PHILADELPHIA, PA.- Freeman’s May 17 Jewelry Auction is sure to dazzle and delight jewelry enthusiasts and collectors alike. The nearly 160 lot sale includes a fine selection of antique and contemporary jewelry by names such as Cartier, Tiffany and Co., Van Cleef & Arpels, and Bulgari.

Interested buyers will have the chance to bid on diamonds of all colors, including blue, pink, and yellow. The most common diamonds contain small amounts of the impurity nitrogen, which causes a diamond to impart a yellow color. The cause of blue in a diamond is due to the presence of the impurity boron. As the amount of nitrogen or boron increases, so will the depth and intensity of color. The star of the show will no doubt be a fancy light yellow diamond, diamond and eighteen karat gold ring ($140,000-180,000) weighing 13.16 carats, flanked by triangular-cut diamonds, and mounted in 18 karat gold, this breathtaking ring is sure to inspire interest from around the globe.

Also included in the sale are a fancy blue and fancy pink diamond ring, weighing .73 carats ($70,000-90,000), as well as a fancy intense blue and fancy pink diamond ring, weighing .53 carats ($50,000–70,000). A unique fancy dark grayyellowish green diamond heart diamond, weighing 2.19 carats ($12,000-18,000), —known as a "Chameleon" diamond for its ability to change colors under certain conditions and also phosphoresce—will also be offered. Currently, the GIA does not have an explanation for why a chameleon diamond changes color, making this lot as mysterious as it is charming.

From the estate of a Palm Beach lady are several pieces by renowned French jeweler Van Cleef and Arpels, including a diamond and sapphire “Camellia” brooch ($35,000-55,000) and earrings ($25,000-35,000), as well as a jadeite jade ring, type “A” ($7,000-9,000). An exquisite 8.02 carat marquisecut diamond ring ($80,000-100,000) is also from the same estate, and is accompanied by a GIA report, stating that the diamond is G color and VS-2 clarity.

Freeman’s will offer an unheated Burmese sapphire ring and a sapphire bracelet, both which have descended from the Charles Blair Macdonald Estate. In many circles, Macdonald is known as ‘the Father of American Golf,’ and is considered a visionary golf course architect. He is best known for his estate, ‘Ballyshear’, built in 1913 in New York’s Southampton, overlooking the National Golf Links of America, another one of Macdonald’s iconic designs. Jewelry from his estate include: a Burmese sapphire and diamond ring centered by a cushion-cut sapphire, weighing approximately 4.60 carats, surrounded by a baguette and circular-cut diamond gallery, mounted in platinum ($15,000–20,000) and a sapphire and fourteen karat gold bracelet centering a tapering panel of calibré-cut sapphires on a double snake chain, with estimated total sapphire weight of 10.30 carats ($2,000-3,000.)

A pair of natural yellow diamond and platinum earrings ($12,000-15,000) and a marquise-cut diamond ring ($10,000-12,000) from Italian luxury jeweler Bulgari will also be offered. Department Head Virginia Salem notes on the collection: “This is a rare and exciting opportunity to offer such a wide array of diamonds ranging from intense blues to D color to iconic signed jewels.”