The auction house Christie’s, at its Magnificent Jewels  Hong Kong auction, to be held on  November 27, 2018,  will offer a diamond with a fascinating and glamorous history.

Dubbed  the “Moon of Baroda”  the 24.04-carat pear-shaped, Fancy Yellow Diamond’s back story is shrouded in  the mists of history. However, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA)  recently traced its origins to   Golconda, the first diamond mines in the world, and the birthplace of some of the world’s best known diamonds like the Koh-i-Noor.

The Moon of Baroda is   believed to have graced the collection of the Maharajah of the then Baroda state.  The Gaekwad family, which ruled state, were considered to be amongst the wealthiest  and most prominent  royal families of India and included  some notable rulers, with both stature and vision.

But there is another celebrity who the stone adorned  who will have greater resonance with jewellery lovers the world over --  her, and the circumstances under which the two  stars met.

“In 1953, the 24.04-carat pear-shaped, Fancy Yellow Moon of Baroda diamond was ready for its close-up at 20th Century Fox,” narrated Christie’s recounting the story. “To promote the release of the Howard Hawks film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marilyn Monroe famously wore the Moon of Baroda while singing the film’s signature song, Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.” 

Christie’s continues: “‘It’s gorgeous!’ Monroe is said to have gasped when first setting eyes on the stone, which was the largest diamond she ever wore in her lifetime. It was a moment that catapulted the Moon of Baroda to international fame.”

A report in Cleveland News  dated July 3, 1953 the Moon of Baroda was acquired in 1944 by Samuel H. Deutsch, the president of a distinguished firm of diamond cutters in Cleveland, Ohio. He is said to have sold it to Meyer Rosenbaum, president of Meyer Jewelry Company in Detroit, Michigan, in 1953 — the same year in which this extraordinary coloured diamond came to be associated with Marilyn Monroe, Christie’s recounts.

In 1990, the diamond was offered at Christie’s in New York, realising US$ 297,000 — nearly tripling its low estimate,  the auction house recalls. Eighteen years later, in 2008, it was seen in public for the first time in years when it was shown at the Diamond Divas exhibition in Antwerp.

“On 27 November, after two decades in a private collection, the Moon of Baroda will again take centre stage as a highlight of the Magnificent Jewels  sale at Christie’s in Hong Kong, where it will be offered with an autographed photo of Marilyn Monroe wearing the 24-carat stone,” Christie’s concluded.

Pic Cap: A 1953 autographed photo of Marilyn Monroe wearing the 24.04-carat, Fancy Yellow/VS2 ‘Golconda’ Moon of Baroda diamond

Pic Courtesy: Christie’s