Unless you’re part of the 1%, it is likely difficult for you to fathom the reality when you read the news of a single gemstone being sold at one of the world-famous auction houses for millions and millions of dollars. How many of us have done double-takes when reading that a diamond sold for more than the national budget, right? So today, we’re going to have a little fun by giving you a better idea of what some of these stones would be worth by comparing them with other big-ticket items that you also very well likely couldn’t afford. But heck, it’s nice to dream, right? That’s what lottery tickets are for. You. Are. Welcome.

The Oppenheimer Blue
This 14.62 carat natural vivid blue diamond was named for its previous owner, Philip Oppenheimer, and according to the Gemological Institute of America, is the largest fancy vivid blue diamond ever sold at auction.

In May of 2016, the Geneva auction house of Christie’s sold the diamond for $50.6 million dollars, making it the most expensive gemstone ever sold at auction until April of 2017 when it was surpassed by the Pink Star Diamond.

WHAT YOU COULD BUY: With the $50+ mil spent on the Oppenheimer Blue, the owner could have purchased not one, but two Swiss Strand Craft yachts with cars to match. According to the company’s website, “Drinks (presumably bottles of Dom Pérignon) can be stored in an ice box under the seat, while larger items will go in a waterproof luggage box in front of the engine. Optional extras include wood or carbon fiber inlays, custom paint and/or wrapping, a custom trailer, a sound system, a chrome engine dress-up kit, and GPS navigation.” Grab my flippers, Jeeves! We’re sailing to Mallorca! Twice!

The Sunrise Ruby
A Cartier ring containing the incredible 25.59-carat Burmese “pigeon blood” Sunrise Ruby and two heptagon-shaped diamonds weighing 2.47 carats and 2.70 carats sold to an anonymous buyer for a record, $30.42 million dollars in May of 2015 at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva, Switzerland.

WHAT YOU COULD BUY: Who needs a ring when you can have an ISLAND? That’s right! For a mere $30 million U.S. dollars, that “anonymous buyer” could have purchased Balliceaux Island, which is sometimes referred to as the “Cinderella of the Grenadines.” To quote the seller’s description, “The island offers outstanding hiking through its lush terrain and rugged trails. Azure waters frame sheltered bays and coves. Crumbling cliffs bookend gentle meadows. Exquisite golden beaches arc round bays on Balliceaux’s eastern and western shores, while the island’s high point, Gun Hill, was a lookout for soldiers during the Carib Wars of 1772-1797.” Grab my Strand Craft yacht, Jeeves! We’re sailing to my new home in the Grenadines!

The Orange
Sold at auction in 2013, “The Orange” was the largest Fancy Vivid Orange diamond ever to have been discovered, weighing 14.82 carats. With pure orange diamonds being extraordinarily rare, the diamond’s unique hue and pear shape was reflected in its price, selling for over $35.5 million dollars—more than $15 million above the stone’s high estimate.

WHAT YOU COULD BUY: A seven-bedroom mansion in Beverly Hills once belonging to both Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez (though not at the same time, of course.) Grab my tennis racquet, Jeeves! A-Rod and Blake are looking to play mixed doubles on the court behind the holly bush!

The Hope Spinel
The Hope Spinel, a rare 50.13-carat rose-hued spinel once belonging to British collector Henry Philip Hope, crossed the auction block at Bonham’s for the first time in nearly a century in September of 2015: it was an act that sparked an international bidding war.

The rare gemstone was purchased by a private telephone bidder for $1.4 million, setting a world record and making it the most expensive spinel ever sold at auction.

WHAT YOU COULD BUY: A 2008 Maybach 62 Landaulet Sedan in a color that matches the whites of Jeeves’ eyes. And to quote Hans-Dieter Mulhaupt, the Vice President in charge of the Maybach program at the time of the 2008 release, “The Landaulet is for a superrich individual who wants something that is extremely extraordinary and enjoys being driven in a car with acres of sky above them.” Grab my $700 bottle of organic sunscreen, Jeeves! We’re going driving in the country with Holmes and Rochester, and dear Buffy just had a chemical peel!

So, listen up, dear bidders, make sure that you think about all the toys you could get your hands on before you raise that little number over your head. After all, what good is a gemstone if you can’t wear it on your yacht as you’re sailing to your private island?

 

 

 

From rare jadeite bangles to diamond-encrusted panther-shaped bracelets, we round up five of the most expensive bracelets to ever hit the auction block.

5. Barbara Hutton’s Jadeite Bangle

Born in 1912, Barbara Hutton was the heiress to the Woolworth Department Store fortune. It was estimated that, by the time she was 21 years old, Hutton’s trust fund was worth more than $1 billion in today’s dollars. However, when Hutton died in 1979, she was virtually bankrupt, having spent her incredible wealth on her lavish lifestyle that included a $60,000 (roughly $1 million today) debutante ball, multiple homes around the world, and an impressive jewelry collection. One particularly noteworthy piece was a carved jadeite bangle. Jadeite is an extremely rare jade variety and, in turn, very expensive. When the last of Hutton’s jewelry was posthumously put up for auction by Sotheby’s, her jadeite bangle sold for $908,000 USD.

4. Martin Katz Diamond Bracelet

Jeweler Martin Katz designs’ make regular appearances on the red carpet. His dazzling diamond and gemstone encrusted necklaces, earrings, and bracelets are marked for their dramatic presence and romantic flair. Katz’s long list of celebrity clients includes Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, Sandra Bullock, and Kate Winslet. In 2008, Katz was commissioned to design a bracelet for the 80th Annual Academy Awards Fashion Preview. Katz submitted an exquisite diamond bracelet that was valued at $1 million USD.

3. M. Gérard Diamond Bracelet

In Paris 1968, Louis Gérard left his station at the luxury jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels and founded his own brand, M. Gérard. At the height of his success, Gérard was considered the largest French exporter of fine jewelry. Although the brand closed in December 1991, its jewels are still highly valuable. In 2006, Christie’s auctioned an M. Gérard diamond bracelet made of two rows of diamonds with a 29.01 carat diamond as its center stone. The bracelet sold for over $1.5 million USD.

2. Highly Important Jadeite Bangle

Jadeite is an integral part of China’s history, a symbol of the nobility and the laws that govern heaven and Earth. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (who reigned over China’s Tang Dynasty from 712 to 765 CE) had a special jadeite bracelet crafted for his musically and artistically talented muse and created a new elliptical shape for jadeite bangles in the process. Because the bracelet was carved to be an oval and not a perfect circle, it was specially designed to flatter the slender wrist of the emperor’s consort and dubbed the Guifei bangle.

In 2014, Sotheby’s auctioned off a jadeite Guifei bangle that was considered exceptional because of its size, transparency and vivid green color. The bangle sold for over $5.2 million USD.

1. Wallis Simpson Cartier Panther Bracelet

Wallis Simpson was an American socialite whose third husband Prince Edward famously abdicated his throne to marry the twice-divorced Simpson. The couple commissioned a handful of designs from Cartier in 1952, including this panther bracelet. The bracelet features 545 pave-set diamonds and calibre-cut onyx stones and two marquise-shaped emeralds for the cat’s green eyes. At a Sotheby’s auction in 2010, the bracelet became the most expensive bracelet ever sold at auction, fetching $7 million USD in spite of having several small stones missing. It is also the most expensive Cartier item ever sold at auction.

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