Christie's, De Beers Partner on London Exhibition

RAPAPORT... Christie'swill collaborate with De Beers to stage a museum-quality exhibition in London aimed ateducating the public about the science of diamonds, the auction house said. Thefive-day event, focused on fancy-color diamonds as well as rare rocks andminerals, will feature a range of interactivedemonstrations. Led by experts at De Beers Group Institute of Diamonds,these will encompass presentations on the criteria a diamond must meet to beclassified as fancy color. There will also be tutorials on the polishing andgrading process. Scheduledto run from November 8 to 12 at Christie's global headquarters in London, "RareTreasures of the Earth" will include a rectangular-shaped, 24.18-carat,fancy-intense-blue, VS2-clarity diamond. Titled the Cullinan Dream afterthe Petra Diamonds-owned mine in which its rough was discovered, the stone - atthe time set in a ring - sold atChristie's New York for $25.4 million in 2016. Otherhighlights will include a 2.01-carat, fancy-vivid-pinkish-purple diamond, a fancy-purplish-redstone weighing 1.09 carats, and a 1.42-carat, fancy-vivid-bluish-green diamond. The event,which has been jointly curated by Christie's jewelry private-sales and natural-historydepartments and De Beers, will also feature items for sale, Christie's notes. "With ashared dedication to scholarship and expertise, we are delighted to collaboratewith De Beers Group on our private-sales jewelry event...exploring the origin,rarity and value of these extraordinary gemstones," said Christie's jewelry private-sales director, Mei Giam. "The 'RareTreasures of the Earth' exhibition represents a perfect partnership where bothDe Beers Group and Christie's can bring their expertise to bear, and we lookforward to developing our close relationship even further," added Jonathan Kendall, presidentof De Beers Group Institute of Diamonds. Image: The Cullinan Dream. (Christie's)