Lot 405. Important 6.64 carats fancy intense blue diamond brooch, Alexandre Reza. Estimate 9,600,000 — 13,440,000 CHF (8,773,593 - 12,283,031 EUR). Sold for CHF13,354,000 ($13,672,493). Photo Sotheby's

Set with a marquise-shaped fancy intense blue diamond weighing 6.64 carats, highlighted with two pear-shaped fancy intense blue diamonds weighing 2.01 and 1.01 carats, further accented with similarly shaped colourless diamonds, may be worn as a pendant, signed A. Reza, French assay and maker's marks.

Bibliography: Cf.: Arlette Seta, Alexandre Reza, Pierres de lumière, Paris, 1991, pg. 133 and back cover for illustrations of this pendant/brooch. 

Note: The beautiful brooch offered in this sale was originally a pendant suspended from a necklace set with D-colour, Internally Flawless marquise-shaped diamonds, created by Alexandre Reza. 

Alexandre Reza 

During his career, Alexandre Reza (1922-2016), the celebrated Paris-based jeweller, assembled one of the largest, most diverse and precious collections of gems in the world.

He travelled widely to carefully select each stone individually, and then transformed them with his vision and the skill of hisvirtuoso craftsmanship into delicate works of art that are the exquisite suites of necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings for which Alexandre Reza is justly renowned.

He first supplied gems to, and manufactured for, some of the greatest jewellers of the 1960s and 1970s, including Cartier, Chaumet, Van Cleef & Arpels, Boucheron, Gérard, Harry Winston and Bulgari. He then decided to create his own brand and established his retail operations on the Place Vendôme in Paris, as well as in Geneva and in the South of France.

The jeweller’s art begins with an understanding that jewels are the most personal of decoration and are meant to be worn to reflect and enhance a woman’s beauty. Reza was inspired in his designs both by historical jewels of royal provenance as well as by a modern classicism of his own creation. Movement, lightness of composition and harmony are the key words of his designs.

Each of Alexandre Reza’s creations is imbued with his special understanding of and appreciation for both the physical beauty and the metaphysical properties of the precious gems with which it is set. He brought together the most appealing gems with outstanding properties and qualities. The pendant brooch offered in this sale is a fine example of the careful selection of gems for which Alexandre Reza is reputed. He assembled three fancy intense blue diamonds with D colour pear-shaped diamonds within a delicate and radiant design. Another example of Reza's precise selection of gems is the fancy vivid blue diamond ring sold at Sotheby’s Geneva in May 2010 for a record price of more than CHF 7 million (USD 6.3 million).

The brand continues today, based at 21 Place Vendôme in Paris, under the leadership of Alexandre's son, Olivier; while respecting the passion and dedication to perfection which have always been the hallmark of the company, Olivier's unique vision has brought a new exciting aesthetic to Reza's creations. 

Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, Genève, 17 mai 2016, 10:00 AM