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Hong Kong—A pair of earrings featuring diamonds from the legendary Golconda mines of India will be offered at Christie's Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels Sale, Tuesday, May 31 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre.

The Imperial Cushion earrings feature a pair of 23.49-ct. and 23.11-ct. D Potentially Flawless Golconda Type IIa diamonds. They’re estimated at H.K. $55 million to $78 million (U.S. $7 million to $10 million.)

The occurrence of such a pair of Golconda gemstones, with a limpidity particular to the world’s finest Type IIa diamonds, is a natural marvel, but at 23.49 and 23.11 cts. apiece, this pair of cushion-cuts is exceptional, matching in size, cut, and shape, says a Christie’s spokesperson. With Type IIa diamonds accounting for less than 2% of the world’s production, this superbly matched pair—even without an imperial provenance—is a unique example of magnificence and rarity, says the auction house.

Indian Golconda diamonds in particular have a degree of transparency rarely seen in stones from other localities. Type IIa diamonds are the most chemically pure form of diamond, lacking in nitrogen, which yields exceptional optical transparency.

The earrings are cushion-shaped and a perfectly matched pair. The cushion form is seen in many historic gems, including the Koh-i-Noor, the Agra, and the Regent. The pair, illustrated above, recalls some of the most important Golconda stones ever auctioned at Christie's. Another Golconda of significance is the Archduke Joseph diamond, a D SI1 cushion-cut of 78.54 cts., sold at Christie's Geneva in 1993 for U.S. $6,487,945. The Imperial Cushions bear a striking resemblance to the shape of the Archduke Joseph diamond, with its rectangular cushion cut and horizontally divided pavilion main facets.

Other notable Golconda diamonds offered previously at auction include the Ahmadabad, a historical pear-shaped 78.86-ct. diamond that fetched U.S. $4,324,554 at Christie’s Geneva in 1995; the Polar Star, a 42.28-ct. cushion diamond with an eight-pointed star cut on its pavilion that sold for U.S. $5,086,705 at Christie's Geneva in 1980; and the Indore diamonds, an exquisite pair of pear-shaped diamonds weighing 46.39 and 44.14 cts., respectively. Neither of these stones were D color or Internally Flawless, but nevertheless they fetched U.S. $2,686,600 in 1987. 

More recently, Christie’s Hong Kong sold a 16.72-ct. marquise-shaped Golconda diamond for H.K. $24,180,000 (U.S. $3,114,384) in November 2010. 

In keeping with the desirability for cushion shapes, Christie’s upcoming Magnificent Jewels auction in New York, set for April 12, will feature as its highlight a 10.09-ct. fancy vivid purplish-pink diamond. This exceptional stone carries a pre-sale estimate between U.S. $12,000,000-$15,000,000.

In the last 15 months, four pink diamonds have fetched more than U.S. $1 million per carat at auction, including the Vivid Pink, a 5-ct. cushion-cut diamond that sold for more than U.S. $2.1 million per carat at Christie's Hong Kong in December 2009; a record price per carat for any diamond sold at auction. 

“Collector demand for large colored diamonds has never been stronger, especially where pink diamonds of this size and quality are concerned,” said Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry at Christie’s New York, adding that fewer than 10% of all pink diamonds mined weigh more than 0.20 cts. and even fewer exhibit the kind of exceptional color saturation and brilliance of the top-seller.