NEW YORK: A 34.64-carat pink diamond once owned by the world’s richest man — the last Nizam of Hyderabad, has sold at auction in New York for nearly $ 40 million, setting a new record for Christie’s auction house.
Dubbed the “Princie Diamond,” the gem is “one of the largest and finest pink diamonds in the world,” with a “fabulous provenance,” Christie’s jewelry chief Francois Curiel said ahead of the sale.
An anonymous telephone bidder paid $ 39,323,750, or more than $ 1 million per carat, for the stone from ancient diamond mines in southern India, the auction house said in a statement Tuesday.
The pink gem was once owned by the royal family of Hyderabad, rulers of one of the wealthiest provinces of the Mughal Empire, Christie’s said in a statement. Since 1960, it was owned by the London branch of Van Cleef & Arpels. The exclusive jewelry firm originally paid 46,000 pounds for it, equivalent to $ 1.3 million today, Christie’s said, indicating a hefty profit after Tuesday’s sale. All told, bidders paid more than $ 80 million for the jewels at the New York auction, including just under $ 4.5 million for a 30.32 carat rectangular cut D color diamond and $ 3.3 million for a Harry Winston diamond ring. Previously, the most paid at Christie’s for a diamond was $ 24.3 million, for the 31-carat Wittelsbach diamond in 2008.
Hyderabad Nizam’s pink diamond sells for record $ 39 million
Hyderabad Nizam’s pink diamond sells for record $ 39 million
‘The Wild Within’ sees artists breathe new life into Mideast buildings
DUBAI: Lens-based artist Ryan Koopmans and digital artist Alice Wexell are staging a showcase at Dubai’s Leila Heller Gallery that breathes new life into regional buildings.
The series of digital artworks is part of the exhibition “The Wild Within,” featuring images of old structures in Beirut, Istanbul, and Abu Dhabi filled with wild flowers.
Two of the largest works, “Heartbeats” and “The Wish,” are displayed using Ventana, a microLED architectural display surface created by visual technology company Megapixel.
The former artwork depicts the entrance hall of Qasr Al-Watan, the UAE’s presidential palace in Abu Dhabi, while the latter reimagines the upper floors of the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental in Abu Dhabi.
“Each building we work with comes to us through a combination of research, travel, and intuition,” the artists told Arab News in a joint statement.
“We are drawn to structures that carry both emotional and historical resonance, often buildings that once embodied human ambition and now exist in a state of quiet transformation.”
Koopans and Wexell made sure to research the context of each building they choose to recreate, saying “an old villa in Jeddah or a former school in Sharjah each hold their own cultural memory, influencing everything from the lighting and atmosphere to the plants and flowers that we digitally sculpt and implement into the photographs.”
The hypnotic works depict the interior of buildings in the region, with digitally rendered flowers carpeting the floor in a bid to “(reimage) these spaces (and) explore the relationship between nature, place, and time, while celebrating each site as a unique work of architecture with its own spirit and story,” the artists said.
Koopmans is of dual Canadian and Dutch heritage, while Wexell is Swedish and based in Stockholm, so it is noteworthy that both artists chose to explore the Middle East for their latest project.
“In the Middle East especially, the architecture reflects a layered past that merges different styles and eras, while also expressing a sense of renewal and forward-looking energy, particularly in the region’s fantastic contemporary buildings. We are drawn to the symmetry, geometry and patterns that are found not only in nature itself, but in the architectural language of the region both past and present,” they said.
The series — featuring works such as “Adore You,” “Between Worlds,” and “Blossom of the Ancestors” — explores contrasts between the natural world and human-made forms, as well as the traditional and contemporary worlds.
“We are interested in how these elements coexist and merge into one another, creating a sense of hyperrealism that feels both familiar and imaginary. By merging photography with digital sculpture, the artworks question where the boundary lies between documentation and invention, and how technology can extend rather than replace our sense of the natural world.”
Although the scale of the artworks ensures they leave the viewer entranced, it did pose challenges, according to the artists.
“Presented at a large scale, every texture in these artworks becomes visible, which can be demanding but is also incredibly rewarding. The magnified detail allows the visceral and atmospheric layers of the pieces to come through with greater impact,” they said, adding that each piece took “many months” to create.
“Ultimately, we want our collectors to experience a sense of wonder and contemplation, as if they are standing inside a dream that feels both entirely real yet unreal.”
The exhibition runs until Jan. 15, 2026.
