"Antoinette" Pink Diamond Sells for Record $14m
June 18, 25
(IDEX Online) - The historic 10.38-carat Marie-Therese pink diamond smashed its pre-sale estimate and sold for a record $14m at Christie's New York yesterday (17 June).
The kite-shaped fancy purple-pink diamond was expected to fetch $3m to $5m.
It may have belonged to Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, and to have been entrusted to her faithful coiffeur on the eve of her failed escape from Paris in 1791.
It is named after Marie Antoinette's daughter, Marie-Therese, Duchess d'Angouleme, who was the first confirmed royal owner.
In recent times the gem was set in a ring by iconic jeweler JAR (Joel Arthur Rosenthal).
It set two world records - the highest price for a fancy purple-pink diamond, and the highest price for any JAR jewel.
The Marie-Therese pink led the Magnificent Jewels auction, which achieved a total of $87.7m, with 100 per cent of lots sold, setting a record for a various-owner jewelry sale at Christie's Americas.
The Blue Belle, a 392.52-carat unheated, cushion modified, mixed-cut Ceylon sapphire, sold for $11.3m (estimate $8m to $12m).
Rahul Kadakia, Christie's international head of jewelry, said: "In addition to the regal splendor of the Marie-Therese Pink diamond and the Blue Belle sapphire, private collections and superb jewels were met with enthusiastic and competitive bidding driven by our team's passionate expertise."