Jewels and Jadeite Hong Kong Sunday, November 25, 2018 | Phillips

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    • Twenty-nine jadeite beads, measuring approximately 15.03 to 12.27mm

    • Completed by a diamond clasp, brilliant-cut diamonds totalling approximately 2.35 carats

    • 18 karat white gold

    • Length approximately 455mm

    (Jadeite beads)
    Hong Kong Jade & Stone Laboratory report, numbered KJ98838(1-3), dated 6 September 2018, Type A Jadeites, natural colour without any resin.

    附 香港玉石鑑定中心 證書

  • Catalogue Essay

    A Supreme Hierloom Jewellery

    The unparalleled status of jadeite bead necklace ranks it among the most sought-after form of jadeite jewellery especially in Asia. To qualify as a fine jadeite bead necklace, all beads should be in well-proportioned spherical shape, with rich emerald green colour, highly translucent, and arranged in gentle graduation. The most challenging task, however, is to have a strand of perfectly matching beads, which is only possible if the beads are carved from the same jadeite boulder. Such a boulder must be of impressive size and free of major inclusions and internal fractures in order to produce enough beads of considerable size. Usually as many as thrice the desired number of beads is required for a necklace, since only the most suitable and matching beads are selected.

    Since the process of fashioning jadeite beads incurred huge wastage and only a boulder of substantial weight and superb quality would be suitable, the creation of a supreme jadeite bead necklace represents the utmost pursuit for perfection in natural jadeites. Supply of quality jadeites from Burma has also significantly plummeted in recent years, which accounts for the high prices of jadeite jewellery. The Hutton-Mdivani necklace was arguably the most legendary jadeite bead necklace ever offered at auctions. Made by Cartier in the 1930’s, the necklace first appeared in auction in 1988 and fetched an astonishing 15.6 million Hong Kong dollars. It was put up for auction again in 2014 and was sold to Cartier for over 210 million Hong Kong dollars --- a tenfold increase in just less than thirty years. This testifies to the timeless appeal of a fine jadeite bead necklace, which will only become rarer in the coming future.

    This lot is an excellent example of a fine jadeite bead necklace, bringing together twenty-nine impressive natural jadeite beads of matching colour, translucency and texture. With bead sizes ranging from 12.27 to 15.03mm, the raw material from which this piece of jewellery originates is truly one-of-a-kind. For connoisseurs who understand the relationship between jadeite quality and its inherent value, this current jadeite bead necklace is more than a worthy piece of collector’s jewellery, it is also a priceless heirloom to pass on for generations to come.

615

A Very Fine Jadeite Bead and Diamond Necklace

Length approximately 455mm

Estimate
HK$13,800,000 - 18,800,000 
$1,750,000-2,400,000

Contact Specialist
Terry Chu
Head of Jewellery, Asia, Senior Director
+852 2318 2038

Jewels and Jadeite

Hong Kong Auction 26 November 2018