Cartier crafted it, Van Cleef & Arpels acquired it, and Harry Winston transformed it. This object of fascination is none other than the world’s most expensive green stone, a stunning 37-carat emerald set in a Cartier diamond and emerald brooch that was auctioned at Christie’s Geneva on November 12. This rare square-cut emerald, once owned by Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, achieved unparalleled beauty when Cartier encased it in a brooch adorned with 20 marquise-cut diamonds for his wife, Nina Dyer, a former model who adopted the title Princess Nina Aga Khan. With her new name came an array of extravagant gifts, including luxury sports cars and exquisite jewels, among which this breathtaking Cartier brooch stood out.
The marriage was short-lived, and Dyer, showing little attachment to the brooch’s beauty, auctioned it in 1969 to raise funds for animal welfare. Interestingly, this marked Christie’s inaugural sale of its kind in Switzerland, held on the picturesque shores of Lake Geneva. Decades later, the emerald has come full circle, returning to Christie’s 110th Magnificent Jewels auction.
In the hands of the “King of Diamonds,” Harry Winston, the mesmerizing emerald brooch, enhanced with 12.04 carats of marquise-cut diamonds, was reimagined as a pendant. While its exceptional features, including its thin, flat structure and perfectly even green hue, are considered near-perfect, its journey through the ateliers of three legendary jewelers elevates its status to extraordinary.
Not only did the jewel fetch $9 million at auction, but it also dethroned Richard Burton’s Bulgari-made wedding gift to Elizabeth Taylor as the priciest emerald jewelry. “Emeralds are hot right now, and this one ticks all the boxes,” remarked Max Fawcett, Christie’s EMEA Head of Jewelry. “We might see an emerald of this quality come up for sale once every five or six years.”
The 37-carat Aga Khan Emerald traces its origins to Muzo, a Colombian mine located about 60 miles north of modern-day Bogotá. Offered for the second time in 55 years, the spectacular emerald cemented its place in history at Christie’s Geneva, where it truly deserved the spotlight.
