Seller Puts $15.5M Crown on RapNet

RAPAPORT... Russian diamond manufacturer Kristall Smolensk is selling areplica of the Great Imperial Crown of the Russian Empire on RapNet's newjewelry platform for $15.5 million. The crown, which weighs 2.3 kilograms, comprises more than11,000 round, oval and pear-shaped white diamonds, weighing 1,928 carats andset in white gold. The stones were sourced from Russian miner Alrosa, certifiedby the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), and cut and polished byKristall. The piece also includes a pear-shaped, 384.71-carat, purpletourmaline and 74 round, white pearls. The Imperial Crown of Russia was the Russian monarchs' mainsymbol of power from 1762 to 1917, a Kristall spokesperson told RapaportNews Tuesday. The original, crafted for the coronation of Catherine theGreat, was worn by all Russian emperors from the Romanov family at ceremonialevents. Kristall decided to make an updated version of the imperial icon in 2012, to celebrate the 400th anniversary ofthe Romanov dynasty, the 250th anniversary of the crown, and the 50thanniversary of the Russian diamond-manufacturing trade. "To commemorate the events, as well as to demonstrate thecontinuance of Russian jewelry art traditions, Smolensk artisans took adecision to reproduce the key historic symbol of the Russian nationalidentity," Kristall said. "Our task was not to achieve the iconic likeness [of]the original, but to show the way a historic piece of jewelry art may berecreated with the use of up-to-date technologies and designer techniques, aswell as top-make polished diamonds." Since its debut nine years ago, the crown has been ondisplay in various Russian cities, including the State Hermitage Museum inSaint Petersburg and the State Historical Museum in Moscow. It has also been exhibitedat museums and shows in the Netherlands, Belgium, Israel, Hong Kong and the US,and has won several jewelry and art awards. "This is a unique work of jewelry art," Evgheni Gapanyuk,chief curator of the Diamond Fund of Russia, told Rapaport News. "Theword replica, [which] is widely spread in [the] jewelry world, may hardly beappropriate in this case." Kristall Smolensk considered several channels for sellingthe crown, including museums, auction houses and private collectors, beforesettling on RapNet's new jewelry platform, which launched last month. Image: The Great Imperial Crown replica. (Kristall Smolensk)