Beau Sancy diamond sells at Sotheby's for US$10 million
The Beau Sancy diamond achieves just under US $10,000,000 at
Sotheby's sale this evening in Geneva with a pre-sale estimate
between $2-4 milllion.
The Beau Sancy, one of the most important historic diamonds ever
to come to auction, sold for CHF 9,042,500 ($9,699,618), almost
five times the pre-sale low estimate of CHF 1,850,000-3,650,000
($2-4 million). No less than five bidders competed for the gem in a
tense battle that lasted 8 minutes. The celebrated diamond was
finally bought by an anonymous buyer bidding over the
telephone.
Speaking after the sale, David Bennett, Chairman of
Sotheby's Jewellery Department in Europe and the Middle East and
Co-Chairman of Sotheby's Switzerland commented: "The legendary
Beau Sancy is a truly magical stone that has entranced generations
of royal owners and continues to exert a powerful influence over
all who see it. Its supreme historical importance was reflected
tonight in the strength of the bidding and the remarkable result
realised".
Passed down through the Royal Families of France, England,
Prussia and the House of Orange, the 34.98 carat modified pear
double rose cut diamond has been the privileged witness of 400
years of European history.
The Beau Sancy is of one of the most important historic diamonds
as the modified pear double rose cut 34.98 carat diamonds. It has
been passed down through the Royal Families of France, England,
Prussia and the House of Orange and this carbon creation has been
the witness of 400 years of European history. It's history is
rich with romance, misfortune, love, politics and bravado. This one
diamond exerts such a powerful allure and beauty that it has been
set in royal crowns, busted state budgets and sealed marriages.
David Bennett, Chairman of Sotheby's Jewellery Department
in Europe and the Middle East and Co-Chairman of Sotheby's
Switzerland said: "The Beau Sancy is one of the most fascinating
and romantic gems ever to appear at auction and it is an immense
privilege for Sotheby's to handle the sale".
The Beau Sancy comes with a pedigree inextricably linked to the
fortunes of the royal houses of Europe. Sotheby's tell us that the
stones was acquired by Nicolas de Harlay, Lord of Sancy
(1546-1629), in Constantinople in the mid to late 1500's, the Beau
Sancy is most likely to have originated from the mines in south-
central India near the city of Golconda, the source of history's
best-known diamonds, including the Hope, the Koh-i-Noor and the
Regent. In 1604, the Beau Sancy was bought for 75 000 livres (25
000 écus) by Henri IV and gifted to his wife, Marie de Medici. The
Queen of France had long desired the stone, particularly after
learning that de Sancy had sold a larger stone, today known as the
"Sancy", to King James I of England1. Testament to the importance
her Majesty placed on the diamond, the Beau Sancy was mounted atop
the crown she wore at her coronation in 1610, as shown in a
magnificent portrait by Frans II Pourbus, the Younger, now in the
Louvre
Following Henri IV's assassination by Ravaillac, the Queen was
exiled in disgrace and escaped to the Netherlands. Heavily in debt,
her possessions were sold and the Beau Sancy was acquired by Prince
Frederick Hendrick of Orange-Nassau (1584-1647) for 80 000 florins
- the most important expenditure in the state's budget in 1641. In
the same year, in an attempt to reinforce the alliances of the
United Provinces of Holland with the great European powers, the
diamond was used to seal the arrangement of the wedding of
Frederick Hendrick's son, Willem, later Willem II of Orange Nassau
(1631-1660), to Mary Stuart, daughter of Charles I of England and
Henriette-Marie of France, and grand-daughter of Marie de
Medici.
After the death of her husband, Mary Stuart embarked for England
with her jewels in order to support her brother Charles II in his
fight for the throne. In 1662, the Beau Sancy was pawned to settle
her debts and it was only in 1677, on the occasion of the wedding
of Willem III of Orange-Nassau (1650-1702) to Mary II Stuart,
daughter of the King of England James II, that the diamond
reentered the Treasure of the House of Orange-Nassau. In 1689, the
couple ascended the throne of England and thus the Beau Sancy now
joined the collection of the Queen of England. However, as the
monarchs were childless at their death, the diamond went back to
the House of Orange-Nassau.
In 1702, following the settlement of a dispute between the heirs
to the House of Orange, Friedrich I who had just been crowned the
first King of Prussia, gave up the jewels of his legacy to obtain
the Beau Sancy. The symbolic value and the prestige of the
celebrated gem were such that the King made it the principal
ornament of the new royal crown of Prussia and associated it with
the first order of Prussia, the Order of the Black Eagle.
The largest gemstone within the House of Prussia's collection,
the Beau Sancy passed down to each successive generation until
today. Worn by the women of the family on important royal
occasions, the diamond adorned the costume of each successive bride
on the day of her princely wedding, much like it had in the past.
When the last German Emperor and King of Prussia fled to exile in
Holland, in November 1918, the crown jewels remained at the
Kaiser's palace in Berlin. At the end of World War II, the
collection was transferred to a bricked-up crypt for safe keeping
in Bückeburg, where it was later found by British troops and
returned to the estate of the House of Prussia.
After the war, the diamond was subsequently passed down to the
eldest son of the Kaiser, Kronprinz Wilhelm (1882-1951) and his
son, Prince Louis Ferdinand (1907-1994). After the death of Prince
Louis Ferdinand, the diamond was inherited as part of the estate by
his grandson, Georg Friedrich (1976-), Prince of Prussia and
current head of the Royal House of Prussia.
The Beau Sancy has been shown publicly only four times in the
last 50 years: first in 1972, alongside the Grand Sancy in
Helsinki, in 1985, in Hamburg at the Schmuck aus dem Hause
Hohenzollern exhibition, in 2001, in Paris again alongside the
Grand Sancy at the Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle, and finally
in 2004, in Munich at the Schatzhäuser Deutschands exhibition.