The Top Drawer

The world’s most expensive Barbie is set to be offered at Christie’s auction house in New York for an estimated $300,000 to $500,000 on October 20th. Austrailian jewelry designer Stefano Canturi designed the diamond collar necklace which features a Cubist-style 1-carat emerald cut Fancy Pink diamond surrounded by 3 carats of smaller white diamonds in his signature baguette-cut geometric pattern. “I wanted the jewelry design to pay homage to Barbie’s modern yet timeless style over the ages,” said the designer. Canturi also arranged the doll’s black strapless dress, stilettos, hair as well as other features.

All proceeds will benefit the Breast Cancer Research foundation, in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The world auction record for a Barbie was set in 2006 at Christie’s London when one sold for $17,091.

The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History unveiled its latest addition to the National Gem Collection, the Cullinan Diamond Necklace. Just like its neighbor, the Hope Diamond, this exquisite piece has an intriguing history.

The 30-carat Edwardian style jewel, features a unique structure that allows it to be worn as both a brooch and a necklace. A large oval shaped 2.61 carat Fancy Blue diamond of exquisite color drops from the center which is part of 5.61 carats total of extremely rare blue diamonds. 251 white diamonds surround the necklace curving into loops and then ribbons, creating an elaborate Edwardian-esque bow motif.

Named after Thomas Cullinan, the famed South African explorer, the rough diamond weighed an astonishing 3,106.75 carats total before having been cut and polished. National Gem Collection Curator Jeffrey Post said “It was the largest rough diamond ever discovered”. Cullinan presented the piece to King Edward VII for his birthday which earned him his knighthood.

Honoring his own knighthood in 1910, he then had part of the diamond set into a necklace for his wife. The 9 blue diamonds represent the 9 pieces that were cut from the original stone. Four of the largest diamonds were placed into settings such as scepters, rings and crowns and are the main gemstones featured in the British Crown Jewels.

The Cullinan Blue necklace remained in the family until Sir Thomas’ great-granddaughter, Anne Robinson sold the heirloom to Stephen Silver in the early 1980’s. After three decades, Silver then sold it to an unnamed buyer who then in turn donated it to the museum.

Sotheby’s announced on Monday it will present an auction for a rare pink diamond whose estimated value is up to 38 million dollars (28 million euros) in Geneva, Switzerland on November 16th. The 24.78 carat Fancy Intense Pink diamond is mounted on a ring and features exceptional color and purity and a classic emerald cut with gently rounded corners. Dubbed as “one of the world’s most desirable stones, the auction house says the gemstone is rated among a type that accounts for just two percent of diamonds.

While the stone has a flaw unnoticeable to the naked eye, the Gemological Institute of America has graded the pink diamond as VVS2 clarity, and said it may well be internally flawless after re-polishing. Last seen on the market 60 years ago, the marvelous pink beauty is being sold by an unnamed private collector. The diamond will be shown at exhibitions in Hong Kong, the Middle East, London, New York and Geneva during the final weeks leading up to the sale. Last year a five-carat pink stone sold for $10.8 million setting a new per carat record.

The extraordinarily rare Kazanjian Red diamond is on display at New York’s American Museum of Natural History Morgan Memorial Hall of Gems. Weighing 5.05 carats, the naturally blood hued stone is one of only 3 red diamonds of its size known to exist. The other two are the trilliant-cut 5.11-carat Moussaieff Red and the 5.03-carat De Young Red.

Perhaps just as remarkable as the gem itself, is the story behind it. Having been discovered in the diamond fields of South Africa in 1927, the stone was sent to Amsterdam-based jewelers the Goudvis brothers for cutting and seven months of study where it was eventually decided that an emerald cut suited it best. When no dealer in Amsterdam could estimate the diamond’s worth, it was sent to New York City, but they were not able to find a buyer willing to pay its price. It was then returned to Europe and placed in a safe in Arnhem, the Netherlands.

The diamond was eventually stolen during World War II during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, where it stayed hidden in a salt mine for years. After the war, U.S. General Joseph McNarney discovered the red stone believing it to be a ruby. Over the course of 30 years, the red diamond has remained in private collections, passing through several owners, including Sir Ernest Oppenheimer. Finally in February 2007, Kazanjian Bros. Inc. purchased the gem.

This incredible stone is on display through March 13, 2011 and is set to be joined by the 31.06-carat blue Wittelsbach-Graff diamond, which is coming from the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of Natural History.