![]() If we think of historically the most important stones today like the Tiffany Yellow, and the Eureka, the Incomparable was displayed alongside them in the Natural History museums in New York and Paris." With a shield cut, "it looked quite close to the rough form, and the Incomparable Diamond was displayed in various exhibitions. "As with all diamonds, when they start out as a piece of rough, the cutters have this slightly pressured job of thinking: how do we cut it to retain as much weight as possible but also keep the colour?" Stevens explains. The result was 15 separate stones, the largest of which weighed 407.5 carats and was named the Incomparable Diamond. Cutting the stone, however, was a task so formidable it took almost five years to complete. With its unusual golden yellow colour, the rough stone was both a record-breaking size and internally flawless. The significance of the stone quickly became clear and by 1984, it was on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in New York, as the largest rough diamond ever recorded. "Lo and behold, this huge hunk of golden rock turned out to be an 890-carat piece of diamond rough," says Stevens. Ironically, it was discovered near a diamond mining site on land that had been disregarded as not having any deposits. "The rough was discovered in the early 1980s in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, by a little girl playing in her uncle's backyard." The stone is pear-cut, but it has had various forms since its discovery. "It will be displayed unmounted in Dubai, which is nice, so you can really appreciate the beautiful colour it is," says Stevens. It is now on display at the Sotheby's Dubai gallery in DIFC. On display in Dubai, the Golden Canary is the largest flawless diamond in the world. So we have set an estimate that we think is fair for a stone for such good quality, but with no reserve, we expect to see a lot of activity drawn in by exactly that." "When people see no reserve, it actually creates fiercely competitive bidding, as people get excited by it, so it actually works in the stone's favour. ![]() The decision to offer the Golden Canary without a reserve price is very deliberate. Bidding starts at a princely $1, and we will see what the final result will be," Sophie Stevens, director specialist of jewellery at Sotheby's Dubai, tells The National. "Regardless of its intrinsic value, it will be sold to whatever the highest bid is on the day. The same was done for the Enigma, the 555-carat fancy black diamond Sotheby's sold in February this year. Valued at about $15 million by Sotheby's, when it goes under the hammer it will be without a reserve price - meaning it will sell for whatever the highest price is on the day. With a rich golden tone, the fancy yellow stone weighs 303.10 carats, making it the largest flawless diamond in the world, according to the Gemmological Institute of America.Īs a showing of the importance of the Middle Eastern market in such gems, the unique stone is making its debut in Dubai ahead of its world tour, when it will travel to Taipei, Hong Kong and Geneva before arriving in New York for its sale on December 7 as part of the Sotheby's New York Magnificent Jewels sale. ![]() ![]() Sotheby's Dubai has unveiled the Golden Canary yellow diamond, one of the largest cut diamonds to exist. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |