As part of its Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels auction, Sotheby’s is offering a pair of cushion and pear-shaped diamonds weighing in at 102.54 and 82.47 carats, respectively. Colloquially known as the Donnersmarck Diamonds, the duo was estimated to fetch between US$9-$14 million when it went under the hammer in November.
Physical properties aside, they possess a unique provenance, having previously belonged to the Russian-born French courtesan La Païva. A legendary socialite who arrived in Paris at 18, La Païva was infamous for throwing decadent soirees at her hotel particulier on the Champs Elysées. After a trifling marriage to a Portuguese marquis, she settled on the Prussian industrialist Count Henckel Von Donnersmarck – among the wealthiest of Europe’s 19th century aristocrats.
Historians report that the Count was so besotted with La Païva that, after they were married in 1871, he commissioned the Donnersmarck Diamonds. Imaginatively classified by Sotheby’s as “Jewels of Noble Provenance”, they are the latest in a slew of lots dedicated to gemstones owned by aristocrats. The stones remained in the Donnersmarck family long after La Païva’s death, appearing at auction for the first time in 2007.
Images: Sotheby’s