Exquisite Earrings with 26.05 ct Old Cut Diamonds, Gerhard Lährm, Salzburg

Diamonds weighing more than ten carats are a rarity. Historic diamonds of this size are even rarer. However, finding a matching pair of antique diamonds, each weighing more than ten carats, that share the same colour and high clarity is one of the great exceptions in the antique jewellery trade. The pair of earrings presented here is one such extraordinary exception. The earrings feature two old-cut diamonds weighing an impressive 12.61 and 11.59 carats, respectively, in a warm-tinted white (L) and of wonderful VS quality. Together, the two main stones weigh 24.2 carats. It is remarkable that two diamonds of this magnitude have survived as a pair. Often, such pairs were separated to be sold individually – or they were recut to create modern brilliant-cut diamonds. Even acquiring a single diamond of this size was a major event c. 1900 and remains a difficult task even today. Finding two stones that harmonize in size, clarity, cut, and effect required – then as now – not only considerable financial resources but also patience, experience, and often many years of searching. It is not only the exceptional match in colour and clarity, but also their cut, that suggests these diamonds have always been a pair. Unlike modern stones, diamonds c. 1900 were not cut to abstractly defined proportional standards. Each old-cut diamond has its own personality and charm. Their uniquely individual proportions, with generous facets, give them a warm, lively sparkle: the reflection of light seems to rise from within the stones. Smaller accent diamonds above the main stones, weighing a combined total of approximately 1.85 ct, add additional highlights to the earrings. The design, featuring simple white gold settings with milgrains, is deliberately understated. The settings were designed in the 1980s by Gerhard Lährm to showcase the antique diamonds in a timeless manner: the ear hooks bear his maker's mark. The design is inspired by the dormeuse earrings typical of c. 1900 and thus pays homage to the era in which the diamonds were cut. These earrings are an exceptionally rare pair – not only because of their combined diamond weight of more than 26 carats, but also because these impressive historical diamonds have journeyed through time together. The pair came to us from a collection of high-quality jewellery in southern Germany. We commissioned independent appraisals of the stones and the pair.

Stima:€486,900

Vedi tutti gli oggetti diHofer AntikschmuckoGioielli & Gemme