As the second-most-valuable private jewellery collection ever to go under the gavel, Christie’s Maharajas & Mughal Magnificence auction, held earlier this summer in New York, fetched a staggering US$109 million in total. While the gem-studded event certainly featured some truly remarkable haute joaillerie designs, one particular item deserves special mention – The Mirror of Paradise diamond ring.
While its third appearance on the auction block saw it fail to meet its pre-sale estimate of US$7-10 million, it still fetched a wholly respectable sum of US$6.52 million, thanks in no small part to the gargantuan gem that fronts this Mughal-era platinum creation.
Weighing in at 52.58 carats, the baguette-cut, D-colour, Internally Flawless, Type IIa white diamond gracing its fascia was mined in southern India’s renowned Golconda region. Golconda mines bear the unique distinction of producing diamonds without any nitrogen, a characteristic that imbues its precious stones with superb luminosity and impeccable purity. So sought-after are these gemstones that its several of its other products have become world-famous in their own right, including the Koh-i-Noor, which now languishes in the British crown jewels collection, and the Hope Diamond, now on display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC.