1 diamond, 500 years of history
Source: Agencies |
May 17, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A DIAMOND coveted by kings, queens and princes for centuries, used to reinforce alliances between nations and pawned to pay off royal debts, sold for 9 million Swiss francs (US$9.54 million) at Sotheby's in Geneva on Tuesday night.
"The legendary Beau Sancy is a truly magical stone that has entranced generations of royal owners and continues to exert a powerful influence over all who see it," said David Bennett, Sotheby's chairman of jewelery in Europe and the Middle East.
No fewer than five bidders competed for the stone, a 35-carat modified "pear double rose cut" diamond, driving the price to nearly five times above its presale low estimate of 1.85 million Swiss francs before it was bought by an anonymous bidder, Sotheby's said.
The diamond originated in India and was acquired by Nicolas de Harlay, Lord of Sancy, in Constantinople in the 1500s.
In 1604 it was bought by French king Henry IV as a gift for his wife, Marie de Medici.
Henry IV was assassinated in 1610, and after years of rivalry between Marie and her son King Louis XIII, she fled to the Netherlands. To settle her debts her possessions were sold and the diamond was bought by Prince Frederick Henry of Orange-Nassau. He used it as a sweetener to help seal the wedding of his son William to Mary Stuart, daughter of England's King Charles I.
Following Mary's death in 1660, the Beau Sancy was pawned to settle her debts. But in 1677 the stone re-entered the House of Orange-Nassau following the wedding of William III to Mary II Stuart, who ascended to the throne of England in 1689. Having no children, the diamond returned to the Netherlands before moving to the Prussian monarchy in 1702.
The diamond remained in Berlin after the last king of Prussia fled at the end of World War I. At the end of World War II it was bricked-up in a crypt.
British troops found the stone and returned it to the House of Prussia estate, where it had remained ever since.
"The legendary Beau Sancy is a truly magical stone that has entranced generations of royal owners and continues to exert a powerful influence over all who see it," said David Bennett, Sotheby's chairman of jewelery in Europe and the Middle East.
No fewer than five bidders competed for the stone, a 35-carat modified "pear double rose cut" diamond, driving the price to nearly five times above its presale low estimate of 1.85 million Swiss francs before it was bought by an anonymous bidder, Sotheby's said.
The diamond originated in India and was acquired by Nicolas de Harlay, Lord of Sancy, in Constantinople in the 1500s.
In 1604 it was bought by French king Henry IV as a gift for his wife, Marie de Medici.
Henry IV was assassinated in 1610, and after years of rivalry between Marie and her son King Louis XIII, she fled to the Netherlands. To settle her debts her possessions were sold and the diamond was bought by Prince Frederick Henry of Orange-Nassau. He used it as a sweetener to help seal the wedding of his son William to Mary Stuart, daughter of England's King Charles I.
Following Mary's death in 1660, the Beau Sancy was pawned to settle her debts. But in 1677 the stone re-entered the House of Orange-Nassau following the wedding of William III to Mary II Stuart, who ascended to the throne of England in 1689. Having no children, the diamond returned to the Netherlands before moving to the Prussian monarchy in 1702.
The diamond remained in Berlin after the last king of Prussia fled at the end of World War I. At the end of World War II it was bricked-up in a crypt.
British troops found the stone and returned it to the House of Prussia estate, where it had remained ever since.
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