Lot 1744. Type IIA Diamond Ring, weighing 10.05 carats. Estimate: 6,400,000-8,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 7,320,000 HKD (933,739 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.
Set with an old European-cut diamond weighing 10.05 carats, to the brilliant-cut diamond gallery and hoop, mounted in 18 karat white gold, size 6.
ccompanied by GIA report no. 1152098861, dated 22 June 2015 and Gübelin report no. 15070057, dated 13 July 2015, both stating that the 10.05 carat diamond is D Colour, Internally Flawless; further accompanied by GIA diamond type classification report stating that the diamond is determined to be Type IIa. Type IIa diamonds are the most chemically pure type of diamond and often have exceptional optical transparency.
Also accompanied by Gübelin "Olde Water" Appendix, stating 'While some Type IIa diamonds can be tinted pink or brown, others are blessed with the most exceptional and pure colour and are often associated with a high degree of transparency, a quality sometimes referred to as "water". Such diamonds can look so colourless that they seem to appear like "crystal clear water"... This diamond of 10.05 cts combines such exceptional characteristics as to display this particular quality of the finest "water"...Diamonds of this kind and size, exhibiting a superior quality as well as an old cutting style, and belonging to the finest of natural colour type IIa diamonds are very rare.'
Golconda’s Greatness
Golconda diamonds, elusive and mysterious, the legendary gems hailing from the historic fabled kingdom; these diamonds are renowned to be the source of some of the finest and most important diamonds in the world. Celebrated as the ‘Diamond Capital’ of the past, the Golconda mines have produced some of history’s best-known diamonds, including the Hope, the Koh-I-Noor and the Regent diamonds.
In 1663, French explorer and renowned gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, travelled through the fortified city of Golconda. On this journey, he was permitted to examine the Great Mogul Diamond, a sizeable gem that was named after the third of India’s Mogul emperors, Shah Akbar. Providing vivid and captivating descriptions of the fine diamond specimens he encountered, he compared the purity of the gem’s appearance to water, the most transparent, and coveted diamonds being known as the ‘gems of the first water’.
The essence of a Golconda diamond is its distinctive purity reminiscent of clear water, unlike other diamonds. Majority of the diamonds from Golconda belong to the prestigious category of Type IIA diamonds, which consist of only two per cent of all diamonds. Most chemically pure, with no measurable traces of nitrogen or boron, colourless Type IIA diamonds are exceptionally transparent, hence Tavernier’s description of ‘perfect water’. To mark this distinction, this colour is sometimes referred to as ‘Super-D’ or ‘whiter than white’. The Swiss gem laboratory, Gübelin, in an effort to distinguish such extraordinary diamonds from historical heritage and proven pedigree, provides a gemmological report for Type IIA and an association with the Golconda profile.
Lot 1744 and 1745 are both exquisite specimens that possess the enigmatic perfection and allure of the Golconda diamonds. With its prestigious background, rich in history, and unparalleled quality, each Golconda diamond represents a one of a kind, paragon of a gem.
“Golconda diamonds are truly exceptional gemstones… Impressive in size, possessing the purest colour and transparency. They are reminiscent of those unique and famous historical diamonds which reached the hands of royalty, centuries ago, through an incredible journey initiated in India.”
Gübelin Gem Laboratory