be transformed into seven necklaces, three bracelets, a brooch and four pairs of earrings, took the second spot at the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva, beating its $5.7 million high estimate to make $6.2 million.
The Hope Diamond (Bonus Entry)
Price: $250 million (theoretical; not sold at auction)
Auction House: N/A
Carat: 45.52
Supposedly stolen from a Hindu statue, one of its unlucky owners was Queen Marie Antoinette. The jeweller who cut the original diamond of 113 carats to its 45.52 carats was murdered by his son to steal it. It is classified as a type IIb diamond, which is semiconductive and usually phosphorescent. The Hope Diamond phosphoresces with a strong red colour, which will last for several seconds after exposure to short-wave ultraviolet light. The diamond’s blue colouration is attributed to trace amounts of boron in the stone. In the pendant surrounding the Hope Diamond are 16 white diamonds, both pear-shaped and cushion cuts. A bail is soldered to the pendant where Mrs McLean would often attach other diamonds, including the McLean diamond and the Star of the East. The necklace chain contains 45 white diamonds.