A 830-carat crystal, pulled from the ground in Mozambique more than two decades ago, is about to produce the most valuable matched pair of gemstones its category has ever seen.
Sotheby's Hong Kong announced this week that the 'Kat Florence Luminas,' a matched pair of flawless, unheated Paraiba tourmalines weighing 71.239 and 72.844 carats, will headline its High Jewelry auction on September 17. It's being billed as the largest flawless matched pair of Paraiba tourmalines ever offered at public auction.
A Two-Decade Journey From Rough Crystal to Record Pair
The story starts in 2003, when gem hunter Don Kogen uncovered an 830-carat Paraiba tourmaline crystal in the Mavuco district of Mozambique's Nampula province. The stone sat uncut for years before Kogen, working with jewelry designer Kat Florence, decided to cut it. The first attempt, a 315-carat stone, suffered from windowing, an optical flatness that dulls a gem's inner fire despite its size. Rather than settle, Florence's atelier re-cut the material entirely, eventually producing the matched oval pair now heading to Sotheby's.
This isn't Florence's first record-breaking piece. The 'Kat Florence Lumina,' a related 181.61-carat Paraiba tourmaline from the same rough material, previously sold at Bonhams Hong Kong. The Luminas pair heading to Sotheby's marks her ninth record piece to reach auction; an eighth, a 424.80-carat flawless Tanzanite necklace, sells at the same event.
Why Paraiba Tourmaline Commands This Kind of Attention
Paraiba tourmaline owes its rarity to a specific copper content that produces its distinctive neon blue-green color, a combination found in only a handful of deposits worldwide. Flawless clarity at this size, combined with a fully documented, unheated origin, is what separates a merely rare stone from a genuinely historic one.
Gubelin Gem Lab, one of the industry's most respected authorities, graded the pair 'Exceptional,' with a rare 92.1 score confirming both clarity and the absence of any heat treatment. That kind of independent, lab-certified documentation is exactly what collectors and specialists look for when a claim of rarity needs to hold up beyond a seller's own description.
The Formula Holds Again
A well-documented origin story stretching back to a single crystal in the ground. Independent laboratory certification rather than a seller's word. Genuine scarcity within a category where flawless, unheated material of this size essentially doesn't exist elsewhere. It's the same combination that's driven headline results across this market all year, this time in a pair of gemstones small enough to hold in one hand.