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One of the tiaras being sold at Sotheby’s (Photo: Sotheby’s) |
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Photo: Sotheby’s |
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Photo: Sotheby’s |
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Photo: Sotheby’s |
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Photo: Sotheby’s |
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Photo: Sotheby’s |
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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World
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One of the tiaras being sold at Sotheby’s (Photo: Sotheby’s) |
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Photo: Sotheby’s |
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Photo: Sotheby’s |
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Photo: Sotheby’s |
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Photo: Sotheby’s |
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Photo: Sotheby’s |
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The Lesedi La Rona Diamond, which will be auctioned in June (Photo: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images) |
At the end of June, a once-in-a-lifetime jewelry auction will take place in London. Sotheby’s will offer the Lesedi La Rona Diamond, the second-largest gem-quality diamond ever discovered, for sale in a standalone auction. (The largest gem-quality diamond ever discovered? Still the Cullinan. Before it was cut, that diamond weighed a whopping 3100 carats. This one is about a third of that size.)
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Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images |
The diamond was discovered in November in the Karowe mine in Botswana. The mine is owned by the Canadian-based Lucara Diamond corporation. A contest was held in Botswana to name the 1,109 carat gem. The winning name, “Lesedi La Rona,” means “our light.”
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Photo: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images |
The diamond’s estimated auction price is $70 million. The gem is still in its rough state, so whoever purchases it will have to undertake the massive project of cutting and polishing the stone. To give you an idea of the massive size of the diamond, many outlets have been comparing it to a tennis ball. Can you imagine???
Here’s video from the press preview, where you can see the uncut diamond already managing to sparkle a bit.
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Crown Princess Mary wears the necklace and earrings at Aarhus on 8 Apr 2015 (Photo: Henning Bagger/AFP/Getty) |
Questions have been floating around about the cost of Crown Princess Mary’s new jewels, which were purchased at Bruun Rasmussen in 2012. The auction house’s records reveal the final prices of each piece.
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Image from the Bruun Rasmussen auction catalogue |
Mary’s Edwardian necklace/tiara and earrings were sold as a set (Lot #289). The pre-sale estimate for the suite of jewels was 4,000-5,350 euros (about $4500-$6000 USD at today’s exchange rate). The suite sold for about double the initial estimate, bringing 8,050 euros (about $9100 USD today).
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Image from the Bruun Rasmussen auction catalogue |
The diamond and morganite pendant was sold at the same auction (Lot #311). The pendant was estimated to sell for about 535 euros (about $600 USD today). The final sale price of the piece also easily bested the estimate, selling for 1,350 euros (about $1500 USD today).