Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Whatever happened to the Esperanza Diamond?

boxbits

boxbits

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Sep 30, 2015
Messages
153
Not sure why, but it popped into my head recently and got me wondering. I recall some posts indicating that it had been sold for a shockingly low price at auction, which was subsequently canceled due to technical error. Google doesn't seem to reveal anything new, so I thought I'd post in case any PSers had the inside scoop.

THE JOURNEY OF THE ESPERANZA DIAMOND - Inspired Collection

www.theinspiredcollection.com www.theinspiredcollection.com
 
Thanks for posting! I too was hoping to find out what happened to it but no such luck. I got to see it in Houston at Whiteflash!
 
Neil might know something but he might not be able to talk about it.
@denverappraiser
 
That auction was a wild ride and yes, they canceled it. There's a jewelry designer who was going to make something awesome out of it but things sort of ground to a halt because of COVID. I expect to hear more soon as the world and the jewelry business come back to life.
 
denverappraiser said:
That auction was a wild ride and yes, they canceled it. There's a jewelry designer who was going to make something awesome out of it but things sort of ground to a halt because of COVID. I expect to hear more soon as the world and the jewelry business come back to life.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I might have missed the last part of the story... What has happened in the auction so that auction results had to be canceled?

Thank you
 
denverappraiser said:
The telephones went down in the middle of it.
Click to expand...

Thank you for recalling this. Indeed what a mess!!!!

So who got to keep the diamond then? Based on the fact that a designer is working on it, it seems to be sold after the auction nevertheless?
 
It's still for sale, it's waiting for the world to come back together. I think there's a client commissioning the new piece but I'm not sure of the details.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AV_
denverappraiser said:
It's still for sale, it's waiting for the world to come back together. I think there's a client commissioning the new piece but I'm not sure of the details.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the clarification. Very interesting
 
tyty333 said:
Thanks for posting! I too was hoping to find out what happened to it but no such luck. I got to see it in Houston at Whiteflash!
Click to expand...

I saw that you and a few others were lucky enough to see in her person! I am forever jealous.


denverappraiser said:
That auction was a wild ride and yes, they canceled it. There's a jewelry designer who was going to make something awesome out of it but things sort of ground to a halt because of COVID. I expect to hear more soon as the world and the jewelry business come back to life.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the update. I'm excited to see what they can do with such a unique piece.
 
John Pollard said:
Okay Pricecope. You inspired.

Update here: https://gemblog.igi.org/the-esperanza-diamond-is-still-for-sale/

Thank you @boxbits for reviving the topic. And @denverappraiser for further details.
Click to expand...

Great article!

This is crazy :o

The diamond has very little nitrogen in it. In fact it has no nitrogen in it. We put it in a mass-spectrometer and discovered it has less than zero parts per billion. – Mike Botha
Click to expand...

I also didn't realise our Neil was so involved - kudos for all the efforts (by him and by everyone else) to make the transformation happen :))
 
Dizzie said:
So who got to keep the diamond then? Based on the fact that a designer is working on it, it seems to be sold after the auction nevertheless?
Click to expand...
It's owned by a group of investors that includes both Ms. Oskarson, the lady who found it, and Mr. Botha, the guy who cut it. That's how the whole cutting thing got funded as well as all of that shipping, lab fees, etc. In that sense, it was sold rather early on but it hasn't sold since then. Not yet at least. The auction didn't change anything. Mostly it's been living in a secret vault in Little Rock.
 
I hope the new setting is more appealing. The last one did very little for it IMO...somewhat distracting.

I hope it gets the attention it deserves in the next go around!
 
Thank you for the update! Interesting to see the journey!


tyty333 said:
I hope the new setting is more appealing. The last one did very little for it IMO...somewhat distracting.

I hope it gets the attention it deserves in the next go around!
Click to expand...

I couldn’t agree more...the current setting it just kind of weird. While I understand they were trying to showcase the diamond, the way it’s encased and the way it protrudes off the neckline is not very pretty IMO. I would love to see something a lot more decorative a la Van Cleef like this below, but a necklace rather than a brooch.
6FA14650-211D-4D7E-A5C3-68028598B3E9.jpeg
 
I didn’t care for the cut, though I understand why he did that cut and I understand perhaps he was limited by the shape and his desire to have the least amount of wastage.

However, it’s now basically a briolette.

I also didn’t care for the setting, though again, I understand why she (I believe the designer is a woman) made that setting. It’s a difficult stone shape to set.
 
I also think it should be a drop pendant/necklace but it’s probably going to be filthy all the time because of the shape and how I assume there will be no back to it. Unless the designer can figure out a way to have the setting set it up so that the diamond can dangle without lying on the skin.
 
I actually rather like the original pendant design, think it's a good solution to a difficult shape to set!
 
whitewave said:
I also think it should be a drop pendant/necklace but it’s probably going to be filthy all the time because of the shape and how I assume there will be no back to it. Unless the designer can figure out a way to have the setting set it up so that the diamond can dangle without lying on the skin.
Click to expand...
I love that you're thinking from a wearable perspective. Keep in mind that museum-display may be the endgame from a design standpoint.
 
Okay, I'll play. Here are my terrible design ideas for Esperanza.

>Earlobe-strobe
>Nose-ring teardrop
>Suspend from bottom of beard, Norse-warrior-style

Design goal: Draw attention away from shiny head to awesome diamond.
 
I agree. I was underwhelmed by the triolette and the design. But I would want to wear it of course! Had I found it, she would not be solved but I guess many would hate me for that, saying it deserves to be in a museum for all to see. I get why this shape was chosen. Still. Even a long emerald cut in a ring ... yumm, yumm. Again I am bad as I would never be able to part with her. Really awesome to get to follow her history though!
 
Does anyone know why Erica Courtney did not design original pendant? I'm pretty sure I read that she had been commissioned to do it.

Well, whatever happened, I'm excited to see the Esperanza in her new dress!
 
Too much hope is dread - sell.

to whom it may concern
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top