Natural diamonds take centre stage at Strauss & Co

25 Sep 2026

• Strauss & Co’s Luxury Jewellery Edition: October Live and Online Jewellery sales open on 23 September and conclude on 19 October 2026.
• The auction house is seeing renewed interest in the individuality and rarity of natural diamonds after several years dominated by discussion around lab-grown stones.
• The Luxury sale brings together exceptional natural diamonds, coloured gemstone jewellery and important suites for confident wearers and discerning investors.
• Highlights include rare South Sea pearl and diamond jewellery, an otherworldly aquamarine suite, fancy-cut diamonds and a Fancy Brown Pink diamond dress ring.
• The Online Jewellery sale includes dedicated sessions: Pearls and Diamonds, Watches, and Gemstones and Gold, with pearls a particular focus.

Cape Town: Strauss & Co’s forthcoming Luxury Jewellery Edition: October Live and Online Jewellery sales bring together natural diamonds, exceptional pearls and coloured gemstones, with both auctions opening on 25 September and concluding on 19 October 2026. This season, the auction house is highlighting jewellery of consequence: pieces selected as much for the quality and rarity of their materials as for the pleasure of wearing them.

At the upper end of the Luxury Jewellery Edition are substantial natural diamonds, fine gems and complete suites of jewellery – among them an exceptional South Sea pearl and diamond parure that Strauss & Co regards as one of the stars of the sale. “We wanted this sale to be a step up, featuring stately jewellery with real presence and, importantly, jewellery that is intended to be worn,” says Strauss & Co Senior Jewellery Specialist Kim Goeller. “For me, the investor is the wearer this time. These are pieces with significant intrinsic value and rarity, but they are also majestic jewels for somebody who wants to enjoy and appreciate them.”

The sale also signals what Goeller describes as a renewed intrigue in the natural diamond. After a period in which lab-grown diamonds have transformed global conversations around price and accessibility, Strauss & Co is seeing growing appreciation for what distinguishes their natural counterparts: origin, romanticism and individuality. “No two natural diamonds are alike,” says Goeller. “Colour, clarity and character distinguish one stone from another. We are digging deeper and looking for treasures formed by Mother Earth.” That story plays out across a selection of fancy-cut diamonds, including cushion, oval and emerald cuts, alongside coloured diamonds and a significant cushion-cut sapphire. These pieces will appeal to collectors and clients considering bespoke jewellery commissions through Strauss & Co.

Among the standout jewels is a Fancy Brown Pink diamond cocktail ring (Lot 143), its central stone framed by a double halo with smaller diamonds extending down the band. The sale also includes an heirloom-scale diamond ring with proportions more typical of jewellery from another era. Another highlight is an impressive aquamarine suite (Lot 108 and 109). Its grand vintage character is matched by unusually large aquamarines in intensely saturated blue hues – a combination Goeller describes as increasingly difficult to find.

Pearls provide the connecting thread between the live and online auctions. While the live Luxury Jewellery Edition: Evening Sale includes exceptional South Sea pearls, the October Online sale features a focused session on pearls and diamonds. For Strauss & Co, assessing pearls goes well beyond diameter or provenance. Lustre is critical, together with surface quality, nacre thickness, colour, shape and the consistency with which individual pearls are matched within a strand. Size and calibration matter more in South Sea pearls, while names such as Paspaley and Mikimoto add further desirability in the secondary market. The October Online auction’s pearl offering includes a charcoal pearl and diamond suite comprising a necklace, bracelet, earrings and ring. Arguably more contemporary, the darker pearls in the October Live sale offer easy, modern wearability.

The October Online sale is divided into three sessions – Pearls & Diamonds, Watches, and Gemstones & Gold. The watch selection includes collectable timepieces such as a Rolex GMT-Master II Reference 116713LN in two-tone steel and yellow gold (Lot 38), as well as a classic Tissot diamond-set watch (Lot 33). Both auctions open on 23 September 2026 and conclude on 19 October 2026.

The Luxury Jewellery Edition: October Online sale closes from 2pm, followed by the October Live sale at 7pm.

Jewellery will be available to view by appointment in Johannesburg from 28 September to 9 October, and in Cape Town from 12 to 19 October.

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