Brooch Set With 97-Ct Diamond to Highlight at Sale

A brooch created by Van Cleef & Arpels and set with a 96.62-carat diamond is one of the highlights of a Sotheby’s magnificent jewels auction in Geneva on November 13.

The Walska Briolette Diamond Brooch made in 1971 was graded by the GIA as a fancy vivid yellow, VS2, and with a price target of $8 million.

This diamond used to be part of a collection belonging to opera singer and jewelry connoisseur Ganna Walska.

David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s jewelry division in Europe and the Middle East, said, “The Walska Briolette Diamond Brooch is the perfect demonstration of how a great jeweler can emphasize the beauty of a spectacular stone by transforming it into a unique piece. This historic diamond, which is of an extraordinary size for an antique-cut briolette, comes back on the market after 42 years, in a fabulous bespoke piece of jewelry.”

Sotheby’s said that in 1971, Van Cleef & Arpels bought the briolette diamond at the auctioneer's New York sale of Walska's jewelry collection. The jeweler was then commissioned to turn the stone into a bird of paradise with yellow gold, set with yellow and white diamonds, emeralds and a cabochon sapphire.

The 96.62-carat yellow stone, which is perched on the bird’s beak, can be removed and worn as a pendant, while the bird’s wings also come off to form a pair of earrings and the tail can be turned into a brooch.