It’s not every day a jewellery expert uses the word “mind-blowing,” but that’s exactly how Paul Redmayne, Sotheby’s senior jewellery specialist for the Middle East, describes the auction house’s new exhibition: Beyond: The World’s Rarest Diamonds. The show on Wednesday April 9 and Thursday 10 at the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/2024/03/04/bassam-freiha-art-foundation-saadiyat/" target="_blank">Bassam Freiha Art Foundation</a> in Abu Dhabi’s <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/saadiyat-island/" target="_blank">Saadiyat Island</a> offers a rare chance to view $100 million worth of extraordinary diamonds. That this exhibition is being held in Abu Dhabi is no coincidence, Redmayne explains. “GCC clients have been keeping the luxury industry alive for the last 10 generations. We’ve seen waves of other nationalities coming and going, but the perennial buyer has always been the Middle East buyer.” Visitors can register for guided tours with Sotheby’s experts, who will walk them through the significance of each gem on display. Comprising eight stones, including one valued at $20 million, the entire $100 million collection could, in theory, fit in the palm of a hand. “To have this number of carats in one room is mind-boggling,” says Redmayne. “These diamonds have never all been in the same room before. You’ve got the century stones, 100-carat-plus white diamonds, the 100-carat-plus brown-orange, the 40-carat light pink, the 31-carat vivid orangey pink, the 303-carat Golden Canary and of course, the second-largest red [diamond] in the world. It’s just mind-blowing.” Among the highlights is that red diamond – officially the second largest yet discovered. “The largest red diamond in the world is 5.11 carats, and this is 5.05 carats,” says Redmayne. Red diamonds are so rare, he adds, that legendary jeweller Harry Winston never saw one in his lifetime. Seeing this square emerald-cut fancy brown-red diamond is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Also on show is the Mediterranean Blue diamond, a fancy vivid blue stone weighing 10.03 carats with VS2 clarity, considered one of the most important blue diamonds discovered. When it goes to auction in Geneva on May 13, Sotheby’s expects it to fetch around $20 million. What makes this stone exceptional is how it “ticks all the boxes”, Redmayne says. Mined in 2023 from the famed Cullinan mine in South Africa, known for producing two diamonds in the British Crown Jewel diamonds, the rough stone was studied for a full year before cutting, to maximise its colour. This exhibition marks the stone’s public debut. Only one in 10,000 diamonds qualifies as coloured, and blue is among the rarest. Colour grades range from fancy to intense to fancy vivid, the latter reserved for the most saturated stones. As a fancy vivid blue, the Mediterranean Blue is “one of the most sought-after and rarest”, Redmayne says. “The clarity, the provenance, the size, and the fact it’s a cushion [cut] makes it super desirable.” Cushion cuts, he adds, are always in demand: “They’re harmonious and gentle, with a lovely shape.” Other extraordinary stones in the exhibition include the Desert Rose, a 31.68-carat pear-shaped fancy vivid orange Pink diamond of VVS1 clarity; the Golden Canary necklace, set with a 303.10-carat pear-shaped fancy deep brownish yellow diamond that is internally flawless, and the Ultimate Emerald Cut, a 100.20-carat emerald-cut diamond ring of D colour and Internally Flawless clarity. There is also a 102.60-carat round diamond, D colour and VVS1 clarity; a 40.29-carat radiant-cut fancy light pink diamond and diamond ring of VS2 clarity; and a Cartier necklace in 18k white gold, featuring a 100.26-carat pear-shaped fancy deep brown-orange diamond of I1 clarity. The chance to see such stones assembled is unprecedented, even for experts. “This is a once-in-a-career moment,” says Redmayne. “I don’t think anyone in the industry has seen all of these stones – this level, this number of century stones – in one exhibition. I can’t think of a show where so many 100-plus-carat diamonds have been brought together.”
