Sotheby's unveils The Golden Canary: A yellow diamond weighing over 300 carats
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Tuesday, November 5, 2024


Sotheby's unveils The Golden Canary: A yellow diamond weighing over 300 carats
The Historically Important Diamond Is Expected to Realise in Excess of $15 Million at Sotheby’s New York this December. Courtesy Sotheby's.



DUBAI.- Combining great rarity, beauty and intensity, coloured diamonds are continuing to make history this year, headlining Sotheby’s flagship jewellery auctions in Hong Kong, Geneva and New York. Today, Sotheby’s has unveiled to the world another landmark gem: The Golden Canary. Weighing a colossal 303.10 carats, the Fancy Deep Brownish-Yellow Diamond is one of the largest polished diamonds in the world and the largest flawless or internally flawless diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). The miraculous diamond also boasts a peerless history and provenance – formerly weighing just over 407 carats as the “Incomparable Diamond.” Recut from its original shield-shape into a classic pear-shape, the Golden Canary is now deeper in colour, brighter in hue and more elegant in profile, rightfully claiming its spot in the pantheon of exceptional diamonds. The Golden Canary is set to highlight Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auction in New York on 7 December, with an estimate in the region of $15 million, and offered without reserve, with bidding starting at just $1.

Quig Bruning, Head of Jewelry for Sotheby’s America’s: “We have had an exceptional year of presenting extraordinary coloured diamonds at our global jewellery auctions, as the demand and appetite for these rarities continues to grow. Just two weeks after the record-breaking sale of the Williamson Pink Star for $57.7 million, we are honoured to offer the largest polished diamond in present existence to appear at auction. Steeped in history, The Golden Canary is one of the most exquisite diamonds to ever be discovered, not only for its sheer size and intensity in colour, but for its stunning beauty that is sure to captivate collectors around the world. Sotheby’s is privileged to help write the next chapter for this incomparable, reborn gem.”

Given the global interest in a treasure of this nature, the diamond will be showcased on a worldwide tour. Unveiled today in Sotheby’s galleries in Dubai, it will then travel to cities including Taipei, Geneva, and Hong Kong.

Katia Nounou Boueiz, Head of Sotheby’s UAE: “We are excited to continue to celebrate the UAE as the ultimate destination for lovers of luxury, with the global unveiling of a gemstone of such extraordinary calibre alongside a selling exhibition curated by our team here on the ground.”




Alongside the global unveiling of the Golden Canary, Sotheby’s Dubai has also launched a selling exhibition showcasing an edit of rare luxury items, all of which are available for immediate purchase. Open to the public through 4 November, the selling exhibition includes an outstanding selection of hand-embellished Hermès Birkin and Kelly handbags lovingly transformed by luxury brand Jay Ahr, elevating each bag to work of art status. It is the first time the collection is showcased in the Middle East. Lebanese Jewellery designer Gaelle Khouri brings her new collection to the exhibition – a series of either graphic (Formes Angulaires) or sensual (Formes Instinctives) pieces in yellow, white, or rose gold often enhanced by diamonds and precious stones. Additional items within the exhibition include striking contemporary photography by Morocco-born artist Lalla Essaydi, best known for her depiction of Arab female identity.

The Legendary Story of the Golden Canary

The Golden Canary’s illustrious provenance begins in the early 1980s in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The stone was originally found amongst a pile of rubble by a young girl playing in the backyard of her uncle’s house. At the time, miners from the nearby MIBA diamond mine had considered the discovery too bulky to be diamond-bearing and had discarded it. Little did the miners know, that rubble turned out to be an 890-carat rough diamond, one of the largest rough diamonds the world had ever seen. The girl gave the stone to her uncle, who, in turn, sold it to local diamond dealers.

The diamond was first presented to the public in 1984 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, displayed alongside the world’s most legendary diamonds. As the largest uncut, rough diamond known at that time, the 890-carat gem became a global news sensation, captivating the world’s curiosity. Over the course of the next five years, the rough diamond was cut into 15 finished stones, from which the largest of the resulting diamonds, a Fancy Deep Brownish-Yellow weighing 407.49 carats, became formally known as the “Incomparable.” The shield-shaped step cut, with its unusually shaped facets and small table, preserved much of the shape and bulk of the original rough and was the largest internally flawless or flawless cut diamond ever created and graded by the GIA.

In the years since its cutting process was finished, the Incomparable appeared in numerous museum exhibitions around the world, most notably The Nature of Diamonds at the American Museum of Natural History in New York in 1997, Diamants at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris in 2001, and most recently in The Nature of Diamonds, an exhibition that toured The Royal Ontario Museum and the Houston Museum of Science in 2008.

The decision was eventually made to recut the Incomparable to maximise the depth of its colour, brighten its hue and improve its shape, resulting in the stone known today as the Golden Canary. The GIA’s verdict about the stone in its recent monograph is unequivocal: “The re-cut of the Incomparable to the current 303.10 carat pear modified brilliant is to look at the diamond as new; a re-creation bringing to bear the advances in technology, computer modeling and visual evaluation available today. Everything from the orientation of the stone, to its shape and cutting style, has been considered.”










Today's News

October 20, 2022

Has Frieze become an unofficial Fashion Week?

Sotheby's unveils The Golden Canary: A yellow diamond weighing over 300 carats

The CoBrA movement makes grand tour of Europe at Bonhams

Eli Wilner & Company restores original Annie Snyder frame for Clinton County Historical Society

The Winter Show announces exhibitors for 2023 edition returning to the Park Avenue Armory

Dorotheum uncovers lost paintings: works, previously considered lost, to be included in Old Master Paintings sales

Tampa Museum of Art announces acquisition of new Haitian art collection and accompanying $1,000,000 gift

Collection of era-defining photographs by Philippe Halsman lands at Heritage Auctions

Spectacular pieces of Mars and the Moon among natural history wonders in Heritage's November Nature & Science Auction

Original art for 'Thunderball' poster sells for a record $275,000 at Heritage Auctions

Apollo Theater's longtime president will step down

Anna May Wong will be the first Asian American on U.S. currency

1980s Italy featuring Italian artists from Transvanguardia and Arte povera on view at Nohra Haime Gallery

President Bill Clinton joins Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts for announcement of opening exhibitions and artist commission

Stephenson's to auction single-owner estate collection of silver, gold and rare US coins, Oct. 23

Clars Auction Gallery garnered local and international attention in its October 15th & 16th event

Patti LuPone says she resigned from Stage Actors' Union

For Broadway's '1776' revival, the drama is offstage

Jeff Weiss, an unconventional theatrical force, dies at 82

Review: In this 'Wuthering Heights,' music, moors and untamed spirits

'Hedda Gabler' and 'The Winter's Tale': 2 takes that shout subtext

In New York, masks will not be required at the opera or ballet

Outstanding Chris Wynn collection of early Purdeys offered at Bonhams

6 Things To Consider Before Selling Your Art Online

Everything You Need to Know About THCO Gummies

Working remotely is associated with an increase in cyberattacks, warn USPA Cyber Security Experts

Soaking Up Culture and History in the Museums of London




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful