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Christie’s has announced that The red cross diamond is up for sale,with part of the sale revenue to be donated to the international committee of the Red Cross.
The jewel is a yellow, cushion-shaped diamond of 205.07 carats and marks only the third time in over 100 years that Christie’s will present the stone.
The original rough stone was found in 1901 in a De Beers South African mine and is said to have weighed some 375 carats.
On 10 April 1918, the stone was first offered for sale at Christie’s London by the Diamond Syndicate in aid of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St John, in the Red Cross auction. The entire sale raised £50,000 (approximately £3m+ today) and The Red Cross diamond, the top lot of the auction, achieved £10,000 (approximately £600,000+ today) and was purchased by London firm S.J. Phillips.
François Curiel, chairman of Christie’s Europe and head of the luxury department, said:
present this extraordinary canary yellow diamond of 205.07 carats. “This is the third time in over 100 years for Christie’s to present this extraordinary canary yellow diamond of 205.07 carats. This is a very special bond and tremendous honour.
“Part of the proceeds of the sale will benefit the International Committee of the Red Cross, for a cause that is even more poignant in the midst of current events.”
