https://www.miningweekly.com

Farnese blue diamond goes on sale after 300 years of royal history

6th April 2018

By: Reuters

  

Font size: - +

LONDON – The historically important Farnese Blue diamond, which was passed down through European royal families for some 300 years, is to go on sale for the first time next month, auctioneers Sotheby's said.

Expected to fetch between $3.7-million and 5.3-million, the 6.1 ct, dark grey-blue stone from the Golconda diamond mines of India was first given to Elisabeth Farnese, daughter of the Duke of Parma, in 1715 when she married Philip V of Spain.

It was passed down through more than seven generations and, as their descendants married into other European families, it travelled from Spain to France, Italy and Austria.

"All this time, it was hidden away in a royal jewellery box. Except for close relatives, and of course the family jewellers, no one knew about its existence," Sotheby's said.

The stone will appear in Sotheby's Geneva Jewellery sale on 15 May.

Edited by Reuters

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION