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Seller Puts $15.5M Crown on RapNet
Mar 6, 2019 8:08 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Russian diamond manufacturer Kristall Smolensk is selling a
replica of the Great Imperial Crown of the Russian Empire on RapNet’s new
jewelry platform for $15.5 million.
The crown, which weighs 2.3 kilograms, comprises more than
11,000 round, oval and pear-shaped white diamonds, weighing 1,928 carats and
set in white gold. The stones were sourced from Russian miner Alrosa, certified
by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), and cut and polished by
Kristall. The piece also includes a pear-shaped, 384.71-carat, purple
tourmaline and 74 round, white pearls.
The Imperial Crown of Russia was the Russian monarchs’ main
symbol of power from 1762 to 1917, a Kristall spokesperson told Rapaport
News Tuesday. The original, crafted for the coronation of Catherine the
Great, was worn by all Russian emperors from the Romanov family at ceremonial
events.
Kristall decided to make an updated version of the imperial icon in 2012, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of
the Romanov dynasty, the 250th anniversary of the crown, and the 50th
anniversary of the Russian diamond-manufacturing trade.
“To commemorate the events, as well as to demonstrate the
continuance of Russian jewelry art traditions, Smolensk artisans took a
decision to reproduce the key historic symbol of the Russian national
identity,” Kristall said. “Our task was not to achieve the iconic likeness [of]
the original, but to show the way a historic piece of jewelry art may be
recreated with the use of up-to-date technologies and designer techniques, as
well as top-make polished diamonds.”
Since its debut nine years ago, the crown has been on
display in various Russian cities, including the State Hermitage Museum in
Saint Petersburg and the State Historical Museum in Moscow. It has also been exhibited
at museums and shows in the Netherlands, Belgium, Israel, Hong Kong and the US,
and has won several jewelry and art awards.
“This is a unique work of jewelry art,” Evgheni Gapanyuk,
chief curator of the Diamond Fund of Russia, told Rapaport News. “The
word replica, [which] is widely spread in [the] jewelry world, may hardly be
appropriate in this case.”
Kristall Smolensk considered several channels for selling
the crown, including museums, auction houses and private collectors, before
settling on RapNet’s new jewelry platform, which launched last month.
Image: The Great Imperial Crown replica. (Kristall Smolensk)
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Tags:
Alrosa, Diamond Fund of Russia, Evgheni Gapanyuk, Gemological Institute of America, GIA, Great Imperial Crown of the Russian Empire, Imperial Crown of Russia, Kristall, Kristall Smolensk’s, Rapaport News, RapNet
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