Headlined by an Exceptional and Rare Six-Carat Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond
Estimate 9 – 12 Million USD
Several Showstopping Jewels, including New Stunning DeBeers Diamonds from the Jwaneng Mine, and Exclusive Chopard Jewellery Co-Designed by Superstar Rihanna
Geneva, 29 April 2026 - 소더비‘s flagship High Jewelry Sale returns this May with a Spring edition replete with coloured gemstones and outstanding signed jewels. Leading the way is lot 621, an exceptional and rare fancy vivid blue, internally flawless, diamond weighing 6.03 carats (estimate 7.2 – 9.6 million CHF / 9 – 12 million USD), from the legendary Cullinan mine in South Africa, which will make its auction debut this May.
Alongside this newly minted blue diamond, Sotheby’s Geneva High Jewelry Sale will offer lot 617, an important and perfectly matched pair of unmounted brilliant-cut white diamonds of exceptional quality, also coming to market for the first time: each weighing 18.38 carats, they are both D colour, one is flawless, the other internally flawless (estimate for the pair 2.2 – 2.9 million CHF / 2.8 – 3.5 million USD).
Mined by De Beers at Botswana’s Jwaneng mine, they are part of an exclusive collaboration with Sotheby’s to offer a series of major, new, flawless diamonds of peerless quality and exemplary provenance for sale at Sotheby’s flagship high jewelry auctions. The first diamond from the collaboration, The Jwaneng 28.88, a brilliant-cut weighing 28.88 carats, was auctioned last week in Hong Kong, achieving an impressive 2.7 million USD (21.030 million HKD).
A Riot of Coloured Diamonds
Switching back to color, there are many more exceptional diamonds to attract collectors to Sotheby’s May High Jewelry Sale in Geneva, including two pink diamonds, lot 615 그리고 lot 616, also part of Sotheby’s collaboration with DeBeers, also born of the Jwaneng mine. Part of the proceeds from the sale of these two pink diamonds, weighing 1.06 carats and 1.10 carats respectively, will be donated to The Peace Parks Foundation, a charity co-founded by late President Nelson Mandela, which aims to protect and restore some of Africa’s most important transboundary conservation areas, helping safeguard and support wildlife and local communities in the process.
Another remarkable fancy pink diamond is on offer, lot 611 (estimate 800,000 – 1.6 million CHF / 1 – 2 million USD), a 4.12 carats internally flawless modified brilliant-cut, the proceeds of which will benefit Akshaya Patra, the world’s largest NGO school meal program, providing lunches to over two million children in India every day. Two further outstanding coloured diamonds count among the sale’s highlights: lot 586, a substantial and beautiful fancy brownish orangy pink diamond weighing 14.60 carats (estimate 650,000 – 950,000 CHF / 800,000 – 1.2 million USD); and lot 604, a striking 10.19-carat fancy vivid yellow diamond mounted as a ring flanked by trapeze-shaped diamonds (estimate 320,000 – 480,000 CHF / 390,000 – 600,000 USD).
And Coloured Gemstones
Amazing Colombian emeralds, Ceylon sapphires, and Burmese rubies all feature in the May edition of Sotheby’s Geneva High Jewelry Sale. Lot 612, a truly magnificent 1950s Colombian emerald and diamond necklace (estimate 800,000 – 1.6 million CHF / 1 – 2 million USD) is one of the showstoppers of the sale. The beautifully designed necklace is centered by a cabochon emerald, suspending a stunning fringe of substantial, graduated drop-shaped emeralds, the largest of which weighs nearly 58 carats. More Colombian emeralds come in the shape of lot 609, an impressive step-cut emerald and diamond ring weighing over 14.19 carats, with no clarity enhancement (estimate 280,000 – 480,000 CHF / 300,000 – 600,000 USD); and the most arresting sapphire in the sale is lot 620, ‘The Peacock of Ceylon’, a whopping 102.40-carat cushion shaped sapphire of excellent quality with no heat treatment, and one of the largest to come to auction in recent times (estimate 1 – 1.5 million CHF / 1.3 – 1.9 million USD).
Special Guest Stars: Rihanna’s Jewels
This is a unique opportunity to acquire matching pieces from an exclusive collection designed by Rihanna for a special collaboration with Chopard, which premiered on the red carpet at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. The Rihanna Loves Chopard collaboration pays homage to the superstar’s Barbadian heritage and its Carnival spirit. The most spectacular piece from the collaboration is lot 588 (estimate 200,000 – 300,000 CHF / 260,000 – 380,000 USD), a unique gem-set demi-parure comprising a bib-style necklace set throughout with variously shaped gemstones including tsavorite and spessartite garnets, pink and yellow sapphires, blue topazes and turquoises, offset by brilliant-cut diamonds. The necklace is accompanied by a pair of similarly showstopping pendant earrings, and a separate bracelet is also offered in the sale.
Timeless Signed Jewels
Signed jewels from prestigious maisons remain a central focus of any Sotheby’s High Jewelry Sale, and this May, alongside dozens of exquisite, signed pieces, Geneva will also offer a number of jewels from outstanding private collections. Including signed jewelry formerly in the collection of Enrica Pessina Invernizzi, the wife of Romeo Invernizzi, a hugely successful Milanese entrepreneur and one of Italy’s most prominent philanthropists, who worked with his wife to advance science and social progress.
Three beautiful pieces from this collection feature in the sale: lot 600, a pair of natural pearl and diamond earrings by Faraone, circa 1970s (estimate 18,000 – 28,000 CHF / 24,000 – 36,000 USD); lot 601, a splendid articulated ruby, onyx and diamond bracelet by Bulgari, circa 1980s (estimate 36,000 – 55,000 CHF / 45,000 – 65,000 USD); and lot 602, a Bulgari gold, emerald and diamond Serpenti wristwatch, from 1976 (estimate 180,000 – 380,000 CHF / 230,000 – 480,000 USD).
One of the most arresting jewels in the sale is lot 625, a superb and rare ruby and diamond cravat necklace by Lacloche Freres circa 1928 (estimate 160,000 – 280,000 CHF / 200,000 – 350,000 USD), formerly the property of an important European collector. This is an exceptional example of this fashionable but short-lived trend for tie or cravat necklaces in the late 1920s and early 1930s, famed for demonstrating a jeweler’s virtuosic technical abilities, with both metals and gemstones, to produce fully articulated pieces mimicking the fabric accessory. A matching pair of pendant earclips, lot 624, is also available (estimate 40,000 – 80,000 CHF / 50,000 – 100,000 USD).
Further outstanding signed jewels entail lot 619, an attractive Art Deco inspired sapphire and diamond bracelet by Cartier, featuring a 7.04 carat Kashmir sapphire, circa 1950 (estimate 400,000 – 630,000 CHF / 500,000 – 800,000 USD); and lot 563, an emerald, gem-set and diamond pendant by Boucheron, a superb example of Boucheron’s craftsmanship from the early 20th century (65,000 – 95,000 CHF / 85,000 – 120,000 USD).
Sotheby’s Geneva High Jewelry Sale – Live Sale 12 May 2026 | 14:00 CEST
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