Jewelry designer Michael Beaudry scored a major coup at the BaselWorld show in 2005, and he talks about it in his Winter 2005 newsletter. So this is sort of old news, but new news to us and quite on-topic considering recent postings.
On display in Basel, Switzerland was this three-stone red diamond ring.
The total carat weight of the three stones is 1.49ct; all stones are certified by GIA to be natural fancy purplish-red diamonds. The center stone weighs 0.73ct and the side stones total 0.76ct.
Wow. They are perfectly matched stones. Amazing.
It is said that the center stone had been circulating and making the rounds of brokers and collectors for quite a while, but that the matched pair of side stones are fairly new finds. What is very spectacular about this trio is that they match.
The reason this is so newsworthy is that it's hard enough to find a red diamond. Apparently old Harry Winston went his entire lifetime never having seen one. What's more incredible is that there are three red diamonds here, each a perfect color match and each an oval of perfectly matched proportions.
Beaudry's newsletter mentions that auction houses have only seen about 30 red diamonds in the past 150 years. It's not for sale, but the owner must be a pretty nice person; he/she/they seem to enjoy letting Beaudry take it from show to show to display it.
To get an idea of how much much this trinity might fetch at auction, the 0.95ct Hancock Red Diamond was sold for $880,000 in 1987, setting a record for the highest price per carat of diamonds ever. It had eye-visible inclusions, a big no-no for white diamonds. Its color (also natural fancy purplish-red) was so spectacular that its value was very, very steep. And as we've discussed, color is everything.
But that auction was almost 20 years ago... and that stone was found 30 years before that. That's almost 50 years ago. And not many have been found since.
So the price for the Beaudry ring? Any guesses? $5 million? I have no idea. Maybe more, because as we know, "diamond math" is not straight arithmetic.
Three $1 million matched stones don't equal $3 million total. They add up to much, much more - the total being far greater than the sum of its parts.
Which is sort of like Duran Duran or the Spice Girls. Or any boy band, right? Bad comparison, sorry.
(photo from Michael Beaudry)
i love michael beaudry designs! also jack kelege and gregg ruth!
Posted by: paz | May 17, 2006 at 06:42 AM
Beaudry is the true master, isn't he? I think Gregg Ruth comes in a close second. Some of the Kelege designs are too busy for my taste.
Posted by: Susanna | May 17, 2006 at 03:41 PM
i met doris panos at a trunk show - she's greek and very hilarious!
but her designs are just intricate and beautiful (very pricey though)!
Posted by: paz | May 17, 2006 at 03:46 PM
Doris Panos is another superstar. So much talent.
I got to meet Elizabeth Gage about 8 years ago in Atlanta. She was hosting a private trunk show at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead. A lovely woman and lovely, expensive (!) pieces.
Posted by: Susanna | May 17, 2006 at 08:52 PM
Good post! Greatings!
Posted by: autonews | July 18, 2006 at 12:40 AM
pgcruwa wslu zjklfd odtyizbwf xdsyclh acjg iwrjadlx
Posted by: pkzmrhg ybhedaf | February 20, 2009 at 03:27 AM
i love Michael Beaudry design so much,in this is a perfect for me.
by: rhianne
Posted by: palladuim ring | June 10, 2009 at 02:10 AM