Follow Vogue Arabia

Queen Nazli of Egypt’s 220-Carat Diamond Necklace Auctioned for a Mere US $4.3Million

-queen-nazli-of-egypt-220-carat-diamond-necklace-sold-sothebys-auction

A piece of art in its own right, the 220-carat diamond bib-style necklace that once belonged to Egyptian royal Queen Nazli, was sold for a mere US $4.3 million earlier this week at the Sotheby’s NYC auction. The sunburst motif design, pictured above on Queen Nazli, was one of the few pieces estimated at over US $1 million . The Van Cleef & Arpels custom creation, designed by the Parisian jeweler in 1939 for Queen Nazli of Egypt on the occasion of her daughter Princess Fawzia’s lavish wedding, has been called “a perfect piece of jewelry” by Vincent Meylan, author of Van Cleef & Arpels: Treasures and Legends. But does the price do it justice? Is a 220-carat diamond belonging to a former Egyptian Queen worth only US $4.3 million? Not forgetting that it is also a Van Cleef & Arpels custom creation, and features intricate craftsmanship.

Meanwhile, American artist Barnett Newman’s “Onement VI” (1953), pictured below, sold at the Sotheby’s contemporary art evening sale in New York in 2013 for a whopping US $44 million, setting a record for being the most expensive Newman painting ever. The stark difference in value for the two items clearly indicates that art has overtaken jewelry in the investment race.

The Sotheby’s auction ended on December 9th with total sales of US $52,222,500.

barnet-queen-nazli-of-egypt-220-carat-diamond-necklace-sold-sothebys-auction

 
—May Rostom

Suggestions
Articles
View All
Vogue Collection
Topics