This 10.67-carat diamond, graded a natural fancy gray by two major labs, was part of Sotheby’s “Magnificent Jewels” sale last week.
Sotheby’s “Magnificent Jewels” sale held last week in New York was chock full of interesting lots, so much so National Jeweler’s editors felt it deserved two stories.
One covered thesale of an emeraldretrieved from the 1622 wreck of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha and made into a ring for Mitzi Perdue (of Perdue Farms fame), while the other delved into the fate of some of the sale’stop diamonds.
It was a crowded and, well, magnificent field, making it tough to stand out, unless you are a jewel from divine German design house Hemmerle.
Headed by fourth-generation jewelers Christian Hemmerle and wife Yasmin Hemmerle, the brand is considered one of thetop contemporary labels among collectors.
A 19-piece, single-owner collection of Hemmerle jewels went up for auction last year at Sotheby’s and sold for a total of $1.4 million,nearly doubleits pre-sale estimate.
The Hemmerle piece highlighted here features a 10.67-carat emerald-cut gray diamond of SI1 clarity from an “important Detroit collection.”
Mounted in 18-karat gold, the diamond is graded “fancy gray, natural color” by both the Gemological Institute of America and Gübelin Gem Lab.
An anonymous buyer paid $1.1 million ($103,918 per carat) for the piece at Magnificent Jewels, below the pre-sale estimate of $1.5 million-$2 million.
We personally would have paid more, if we had the money.
