THE PONAHALO DIAMONDS AND 20TH CENTURY JEWELS HIGHLIGHT CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK OCTOBER SALE Christie’s October 15 Jewels: The New York Sale will dazzle and delight with an array of diamonds, colored diamonds and gems, and a collection of signed jewels, Superb 20th Century Jewels.
News-Antique.com - Sep 22,2008 - Jewels: The New York Sale
Superb 20th Century Jewels from an American Collection
15 October 2008
New York – Christie’s October 15 Jewels: The New York Sale will dazzle and delight with an array of
diamonds, colored diamonds and gems, and a collection of signed jewels, Superb 20th Century Jewels
from an American Collection. Leading the auction are two magnificent diamonds weighing
approximately 102.11 and 70.87 carats, cut from a rough diamond of 316.15 carats and bestowed
with the special name, The Ponahalo. The two sales comprise of 273 lots and expect to realize in
excess of $35 million.
The Ponahalo Diamonds
In 2005, a rough diamond of 316.15 carats was discovered, the largest ever to emerge from the De
Beers Venetia mine. Following the tradition of naming very special diamonds, the name Ponahalo
was given by Jonathan Oppenheimer, Head of the Chairman’s Office De Beers Group. In Sotho,
the tribal language spoken by the Venda tribe in the area of South Africa where the gem was mined,
Ponahalo translates as “vision.”
The Steinmetz Diamond Group, one of the leading diamond manufacturing and trading groups in
the world, entrusted with the honor of cutting the 316.15 carat stone, expertly produced four
polished diamonds, leaving one in its rough form. It took eighteen months to shape the two largest
diamonds, weighing 102.11 and 70.87 carats, into rectangular-cut gems (estimate: on request).
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Ponahalo Diamonds will be donated to the Diamond
Empowerment Fund, co-founded by Russell Simmons. The Diamond Empowerment Fund is a
non-profit, international organization dedicated to empowerment in Africa through funding
education programs in African countries where diamonds are a natural resource.
Important Diamonds & Colored Gemstones
Other important diamonds in the main sale include a sensational rectangularcut
diamond necklace of 40.21carats, D color, internally
flawless clarity (illustrated left, estimate on request); a cutcornered
rectangular-cut diamond ring of 16 carats, D
color, with potential to be flawless (estimate: $1 - 1.5
million); and a diamond bee ring designed by Jean
Schlumberger, of 8.23 carats, D color (illustrated right, estimate: $800,000-1.2 million).
Colored diamonds rings in the sale are highlighted by a cut-cornered modified rectangular-cut fancy
intense blue diamond, weighing approximately 7.02 carats, and set with a pavé-set
pink diamond two-tiered surround (illustrated left, estimate:
$3.5 - 5 million) and a pear-shape d fancy intense purplishpink diamond, weighing approximately 5.60 carats, flanked
on either side by a pear-shaped diamond (illustrated right,
estimate: $2.6 - 3 million).
Examples of jewelry containing exquisite gems are led by a sapphire, emerald and pearl necklace set
with a cushion-cut sapphire of 68.16 carats, and a square-cut emerald,
weighing approximately 8.37 carats (illustrated left, estimate: $1-1.5 million),
and an Art Deco Padapradscha sapphire and diamond clip brooch
designed as a geometric plaque, and set with a modified pear-shaped
Padparadscha sapphire of 29.87 carats (estimate: $180,000-250,000).
Jewelry from the Collection of Giselle Bündchen includes a diamond
ring by Sabbadini set with a cut-cornered
modified square-cut yellow diamond
weighing
