Photo © Patrick Gries - Van Cleef & Arpels
A diamond snowball must be in effect, as Sotheby's just announced that it will offer the historic and iconic "Walska Briolette Diamond" Brooch created by Van Cleef & Arpels in 1971 during its Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva this November. This is the fourth important diamond up for sale at Sotheby's this season-suggesting the enormous strength of the market for both white and colored diamonds. What sets this piece apart from the other three is its rich and colorful history. The Fancy Vivid Yellow antique briolette diamond, weighing a whopping 96.62 carats, was once in the collection of the Polish-born opera singer and jewelry connoisseur Ganna Walska.
Lotusland Estate in Montecito, California. Photo © Ganna Walska Lotusland Organization
Walska's remarkable collection came into public view for the first time when she decided to sell her jewelry at Sotheby's New York in 1971 to finance the addition of a cycad garden at Lotusland, her magnificent Californian estate she created and lived in for over 40 years. The sale realized a total of $916,000 ($5,289,662.52 in today's dollars) for 146 lots, causing a world sensation as this was more than double what had been expected. Among the jewels in the sale was Ganna Walska's dazzling yellow briolette diamond. Van Cleef & Arpels purchased the Fancy Vivid Yellow briolette diamond and named it the "Walska Diamond". A year later, an important American collector commissioned the jewelry house to combine the exceptional stone with a bird of yellow gold, emeralds and sapphires in celebration of the birth of her son in 1972, with the briolette pendant as the bundle of joy. The resulting jewel, a beautiful Bird of Paradise, instantly became an icon for Van Cleef & Arpels, gracing the cover of its catalogue in 1972. Just as many jewels created by Van Cleef & Arpels, the remarkable piece can metamorphose into a pair of winged earrings and a brooch, while the magnificent yellow diamond can be detached from the brooch and worn alone as a pendant.
[For more from VERANDA.com's fine jewelry columnist Natalie Bos visit her blog JewelsduJour.com
