EMERALD, DIAMOND AND COLOURED DIAMOND RING | 9.26卡拉 天然「哥倫比亞穆索」無油祖母綠 配 鑽石 及 彩色鑽石 戒指

Muzo Magic

Emeralds have long been pursued by virtually every glorious empire since ancient Egypt, including the Romans, Spanish conquistadors, and India’s Mughals whose affection for the “King of Emeralds” had no limits. The emeralds were once mined in Egypt at locations on Mount Smaragdus since 1500 BCE, India, and Austria since as early as the 14^th century. The focus was redirected with the discovery of legendary Colombian deposits in the 16^th century.

Today, Colombia is the world’s largest producer of emeralds and Colombian emeralds are the highest valued in the world. The Colombian emerald production increased rapidly in the last decade, reaching 50-95% of the world’s production. The main emerald mining areas are Muzo, Coscuez, and Chivor. 60 miles north-west of Bogota, high in the Andes mountains lies a path amongst the clouds leading down to the semi-tropical jungle valleys where the forest-like gemstones are hidden. Muzo emeralds are natural national treasures of Colombia, exhibiting rich, saturated and intense green hues due to high levels of chromium, iron and vanadium combined with the millenary formation far within the Earth’s crust.

Natural, untreated Colombian emeralds of considerable sizes are extremely rare and much adored by collectors and connoisseurs. Lots 1724 and 1725 are exemplary specimens of this pedigree.

Lot 1724 combines the finest of Colombian emeralds with the enigma that is a pink diamond. The theory behind its geological beginnings goes back over 1.6 billion years ago, as colourless diamonds were formulating under extreme pressure, heading towards the earth’s surface from 90 miles below, their pure carbon structure was altered, resulting in the sweet pink hues prized from the Argyle mines. Located in the East Kimberly frontier of Western Australia, the strikingly red-hued ranges of dusty bushlands and gorges lies the unrivaled Argyle mines known for their pink diamonds coveted for their rarity, revered for their beauty as scarce as they are sought after. Virtually the sole source of the world’s supply of rare pink diamonds for more than three decades, despite the fact that only 1% of the mine’s total production being pink. The finite resource, estimated to close at the end of this year, 2020, leaves a level of prestige for those who are able to acquire an Argyle pink.

The combination of two of the world’s most sought after gemstones together represent the epitome of alluring elegance.

穆索魔術

自古埃及王朝起，一直至羅馬帝國、西班牙征服者及印度莫臥兒帝國的統治者們皆對「祖母綠之王」求之若渴，奉若至珍。公元前1500年，埃及人已經在祖母綠山（Mount Smaragdus）設礦場開採祖母綠；公元十四世紀，印度和奧地利亦開始開礦採挖祖母綠。直至十六世紀，哥倫比亞的驚世礦藏才被世人發現，自此成為全球首屈一指的祖母綠產地。

時至今日，哥倫比亞是全球最大的祖母綠生產國，哥倫比亞祖母的市場價值亦稱世界之最。最近十年，哥倫比亞祖母綠產量急增，佔全球產量50-95%。當地主要礦區是穆索（Muzo）、科斯庫爾茲（Coscuez）、奇沃爾（Chivor）。在哥倫比亞首都波哥大的西北面60多英里以外的安第斯山脈深處有一條遠在白雲間的山徑，一路下延至一個亞熱帶雨林山谷，這裡埋藏了鬱綠翠灧的珍貴寶石——穆索祖母綠。穆索祖母綠是哥倫比亞國寶，歷千萬年的岩層變動而生；由於寶石內的鉻、釩、鐵含量高，故色澤深綠穠麗而飽滿。

體積較碩大、不經人工處理的天然哥倫比亞祖母綠極為難得，深得收藏家和寶石鑑賞專家欣賞。拍品1724和1725 正是這種頂級祖母綠的罕見例子。

拍品1724集兩種世間稀有的自然瑰寶——祖母綠和粉紅鑽於一身。粉紅鑽是鑽石界的奇珍，其誕生過程始於1億6000萬年前。其時地殼板塊運動將岩層推擠到離地面90英里以下的地殼深處，龐大的壓力和熱力使純碳原子組成的原石晶體結構移位，並吸收特定波段的光，因而顯現粉紅色。在澳大利亞西部的東金伯利地區，在遼闊曠遠的紅土灌木叢地帶和峽谷的地底埋藏著舉世聞名的阿爾蓋粉紅鑽。在過去三十多年裡，幾乎全世界的粉紅鑽都出產自阿爾蓋礦場——即使粉紅鑽僅佔其鑽石總產量的1%。這個幾乎絕無僅有的粉紅鑽礦場預計在2020年、即今年封礦，此後阿爾蓋粉紅鑽在世間更顯珍貴無覓。