DiamondBuzz
Christie’s present The Golconda Blue:the largest fancy vivid blue diamond offered at auction
Christie’s is proud to present The Golconda Blue—the largest Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond ever to be offered at auction. Weighing an extraordinary 23.24 carats, this superb historic gemstone will headline Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale, taking place live on 14 May 2025 at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva, with an estimate of $35 – 50 million. The Golconda Blue, perfectly mounted in a ring by JAR, is a true masterpiece with its recently uncovered royal provenance, mesmerizing colour, and sensational size. It ranks among the rarest and most important diamonds ever discovered throughout history.
This exceptional pear-shaped Golconda diamond boasts a remarkable provenance rooted in Indian Royalty. Yeshwant Rao Holkar, the Maharaja of Indore and a member of the Holkar dynasty, was known—alongside his wife—for a lifestyle defined by elegance and cosmopolitan sophistication in the 1920s and ’30s. A Knight of the Order of the Indian Empire, the Maharaja spent much of his time abroad, cultivating a strong affinity for Western art, design, and jewellery.
In 1913, his father acquired the famed Indore Pear diamonds from Chaumet, marking the beginning of a long-standing relationship with the historic Parisian Maison. In 1923, during another visit to Chaumet, he commissioned a diamond bracelet set with his own 23-carat pear-shaped Golconda blue diamond.
Drawn to the firm’s avant-garde flare, Yeshwant Rao Holkar appointed Mauboussin as his official jeweler in 1933. Thereafter, Mauboussin reimagined much of the Maharaja’s collection and created the exceptional necklace including the Golconda Blue and the Indore Pears, worn by the Maharani of Indore memorialized in a portrait by Bernard Boutet de Monvel (illustrated on top of release).
Yeshwant Rao Holkar also collaborated with other iconic jewelers, including Harry Winston. In 1946, Mr. Winston purchased the Indore Pears from the Maharaja, and the following year, in January 1947, he acquired this 23-carat blue diamond. Winston later set it in a brooch alongside a matching 23-carat white diamond, which he sold to the Maharaja of Baroda. The brooch was subsequently reacquired by Mr. Winston and resold as a newly designed jewel to its current owner.
Now, over a century later, this legendary blue diamond comes to auction for the very first time, set as a striking contemporary ring by the celebrated Parisian designer JAR.
The legacy of Golconda diamonds begins with a reference found in a 4th-century Sanskrit manuscript. In 327 BC, Alexander the Great brought diamonds from India to Europe, sparking the West’s enduring fascination with these rare gems. By 1292 AD, Marco Polo famously chronicled the captivating beauty of Indian diamonds in his travel writings. Today, The Golconda Blue stands not only as a natural marvel but also as a storied jewel—its provenance bridging continents, dynasties, and centuries.
DiamondBuzz
Raw Mango makes its debut at London Fashion Week Presented by De Beers Group featuring Forevermark Diamond Jewellery
The Fall Winter 2026 collection It’s Not About The Flower reinterprets the cultural symbolism of the garland on a global stage, presented by De Beers Group with Forevermark Diamond Jewellery celebrating heritage, provenance and contemporary craftsmanship.
At its inaugural show on an international stage, Raw Mango debuted their Fall Winter 2026 collection It’s Not About The Flower at London Fashion Week. Drawing inspiration from the ubiquitous garland—which is a humble, albeit important part of everyday life in South Asia—the collection blurs the line between decoration and that which is decorated. The focus with this collection shifts from the individual motif to the arrangement, from surface-level engagements to a deeper interrogation of value and beauty, from the flower to the garland.



Talking about the inspiration and emotional core behind the collection, designer and founder of Raw Mango Sanjay Garg says, “Flowers remain an important part of South-East Asia and South Asia. But we don’t really have a culture of giving one individual flower to someone, like, say, a rose on Valentine’s Day.” He continues, “As a culture, we are a country of garlands. Whether it’s a death, a birth, a wedding or a religious ritual, you see garlands, irrespective of the religion. It’s not about one individual flower; it’s about the plurality.”
With the show in London, the brand presents an indigenous idea of fashion that challenges convention and seeks to break away from stereotypes. “There is still a strong association between Indian fashion and a certain kind of aesthetic — heavy gold embroidery, and maximalist ensembles that overwhelm the eye and the body with ‘bling’,” says Sanjay.“Indian fashion is too often quantified – it’s not seen for its innate aesthetic value, but the number of hours it took a weaver to create a garment. It’s a surface-level engagement that sometimes drowns out the beauty of the weave itself.”
The garments and silhouettes offered interpretations of how a garland sits on the body. The flowers themselves were constructed in various non-traditional and silk-like fabrics, assembled or rolled by hand—each placed in delicate arrangements on lightly embroidered brocades, rib-knit cottons, quilted rayon and wool felt. Presented to an audience comprising influential voices across the worlds of fashion, business, entertainment and culture including artist Anoushka Shankar, former first lady of the UK Akshita Murthy, Film Director Gurinder Chadha, Actor Saim Ali, artist Cyrill Ibrahim, artist Lubna Chowdhary, Rahi Chadda, Founder of Openended Design – Suhair Khan, Art Collector and Philanthropist Aarti Lohia, Curator Tarini Malik, Creative Director Nikhil Mansata and Creative & Cultural Strategist Arooj Aftab, It’s Not About The Flower asked to be appreciated on its own terms.

Speaking to the significance of Raw Mango showing at London Fashion Week, Sanjay Garg responds, “Presenting here is as good as presenting in Kanpur for me. At the end of the day, it is the work being presented that matters. And that doesn’t change according to who is viewing it, or where. I’m less interested in defining my audience and more interested in further exploring and articulating my design language that can cater to different audiences that transcends borders and seasons.”
This laser-sharp focus on the work, rather than the accoutrements and requirements of fashion calendars, is what has defined Raw Mango’s approach to textile and culture over the past eighteen years. The brand builds on century-old skills to shape a new aesthetic vocabulary that is both contemporary and deeply rooted in local histories.
For its London Fashion Week presentation of It’s Not About The Flower, Raw Mango was presented by De Beers Group, with Forevermark Diamond Jewellery as the jewellery partner. United by a shared respect for provenance and craftsmanship, the collaboration underscores adornment as an expression of individuality, culture, and personal style.
Commenting on the partnership, Shweta Harit, Global Senior Vice President at De Beers Group and CEO of Forevermark, said: “As the jewellery partner, Forevermark Diamond Jewellery came together with Raw Mango through a shared commitment to authenticity, craftsmanship, and personal expression. Natural diamonds – rare creations of the earth, each inherently unique – reflected the same sense of individuality expressed through Raw Mango’s design language.

Presented by De Beers Group, the collaboration came together as a meeting of heritage, provenance, and contemporary creativity, where adornment felt like a true extension of identity.”
In a season dominated by conversations around conscious luxury and material honesty, the alignment was clear. Heritage is not a trend. Craft is not a spectacle. And like the enduring belief that a diamond is forever, true value lies in what time cannot erode.
-
National News4 days agoIIBS-11: Navigating the ‘New Gold Rush’ in a fragmenting global economy
-
International News4 days agoOroarezzo 2026, with Italian Exhibition Group, Manufacturing Explores New Markets
-
GlamBuzz21 minutes ago#ViRosh Ki Shaadi: Rashmika Mandanna & Vijay Deverakonda Celebrate Love with Temple Gold & Timeless Tradition
-
International News4 days agoGemfields nets $53m in Bangkok ruby auction


