Unique Fancy Brown-Yellow Diamond Ring. Photo Sotheby's

Simply set with an oval fancy brown-yellow diamond weighing 49.31 carats, mounted in 18 karat pink gold. Ring size: 5¾. Estimation 13,000,000 — 16,000,000 HKD

Accompanied by GIA report numbered 5151284201, dated 27 February 2013, stating that the 49.31 carat diamond is natural, Fancy Brown-Yellow colour, VVS1 clarity; and a diamond type classification report stating that the diamond is determined to be a Type IIa diamond. Type IIa diamonds are the most chemically pure type of diamond and often have exceptional optical transparency. Also accompanied by Gübelin report numbered 13030142, dated 27 March 2013, stating that the 49.31 carat diamond is natural, Fancy Light Brown colour, VVS2 clarity; and an appendix stating that this diamond 'displays an antique shape and cutting style which were often encountered in the 17th and 18th centuries...Diamonds such as this 49.31 ct cushion-shape, are endowed with distinct personality and charm which are not found in the more modern brilliant cutting styles.'

Sir Bhupindra Singh, Maharaja of Patiala © National Portrait Gallery, London

The Maharaja’s Dream

The rarity of this diamond exudes beyond its superb size and clarity, it is also certified as a Type IIa Golconda diamond by both GIA and Gübelin, earning it a place in the family of legendary diamonds together with Koh-i-Noor and The Regent. The name Golconda evokes the richness and mystery of extraordinary gems, superb in quality and transparency, unearthed in the world’s earliest and richest diamond mines as early as 400 BC. This area in Eastern India yielded some of the most spectacular stones adorning jewels of the great Khan and monarchs, prized for their clarity, which Jean-Baptiste Tavernier described as “of the finest water”.

During the Renaissance, the name Golconda became synonymous to great wealth. The name, always spoken with great reverence by gem traders and collectors, promises a provenance that remained the only source of the world’s diamonds until the late 19th century, and exclusivity took its toll. By mid-18th century, the insatiable appetites of Indian maharajas and European royals had exhausted the supply. This ancient mine was long depleted and now dormant, large diamonds from this source and distinction are extremely hard to come by, even more scarce and desirable are stones like The Maharaja’s Dream (Lot 1741), which “displays an antique shape and cutting style which were often encountered in the 17th and 18th centuries…endowed with distinct personality and charm which are not found in the more modern brilliant cutting styles”, as stated in the Gübelin Gem Lab Appendix. The colours brown and yellow in most diamonds are usually due to presence of nitrogen, but for this particular Golconda diamond, the charming and mystic colour is caused by the colour centre evolved from crystal lattice distortion during the growth of a natural diamond. Its beguiling colour, conjuring up the triumphant glow of a sky at dawn, lit in champagne hue that emanates impalpable grandeur. And if the Maharaja’s dream has all but one shade, it would be covered in a canopy of this arresting golden colour.

Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite. Hong Kong | 07 avr. 2014 - www.sothebys.com