Take a Peek at All the Big Stones Heading to Auction This Spring

The largest Kashmir sapphire to hit the block, according to Sotheby’s, and several stones weighing more than 100 carats are on offer.

Brecken Branstrator brecken.branstrator@nationaljeweler.com

Sotheby’s Geneva’s May Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels auction will feature two exceptional emeralds: an 80.45-carat step-cut Colombian emerald and a 104.40-carat pear-shaped Colombian emerald.

New York—It’s shaping up to be a great auction season for large stone lovers.

Sotheby’s will have several notable colored gems and diamonds hitting the block at various sales this spring.

The highlight must be a sapphire that will be sold in Geneva in May, which Sotheby’s has called the largest Kashmir sapphire to appear at auction.

The 55.19-carat oval gem is set alongside a 25.97-carat Kashmir sapphire and diamond accents in a 1930s brooch formerly in the collection of Maureen Constance Guinness, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava (1907-1998). The lot is expected to sell for between $2 million and $3 million.

The jewel will be part of the house’s Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels auction in Geneva on May 11, where a number of other exceptional jewels will hit the block, including two significant pieces from an important noble collection.

The first is a Harry Winston brooch/pendant circa 1974, set with a 104.40-carat pear-shaped Colombian emerald, estimated to sell for between $1 million and $1.5 million.

A 1930s sapphire and diamond brooch, featuring the largest Kashmir sapphire ever to appear at auction—a 55.19-carat oval gem—and a 25.97-carat cushion-shaped Kashmir sapphire (pre-sale estimate between $2 million and $3 million)

At left, an 80.45-carat step-cut Colombian emerald ($2.5 million-$3.5 million) and at right, a 104.40-carat pear-shaped Colombian emerald ($1 million-$1.5 million). Both will be up for auction in Geneva in May.

The sale will also include an 80.45-carat step-cut Colombian emerald and diamonds set in a brooch/pendant estimated to go for between $2.5 million and $3.5 million.

Also heading to the block in Geneva in May is a necklace featuring a 111.73-carat cushion-shaped Ceylon sapphire and diamond accents. It has a pre-sale estimate of between $1.5 million and $2.5 million.

That auction will also have a Harry Winston necklace with a detachable 126.43-carat cushion-shaped Ceylon sapphire and diamond accents that could garner between $1.2 million and $1.8 million.

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Meanwhile, at the Sotheby’s New York Magnificent Jewels sale on April 15, bidders will have the chance to own an 82.54-carat oval-shaped Madagascar sapphire and diamond necklace.

The lot is estimated to garner between $200,000 and $300,000 but will sell with no reserve, meaning there is no minimum price for it.

Not to be left out is the upcoming Magnificent Jewels auction in Hong Kong on April 20, starting with a diamond and rock crystal bangle from Cartier, featuring a 63.66-carat pear-shaped internally flawless, D color, Type IIa diamond (pre-sale estimate between $5.2 million and $8.4 million).

A necklace with a detachable pendant set with a 111.73-carat cushion-shaped Ceylon sapphire ($1.5 million-$2.5 million)

Cartier diamond and rock crystal bangle centered on a 63.66-carat pear-shaped D color diamond ($5.2 million-$8.4 million)

Cartier ring centered on a 43.35-carat emerald-cut fancy vivid yellow diamond ($2.39 million-$3.1 million)

The jewelry auction will also offer a Cartier ring set with a 43.35-carat emerald-cut fancy vivid yellow diamond ($2.39 million-$3.1 million) and an unmounted 39.88-carat emerald-cut D color, flawless, Type IIa diamond ($3.9 million-$5.2 million).

The auction house said interest in gems of “exceptional size” is growing to include a wider range of collectors, buoyed by a growing understanding of the scarcity and value of these stones.

To see all lots in the three upcoming Sotheby’s jewelry auctions, visit the websites for the New York sale on April 15, the Hong Kong sale on April 20 and the Geneva auction on May 11.