It's hard to argue with the statement that jewelry is beautiful. They are admired for their beauty by many people. And some may even lose their heads because of them in a figurative sense of the word. And you can see this for yourself. One need only explore the most expensive jewelry in the world, many of which were made specifically for connoisseurs of luxury.
Pink Star Pink Diamond
This is the undoubted leader. The pink diamond, known as the Pink Star, is the world's most expensive piece of jewelry ever put up for sale. It is unique, its weight is 59.6 carats (11.92 grams). Visually, its dimensions are 2.69 x 2.06 cm.
However, it is remarkable not only for its appearance. It is important to note that this pink diamond belongs to an extremely rare subgroup of diamonds with almost perfect optical clarity and the purest crystals. An instance with similar characteristics is very difficult to find. Only 2% of gem diamonds are in this subgroup.
In 2013, November 13, the Pink Star was almost sold at auctionto a New York jeweler named Isaac Wolf, who then offered $83,187,000 for it. This is more than 4.8 billion rubles at today's exchange rate! But the deal didn't go through. As a result, the stone was sold only on April 4 of the current, 2017, in Hong Kong. For him, the buyer (according to the auction house, this is the Hong Kong firm Chow Tai Fook Jewelery) gave 71.2 million dollars. Although the starting price was 51.6 million, the auction lasted about 5 minutes.
Value from the past
Well, the pink diamond is now truly the most expensive piece of jewelry in the world. But that's just for now. Until the moment when something new, more expensive, appears. After all, until the Pink Star existed, other things had a value that was considered the highest. Therefore, now it is worth plunging into history.
The wandering pearl is a jewel that became the most expensive piece of jewelry in the world in the 16th century. It has a characteristic pear shape and weighs 55.95 carats. She was caught by a black slave in the Pearl Islands, for which he was granted freedom.
A pendant was made from a wonderful find, which became part of the dress in which the Spanish queens posed for ceremonial portraits. Due to its weight, the pearl often fell out of the setting. According to legend, she was twice lost at balls by the Hamiltons.
The last owner of the jewel was Elizabeth Taylor. It was presented to the Queen of Hollywood by her husband Richard Burton. But after the death of the actress, the pearl was sold at auction for 11.8 million.dollars.
From the Wallis Simpson collection
The wife of the Duke of Windsor, who until 1936 was the king of Great Britain, had a lot of jewelry, most of which were from Cartier. All of them were beautiful and had their own history. The lady also owned the most expensive jewelry in the world for those years. It was a panther bracelet. Her body is made of onyx and diamonds, and the eyes of a wild cat sparkle with emeralds.
After Wallis Simpson's death, this item was put up for auction along with her other pieces of jewelry. The bracelet sold for $12.4 million.
Jewelry with the function of… clothing
And this happens too. A vivid example is a unique bikini made of diamonds and platinum. Model Molly Sims appeared at a fashion show in 2006 wearing this “attire”. The total weight of the miniature swimsuit was 150 carats (~30 grams). And the price exceeded the mark of 30 million dollars. By the way, 254 precious stones were used to make the leotard, a good part of which had a very rare shape.
But this extravagant "outfit", which does not cover absolutely anything, no one dared to buy. Therefore, at the moment it is in the vault of a company called Steinmetz Diamonds. By the way, she specializes in buying and selling diamonds.
Infamous Item
It is impossible not to note the so-called Hope diamond, talking about the most expensive jewelry in the world. His photo is presented below. This is a large deep sapphire blue diamond weighing 45.52 carats.
The product got its name in honor of its first owner, who was Henry Philip Hope, a British aristocrat. It was in his possession that this diamond was first seen (the event dates back to 1839). Why is this product so badly known? The fact that it was obtained by recutting the famous blue diamond from the French crown. Initially, it was just a version. However, it arose in the 50s of the XIX century, when the product was exhibited at world famous exhibitions. And in 2008, the version received scientific confirmation.
The stone, by the way, was inherited. The last family owner was Lord Pelham-Clinton-Hope, who sold it for debt in 1910. The diamond was bought by the jeweler Pierre Cartier for huge money at that time - 550,000 francs. By the way, he began to spread rumors about the curse imposed on the stone. After two more owners, this diamond, considered one of the most famous in the New World, is now in the Museum of Natural History in Washington.
Values that are hard to miss
It is impossible not to pay attention to large items, talking about the most expensive jewelry in the world. The photo below is one of those. This is a tiara with diamonds and emeralds, which since the beginning of the 20th century belonged to Katharina, the wife of the Prussian prince Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck. Her auction price is $13 million.
Another thing to mention is a jadeite beaded necklace worth over $27 million. It had many owners. Among them is Barbara Hutton, a mid-20th century US socialite.
And rounding out the top 10 most expensive pieces of jewelry in the world that are truly impressive is the Swiss watchmaker Chopard, which weighs 201 carats and costs $25 million. They consist of 874 diamonds of various sizes. The largest of them is 15 carats. Particularly surprising is the mechanism by which the three most impressive stones are moved away, thus opening the dial.
Diamond rating
Finally, I would like to note the top most expensive jewelry in the world that has not yet been mentioned.
Third place belongs to the Pink Graff diamond ring. Its auction price was $46.2 million. But once it was owned by Harry Winston himself - the first jeweler of the New World!
In second place in the ranking called "The most expensive jewelry in the world" is the "Incomparable" necklace. You can see it in the photo below. Small stones in total weigh 230 ct. And the bottom one is a 407.48-carat diamond, which is the largest in the entire jewelry industry of our planet. The most amazing thing is that his uncut version (which weighed 890 carats!) was found among the cobblestones by a little girl from the Congo.
First place goes to Wittelsbach. Thisa dark blue diamond weighing 35.56 carats was once part of two crowns - Austrian and Bavarian. But in 2008, it was bought by a London jeweler named Lawrence Graff for $24.3 million. He removed about 4.5 carats! This infuriated many jewelers. But Lawrence Graff thus increased the purity of the stone. And the price, respectively, too. In 2011, he sold it for $80 million to a member of the Qatari royal family.
