Meet the Apollo and Artemis Diamonds. A pair of earrings that look set to become the world's most valuable.
They are heading to Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels auction in Geneva on May 16.
The blue is the more valuable, estimated at up to $50m
Cut and set identically to be worn as a pair, yet offered as individual lots, the pear-shaped beauties are expected to make around $68m in total.
The Apollo Blue is the more valuable of the pair at up to $50m. It weighs 14.5 carats, making it the largest internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond ever auctioned.
It was unearthed at South Africa's Cullinan Mine, where just 0.1% of the diamonds are blue. The Cullinan is the world's only mine to produce blue diamonds with anything approaching regularity.
The 16 carat Artemis Pink is a fancy intense diamond said to be extraordinarily rare. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) states that only 3% of the diamonds it grades each year are coloured, with only 5% of those pink.
David Bennett, worldwide chairman of Sotheby’s international jewellery arm, states they are "by far the most important pair of earrings ever offered at auction".
"These exquisite coloured diamonds are enormously rare and each is a wonderful stone in its own right.
"Together, as a pair of earrings, they are breathtaking. We have named them after Apollo and Artemis, a twin brother and sister of great power and beauty who were among the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities.
"These are diamonds of great distinction, with extraordinary presence."
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