By FRANK JORDANS – Associated Press
GENEVA (AP) — A rare yellow pear-shaped diamond is expected to fetch $11-15 million at auction next week, and the buyer will have the chance to name it, Sotheby‘s said Wednesday.
The so-called Sun-Drop Diamond is described as fancy vivid yellow — the highest color grading — by gemstone experts. It is the largest known diamond of its kind, at 110.3 carats.
“It looks the weight,” said David Bennett, the head of Sotheby’s jewelry division. “At the same time it’s a very bright stone,” he added, as a model showed off the diamond to photographers before the Nov. 15 sale at Geneva‘s Beau-Rivage hotel.
The jewel is being sold by Cora International, which discovered the diamond in South Africa only last year — meaning it has no history of previous wearers.
“Some people find it very attractive to own a stone that’s been lying untouched in the earth for millions of years,” Bennet told The Associated Press.
Other lots include a suite of jewels given by the Ottoman Empire‘s Sultan Abdul Hamid II to the wife of the Khedive of Egypt in the late 19th century.
The set comprising a necklace, brooch and pair of earrings could fetch $10 million. Some of the gems may have been part of a peace offering given by Russian Czar Peter the Great‘s wife Catherine to Ottoman Sultan Ahmed II in 1711, Sotheby’s said.
The jewel auction is preceded by a sale of historic watches Nov. 13. Items include timepieces worn by India’s first president, Rajendra Prasad, and a Rolex belonging to German chancellor Konrad Adenauer.
Related articles
- Rare Yellow Diamond Expected to Fetch $11-15M (abcnews.go.com)
- Sotheby’s to Auction The Sun-Drop Diamond in November (shoppingblog.com)
- FOR SALE: A Bright Yellow Diamond That’s The Size Of A Ping Pong Ball (businessinsider.com)
- 136 Carat Yellow Diamond Discovered (since1910.com)
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