Even More Brilliance...

At the same April Christies sale, the even more magnificent emerald and diamond brooch that belonged to Catherine the Great, the notoriously oversexed Empress of Russia shown all tarted up on the right, will go on the block at a mere estimated $1 to $1.5 million. Based on provenance alone, it's likely bring a whole lot more. With a 60-70 carat hexagonal cut Columbian

emerald of exceptional quality and rare size set with rows of rose and old mine-cut diamonds, the Imperial gem is one of the outstanding jewels of the world. Empress Catherine amassed one of the greatest jewelry collections of all time and in 1776, upon the marriage of Sophie Dorothea, princess of Wurttemberg to her son Tsar Paul I, she presented her huge emerald to her new daughter-in-law as a wedding gift. The brooch remained the property of the Hollenzollern nobles for three generations. In 1972, it was sold to an American collector and remained hidden away in his vault for nearly forty years.

Earlier this month, Sotheby's Hong Kong sold off an extremely rare 5.18 carat vivid blue, internally flawless pear-shaped diamond from the De Beers Millenium collection for the princely sum of $6.4 million. That's about a million more than the top estimated price so as I said, the Great Recession has left some people still standing tall. Blue diamonds are amongst the rarest of all gems and the Millennium collection featured some of the largest and most vivid blues ever to reach the market. It included the 203 carat D- Flawless Millennium Star and the 27 carat fancy vivid blue internally flawless Heart of Eternity but neither of those gems has hit the block...yet.

Brilliance on the Block

The Great Recession it seems, hasn't been a downer for everyone. Jewelry and gem collectors are ecstatic at the sheer number of world-class jewels that have lately shaken loose from private vaults and gone on the block.

I've already told you about a few notables but on April 22nd, Christies New York will be flogging off the 39.55 carat Emperor Maximilian diamond, a stone with a fascinating provenance, estimated to sell at $1-$1.5 million.

The Archduke Maximilian, that dandy gentleman on the left, acquired two very large diamonds in 1860 while in Brazil, years before Napoleon named him the Emperor of Mexico. When Napoleon ran into his own problems in France, he

abandoned the hapless Archduke (who had reluctantly taken the job in the first place) to his fate. He was captured, court-martialled and executed by the republican forces.

Legend has it that poor Max was wearing a small satchel holding this diamond around his neck when he faced the firing squad. The diamond was returned to his wife, Princess Charlotte of Belgium, who later sold the stone which, as great diamonds so often do, disappeared. It finally re-surfaced in 1919 and was subsequently sold and re-sold but hasn't been in public view since 1982.