The Pink Dawn was sourced from the Kao Mine in Lesotho as a 26-carat rough. Today, the fancy vivid purplish-pink diamond stands at 10.05-carats and carries a pre-sale value of $US21.4 million ($AU32.1 million).
“The Pink Dawn has been graded by the Gemological Institute of America as a fancy vivid purplish pink diamond, which is the strongest saturation of colour in a light to medium tone range,” a statement from Sotheby’s reads.
» Watch video of The Pink Dawn
“While pink diamonds come in a variety of hues, achieving fancy vivid grading is very rare — it is the rarest on the fancy grading scale among pink diamonds. The Pink Dawn displays a beautifully saturated pink hue akin to the warm twilight before sunrise, beaming with the light of dawn from its kaleidoscope of facets.”
The Pink Dawn will headline Sotheby’s 50-year celebration at Magnificent Jewels: Part I, with a follow-up auction scheduled to take place online on 30 March.
The World of Heidi Horten
The private collection of late Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten will become the most valuable private jewellery assortment ever to come to auction, according to Christie’s.
The auction is scheduled for early May and has been named ‘The World of Heidi Horten’ with an expected return of $US150 million ($AU224.8 million).
“The World of Heidi Horten is the collection of a lifetime. From Bulgari to Van Cleef & Arpels, from a small personal memory piece to the Briolette of India, this is a collector’s dream,” said Rahul Kadakia, international head of jewellery for Christie’s.
“Building from extraordinary early pieces she acquired in the 1970s and 1980s, Mrs. Horten continued to grow and curate her sophisticated collection, eloquently combining vintage and modern designs from leading jewellery houses of the world that today represent some of the finest examples ever to come to market.”
Proceeds will benefit the Heidi Horten Collection, a museum of art based in Vienna, as well as medical research.
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