Blue Heart Diamond

 

Image credit: Chip Clark

Chronological Background

1908 – Found at the Premier Mine, South Africa

1909 – 1910 – French jeweler Atanik Eknayan of Paris faceted the 30.62 carat heart-shaped, brilliant cut, blue diamond out of a 100.5 carat piece of rough

1910 – Cartier purchased the Blue Heart and sold it set in a lily-of-the-valley brooch to Mrs. Unzue, an Argentinian woman

1953 – Van Cleef & Arpels bought the gemstone and set it in a pendant to a necklace valued at $300,000.  It was later sold to a European family

1959 – Harry Winston acquired it and mounted the Blue Heart in its present platinum ring setting surrounded by 26 round brilliant cut colorless diamonds with a total weight of 1.63 carats

Image credit: Chip Clark

1960 – Mrs. Marjorie Merriweather Post purchased the ring from Harry Winston

1964 – Mrs. Marjorie Merriweather Post donated the Blue Heart to the National Gem Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.

2010 – The Smithsonian celebrated 100 years since the cutting of the Blue Heart

Today, the Blue Heart continues to reside at the Smithsonian.  Although the Blue Heart is about 2/3 the size of the Hope Diamond (45.52 carat), it remained a popular gemstone for its heart-shaped brilliant cut and vivid blue color.  GIA graded the Blue Heart as a natural fancy deep blue diamond with a clarity grade of VS2.

November highlights from Rapaport

• EGL International (EGLI) commonly use GIA’s terminology to describe diamonds as 4 or more color/clarity combination grades higher than GIA’s grading
• An overgraded diamond is a diamond graded using GIA terminology that when verified by the GIA is more than 1 color or 1 clarity lower than the original grade
• Overgrading reports have become a license to lie about quality where RapNet members are comfortable to sell EGLI diamonds at lower prices, thinking it’s ok to misrepresent quality as long as the price is low
• Ethical people and business practice should not deal with overgraded diamonds – it’s illegal

• RapNet lists GIA, AGS, HRD and IGI and other grading reports meeting their good laboratory descriptions.

• S13s are defined as an intermediate grade between SI2 and I1.
  • Many believe the clarity and price spread between S12 and I1 is too large.
  • The diamond trade commonly sorts diamonds into S12, S13 and I1.
  • Inability of current GIA grading system to differentiate between eye-clean and not-eye-clean diamonds

• Christie’s garnered $150m at its Geneva auction.
  • Top lot was a diamond necklace with a sapphire pendant sold for $17m, setting record sapphire jewelry sale at auction.
  • Lawrence Graff bought a pair of pear-shape, 6.95-ct, fancy vivid blue, S12 and pear, 6.79-ct, fancy pink, VS2 ear pendants for $15.9M, swooping the Geneva auction circuit buying the top diamond lots at both the Christie’s and Sotheby’s sales (a pair of oval, 20.05-ct and 20.06-cat D, IF, diamond earrings for $7.1m)

• The Grib diamond mine in Russia, owned by oil supplier Lukoil, is arguably the most prospective of the new generation of diamond mines

• Richemont (reported strong jewelry sales during its 6 month period ending September
  • Owns Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels
    • Highlight was the sale of the Pavarani necklace from the launch of Royal High Jewelry Collection
    • Perlee yellow collection and Peau d’Ane high-end jewelry collection at VCA gaining traction, with the Robe Couleur du Temps selling more than $1m
  • Also has interests in watchmakers Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC and Panerai
  • Benefited from successful product launches and prices increase in certain markets
  • Subdued sales mitigated by lower precious metals and cost containment measures
  • MEA was its strongest growth market (sales up 21%)
  • Sales fell in AP region (weakest performance in its largest market since 2009)
    • Impacted by volatile environment in HK and Macau

• Global gold jewelry demand declined due to a drop in Far East demand (gold jewelry = 57% of total gold demand during Q3)

• Understanding the business cycle is vital to understanding one’s own inventory
  • Approximately 30 – 40% of annual diamond jewelry retail sales in the US take place in November and December, with steady demand spreading over to Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and the summer wedding
  • China has peaks during the February Chinese New Year, the May and October Golden Weeks
    • Logically, Chinese retailers should be taking delivery of goods in December of January for the February season unless they are seated with sufficient inventory
  • Sales in India are weighted around Diwali and subsequent wedding season
  • US polished imports tend to peak in October or November, excluding the large imports in May for JCK Las Vegas show where jewelers typically needing 4 – 5 months’ advance time to make their orders i.e. set those diamonds into jewelry in time for October – November season
  • De beers estimates about 9 months for a rough diamond to be extracted till the time is available for sale to customer, and about 4 – 5 months are dedicated to manufacturing and certification process
    • Thus, manufacturers are theoretically buying rough in May – Jul, so the polished goods are ready for jewelers on time around October

• Tiffany & Co’s Q3 sales buoyed by demand in the Americas, while AP region was relatively sluggish
  • Strongest growth in fashion jewelry at relatively higher price points
  • America’s growth driven by rise in the average price per unit sold
  • Operated 122 stores in the Americas at end of Q3 (120 stores a year earlier)
  • Sales in HK impacted by political protests leading to decline of visitors
    • 9 stores in HK contribute a meaningful part of sales in the region
    • 72 stores in AP during Q3 (68 last year)
  • Drop in sales in Japan attributed to yen depreciation and weak economic conditions (56 stores in Japan)
  • Mixed sales in Europe – soft in UK satisfactory in Paris (38 stores in Europe by end of Q3; 36 last year; 5 stores in UAE; opened 1^st store in Russia bring total store count to 294)

QUARTZ – Citrine in Fine Jewelry

How would citrine look like in fine jewelry?

Clockwise from top left

• Van Cleef & Arpels: citrine, diamond and gold pendant necklace 
• Cartier: Art Deco diamond and cognac citrine necklace c. 1934
• Sterlé Citrine Dream: demi-parure of bracelet and necklace c. 1950
• Bulgari: citrine and diamond necklace

Sapphire Jewelry – From Antiquity to Present

ANCIENT

Ancient sapphire and gold necklace. Altes Museum, Berlin Byzantine Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art.

Medieval sapphire ring. Western Europe, c. 1525-1575

The Knyvett seal

ANTIQUE

17th Jewelry bow necklace with sapphire pendant. Italy. c.1660.

Victorian sapphire and diamond brooch. c. late 19th century

Victorian Burma Sapphire Earrings. c. 1885

ART NOVEAU

Art Noveau sapphire ring Rene Lalique. c.1895-1897

Art Noveau pendant

Art Noveau gold brooch. English. c. 1900

EDWARDIAN/BELLE EPOQUE

Edwardian sapphire pendant brooch. Tiffany & Co. c.1900

Belle Epoque sapphire and diamond pendant watch. c. 1900

Belle Epoque sapphire pendant brooch

ART DECO

Art Deco elaborate sapphire and diamond bracelet. Tiffany & Co.

Art Deco sapphire and diamond double clip. c.1935

RETRO

Retro blue and yellow sapphire, ruby and gold passe-partout necklace. Van Cleef & Arpels. c. 1940

Retro Ceylon sapphire and platinum ring. Oscar Heyman, USA. c. 1930 – 1940

Retro platinum, sapphire and diamond bracelet. Seaman Schepps. c.1950

CONTEMPORARY

Cartier sapphire high jewelry necklace.

Illiade clip. Van Cleef & Arples – L’Atlantide collection.

Montana sapphire and diamond platinum necklace. Tiffany & Co.

Mystery set sapphire and diamond ear pendants. Van Cleef & Arpels.

Mystery set sapphire and diamond ring. Van Cleef & Arpels

Sapphire and diamond bracelet. Van Cleef & Arpels.

Sapphire and diamond bracelets. Tiffany & Co.

Sapphire and diamond ear pendants. Cartier.

Violina ring. Van Cleef & Arples.

 

Cravate Necklace

Designed by Rene Sim Lacaze of Van Cleef & Arpels, this masterpiece was a special order commissioned by the Duke of Windsor for the Duchess’s 40th birthday. Rivers of rubies and diamonds intertwine with each other culminating in an off-center cascade of rubies. The clasp is engraved with the inscription: “My Wallis from her David, 19.VI.1936”.

Holly Leaves Clip

King Edward VIII made his abdication speech on December 10, 1936. In light of the situation, Edward VIII had to spend that Christmas away from Wallis Simpson, so he sent her this clip, representing two holly leaves, made of Mystery Set rubies and diamonds.

This creation is an early example of the Mystery Setting™ technique, for which Van Cleef & Arpels is now famous. The stones are held by small grooves at the back and no gold is visible from the front. The contrast of white and red makes it a “piece de resistance.” 

 

Hold Tight Bracelet

Designed by Paulette of Van Cleef & Arpels, this ruby and diamond bracelet has 40 burmese rubies. It has a simple and smart design with the Duke’s favorite phrase “Hold Tight” inscribed – an expression often used between the couple to comfort each other in difficult times.A few months before his abdication in 1936, King Edward VIII (Duke of Windsor) presented the bracelet to Wallis Simpson when he asked her present husband, Ernest Simpson, to get a divorce from Wallis so they could marry.

The Walska Brooch

One of Van Cleef & Arpels’s most exquite special order which once belonged to the opera singer and socialite Ganna Walska. The delicate flying bird carrying a 95-ct pear-shaped yellow diamond was worn as a pendant.

Reappearing at a Sotheby auction in 1971, the new owner had the maison combined the exceptional stone with a bird of yellow gold, emeralds and sapphires in celebration of the birth of her son in 1972.

In keeping with the maison’s tradition of transformability, the bird can metamorphose into a pair of winged earrings and a brooch, while the magnificent diamond can be detached from the brooch and worn alone as a pendant.

 

During its magnificent jewels sale in November 13, 2013, this historic brooch set a world auction record for Van Cleef & Arpels’ jewelry selling for USD11m at Sotheby’s Geneva.