Golconda diamond expected to fetch up to $12M

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the fact that the 52.58-carat Golconda diamond is not from Leviev, as previously stated.

New York--A 52.58-carat D color, internally flawless Golconda diamond is expected to sell for up to $12.5 million at Christie’s New York on Dec. 10.

The Golconda mines, located in south central India, yield diamonds of a specific type and color and have the highest degree of transparency. This 52.58-carat octagonal-cut stone features “superior luminance, luster and distinct brilliance,” the auction house said.

Golconda diamonds have realized high auction prices in the past, including the $39.3 million sale of the 34.65-carat fancy intense pink “Princie Diamond” in April. The Princie set new world auction records for the most valuable Golconda diamond sold at auction and the most valuable diamond ever sold at Christie’s and in the United States.

Overall, Christie’s Dec. 10 auction of Magnificent Jewels is expected to total more than $45 million.

The 500-lot sale will include colored and colorless diamonds, rare gemstones, signed jewels and natural pearls.

Four Leviev lots from a private collector will be offered, including a diamond pendant necklace featuring a 22.12-carat pear-shaped diamond that is expected to fetch up to $3.5 million.

Meanwhile, an 18-karat white gold necklace featuring a 91.38-carat Burmese sapphire has a pre-sale high estimate of $1.2 million.

Also included in the sale are pieces from the late Marion Rumsey Cartier, who died in March 1994 at the age of 83. Her father was Pierre Cartier, one of the three Cartier brothers.

Among the Cartier lots is a loose 4.02-carat circular-cut D color, VVS2 clarity diamond, expected to sell for up to $250,000.

“2013 has proven to be a record-breaking year for jewelry auctions globally. Beginning with the historic sale of the Princie Diamond in New York in April to The Orange in Geneva this November, collectors worldwide paid record prices to acquire the rarest and finest gemstones that appeared on the auction block,” said Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry for Christie’s Americas and Switzerland.

An e-catalogue of the auction can be found on Christie’s website.