You know you’ve crafted something truly spectacular when there’s nothing in the whole world to compare to your creation. This dazzling luxury necklace is literally priceless due to the fact that there is no comparative piece out there to help determine its value. But to put things into perspective, the value of all the finished materials which went into its production is estimated at around $200 million.
Called A Heritage in Bloom, the necklace is among the world’s most valuable pieces of jewelry. The top spot is currently held by the Hope Diamond Necklace, owned by the Smithsonian Institution: adorned with a superb 45.52-carat deep-blue diamond, it is worth around $350 million.
The mastermind behind the complex Heritage in Bloom necklace is world-famous Chinese artist Wallace Chan. With decades of experience and an unfaltering passion for the industry, Chan, 59, has developed a series of innovative jewelry making techniques which he also incorporated into this bold project, as a mark of authenticity.
The design revolves around a 104-carat internally flawless and colorless diamond which Chan carved out of a much larger (507.55-carat) $35 million stone that he bought in 2010. The original rough diamond, named Cullinan Heritage, also produced 24 more gems, which were all included into the necklace.
All the other materials were carefully selected to meet the highest standards of quality. These include 19 more perfectly colorless and internally flawless diamonds, almost 600 pink diamonds, 114 icy green jadeites, and 72 white mutton fat jades. It took a team of 22 jewelers 47,000 hours (11 months) of work to complete this masterpiece.
What makes this piece even more spectacular is the fact that it can be disassembled and then put back together again in different ways, allowing for 27 unique combinations. The task of ensuring that all the elements would work perfectly together, was incredibly taxing, especially because Chang had to also take into account the effect which gravity would have on the wearer’s comfort. This is, after all, a heavy piece of jewelry, weighing approximately half a pound.
