Sotheby's predicted last month that the exquisite "Apollo" and "Artemis" diamond earrings would sell at their springtime Magnificent Jewels & Noble Jewels auction in Geneva for up to $68 million. And their estimate wasn't far off.
The rare pink and blue jewels actually went for an undeniably impressive $57,425,478, a price tag that makes them the world's most expensive earrings ever sold at auction.
Individually, the pear-shaped diamonds are spectacular in their own ways, but together they become "the most important earrings ever to appear at auction," according to Sotheby's. The internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond, "Apollo," was the frontrunner - an exceptionally low number of stones are graded as Fancy Vivid Blue - selling for a whopping $42,087,302. The most expensive blue diamond in the world is also a Fancy Vivid Blue and sold for about $40.6 million at Christie's in Geneva a year ago.
The fancy intense pink 16-carat diamond, "Artemis," is exceptional in its own right, selling for $15,338,176. It is classified as a "Type IIa" diamond, which is the most chemically pure and usually most optically transparent. Pink diamonds are a real treasure, with only about 3 percent of all diamonds being classified as pink and of that only 5 percent are predominantly pink. The vibrant color and remarkable size of "Artemis" makes it a remarkable find.
The diamond duo are named after the Ancient Greek twins of Zeus and Leto. Artemis is the goddess of wilderness, the hunt, childbirth and a protector of young girls. Apollo is the god of music, truth, healing and prophecy.
