Named as the “Princie” diamond after the son of Sita Devi and Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad the diamond actually had no relation to the Gaekwads as such. It actually belonged to the Nizam royal family of Hyderabad.
The massive 34.65 carat cushion-cut fancy intense pink diamond was discovered 300 years ago in the Golconda mines. Princie Diamond is believed to be the third largest pink diamond in the world after the Darya-ye Noor (ca. 175 to 195 carats) the Noor-ol-Ain (ca. 60 carats) which are both part of the Iranian Crown Jewels.
History :
Long before it was known as the “Princie” or by any other name it belonged to the royal family (Nizams) of Hyderabad, its first known owners. The then Nizam of Hyderabad had it auctioned in 1960 at Sotheby’s. It was bought by the London branch of the jewelers Van Cleef & Arpels for 46,000 British pounds. It was then sent to their Paris store where it was christened as “Princie” in honor of the fourteen-year old son of Sita Devi of Baroda, Sayajirao Gaekwad (1945-1985, nicknamed Princie). The diamond had not gone to auction or been seen in public since 1960.
Auction :
It was auctioned by Christie’s in New York on Tuesday 16/04/2013 for what was a record-breaking price and was expected to sell for more than 45 million dollars. In the event it only fetched 39.3 million dollars which is still a record breaking price: it sets the record for being the most valuable Golconda mine diamond ever sold at auction and the highest price for any jewel sold at Christie’s !!!!
No Comments