The world's most expensive pieces of jewellery
Imagine owning one of the world's most expensive & rarest diamonds
Well that's all we've been doing for days as we compiled the ultimate list of the most incredible pieces of gemstone & jewellery that the world has ever seen.
Do you love jewellery? The way it sparkles in the sunlight, and the deep, rich colours you get from real gold and precious gemstones? The good news is that all the kings, Pharaohs, emperors, and rulers throughout history share our sentiment. Gold and jewels have been a way for the rich to show off their wealth and for people to show how much they mean to one another. some have gone to impressive lengths to craft jewellery that stands out from the rest and we thought we should celebrate this via blog form.
Below, you can find our pick of the most expensive jewellery pieces in the world. We’re not just talking pieces crafted by modern goldsmiths and jewellers, but pieces that have been around for hundreds of years. So without further ado, here are our favourite picks of the world’s most expensive & iconic jewellery pieces:
THE HEART OF THE OCEAN
The Heart of the Ocean is a fictional blue diamond featured prominently in the 1997 film Titanic. In the story, the 56 carat diamond was originally owned by Louis XVI and cut into either an oval or heart shape after the french revolution. In the film the necklace was purchased by Pittsburgh steel tycoon Caledon Hockley, a week before he sailed on the ill-fated ocean liner RMS Titanic. The necklace was meant to be given as an engagement present to his fiancée Rose DeWitt Bukater, It is believed that the necklace went down with the sinking of the ship leading some treasure salvagers to believe the necklace lies somewhere within the wreck of the Titanic.
the wittelsbach-graff
Imagine paying $80 million for a single diamond! The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond started as a 35.56-carat diamond of a gorgeous deep blue, one that was part of both the Bavarian and Austrian Royal Jewels.
In 2008, a British jeweller bought the diamond at a whopping $23.4 million and removed close to 4.5 carats, an act that infuriated other jewellers but ended up improving the value and clarity. It was sold to the Qatari Royal Family in 2011 for a staggering $80 million.
GRAFF PINK RING
When The Graff Pink went up for auction in 2010, the Sotheby’s auctioneers never dreamed it would sell for $46.2 million. Indeed, the ring was estimated at no more than $38 million!
This ring — featuring a nearly 25-carat pink diamond and was once owned by Harry Winston. The pink colour is very rare, and it’s believed to be one of the greatest pink stones ever discovered.
THE PINK STAR
DIAMOND
Currently holds the record for the most expensive ring ever sold at auction — making it one of the world’s most expensive jewellery pieces.
This oval diamond is a breath taking pink stone weighing almost 60 carats. It was cut from a 132.5 carat stone from South Africa, and it’s believed to surpass anything in both royal and private collections.
Fun fact: the ring was actually sold for a mind-blowing $83 million at its initial auction. However, the buyer had to default on the purchase. The next bidder ended up paying $72 million for it — its current value.
THE ZOE DIAMOND
This diamond was once the star of Mrs. Paul Mellon’s collection, and one of the most expensive deep blue diamonds in the world today.
The pear-cut 9.75 carat diamond ring is currently priced at $32.6 million dollars. Oddly enough, the name “Zoe” comes from the Hong Kong seller who sold it to Sotheby’s
The Hope Diamond
Believed to be valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars range, but it has not been bought or sold in hundreds of years.
It was originally in the collection of Louis XIV, but was eventually donated by Harry Winston to the Smithsonian Institute back in 1958. The Smithsonian has held the diamond on display ever since.
Weighing in at 45.52 carats, this deep blue diamond is a truly magnificent specimen, but its value goes beyond just the weight and appearance. It has significant cultural value, and its high profile makes it an incredibly valuable item. Definitely worthy to be among the most expensive jewellery in the world!This must be one of the most famous gemstones in the world. The notoriously cursed Hope Diamond. The 45.52 carat deep blue diamond was sold in the early 20th century to Pierre Cartier who bought it to sell in his newly opened American branch of Cartier to make it into a necklace.
He thought – rightly as it turned out – that even if the sale didn’t make him much profit news of the famous stone being sold by Cartier would be the perfect type of marketing in a country where the French jeweller was still relatively unknown. The problem was, being cursed, the diamond proved pretty tricky to sell. Previous owners had reportedly succumbed to fates as diverse as being eaten alive by wild dogs, being beheaded and forced into abdication. Fortunately there was one rather rich society lady who didn’t fear the curse and simply loved enormous gemstones. Mrs Evalyn Walsh McLean a recently married multimillionaire heiress, bought the diamond in 1911 when she was just 25 years old. She loved showing off her new purchase – at her infamous parties she would play “Hide the Hope” in the garden with all her guests, or she would put it around the neck of her great dane, Mike! The stone regularly made the gossip columns, and with it Cartier’s name too. But it didn’t work out so well for Mrs Evalyn McLean.
Whether it was the curse that followed her or whether she was just unlucky, her family suffered a succession of terrible misfortunes: her son tragically died in a car accident, her husband ran off with another woman and ended up in a sanatorium, her daughter killed herself and their family paper The Washington Post, went bankrupt.
Despite all that, she never believed the Hope curse was anything more than fiction.
Hutton-Mdivani Jadeite Necklace by Cartier
This Cartier necklace is worth a mind-boggling $27.44 million. The 27 jadeite beads range in diameter from 15.4 to 19.2 mm, dating back to the early 1900s. It was created by Frank Woolworth as a wedding present for his daughter, the famous socialite Barbara Hutton, upon her marriage to Prince Alexis Mdivani.
The necklace is made even more beautiful — and more valuable — by the diamond and ruby clasp.
THE ORANGE
The Orange is the world’s largest vivid orange diamond — one worth close to $36 million! Sold at auction for $35.5 million in 2013, this gem was auctioned by Christie’s. It is currently one of the world’s priciest-per-carat gem. Each carat is worth $2.4 million.
Chopard’s 201 carat Watch
201 carats, made from 874 diamonds! The watch is a masterpiece of not just timekeeping, but also jewel-crafting. The colourful cluster of diamonds on this elegant watch makes it worth roughly $25 million. Imagine paying that much money for a piece of jewellery! For some people, it’s an investment worth making.
PEACOCK BROOCH
BY GRAFF
Hard to believe a brooch could sell for $100 million!
London-based diamond company Graff crafted the
Peacock Brooch with more than 1,300 gemstones.
The brooch weighs 120.81 carats, with a deep
blue 20-carat diamond at its heart. It’s worth more
than a private jet or the GDP of some nations.
L’Incomparable Necklace
With a name like that, how can you disagree that this item is among the most expensive jewellery?
The L’Incomparable Necklace was created by the Mouawad Jewellery Company, and is currently the most expensive necklace in the world — valued at $55 million.
The gemstone that is the heart of the necklace was discovered by a young Congolese girl among a pile of diamond by-product. The 407-carat stone is the largest internally flawless diamond in the world. The 102 smaller stones set into the necklace only add to the glory of the piece.
So there they are, you have read all about and seen the photos of our favourite and most expensive pieces of jewellery that have ever been made!!
There are certainly some exquisite items here. I wander how long, how many man hours went into the making of these pieces, how many different craftsmen were invloved in the creation of such masterpieces. They have all certainly gone down in history with their unique styles, their lavishness and their sheer size!
Imagine having a diamond as big as 25 carats on your finger!! You would need some serious bodyguards to go everywhere you did whilst wearing it!!
So which is your favourite?? Mine i think has to be the Graff Pink. I love its colour, I love pink stones, but this is just stunning. Its impressive size gives the facets on the stone presence and light reflects through giving sparkle and elegance to the enormous stone. It is finished off perfectly with white trapeziod diamonds either side which almost showcase the main event, all presented in a platinum mount, this is just the perfect ring for me.
Now, I just need to find $46 million :)
