Royal pink diamond, the return of the Marie-Thérèse diamond at Christie’s.
There are stones whose brilliance is measured not only by the light they reflect, but by the light they retain. On June 17, Christie’s New York will unveil a new edition of its sale. Magnificent Jewels, In this season, a JAR-signed ring captures the attention; at the heart of its sculptural composition lies a 10.38 carat rose-colored diamond of fancy purple-pink hue, whose past is written in dotted lines since the Age of Enlightenment.
Legend has it that it belonged to Marie-Antoinette. Other voices suggest that it passed on to Duchess Marie-Thérèse de Chambord, then to Queen Marie-Thérèse of Bavaria. Nothing is certain, except that a will mentions it and that an ancient casket adorned with an imperial seal has remained silent until today. Put up for auction in 1996 and then withdrawn from the public eye for nearly three decades, the diamond is back in a staged presentation signed by Joel Arthur Rosenthal, whose hand always translates a rare intuition of volumes, proportions and silence.
Other names, other houses, other gems are associated with this piece. Bulgari, Belperron, Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels As many signatures that mark a journey where, beyond its value, each jewel carries a share of intimacy and suspended time. Through them, the sale sketches a sensitive map of taste and the power of transmission.
The forms, the stones, and sometimes, the secrets.
