DALLAS, TX.- Rarity takes many forms in Heritage’s Dec. 7 Holiday Fine Jewelry Signature® Auction: a technically perfect diamond, four Kashmir sapphires with no evidence of heating and a miniature polar landscape created in an edition of just 22. Together, these highlights anchor an auction that pairs exceptional gemstones with distinctive creations by some of jewelry’s most celebrated designers.

“The word that defines this auction is rarity,” says Jill Burgum, Heritage’s Executive Director of Fine Jewelry. “A Flawless diamond is remarkable on its own. To offer it alongside four unheated Kashmir sapphires gives bidders several very different opportunities to find something truly special.”

The 3.52-carat rectangular step-cut diamond at the center of a custom-made platinum and 18k gold ring brings that theme into sharp focus. Graded D color and Flawless clarity by the Gemological Institute of America, the stone also carries the rare Type IIa classification, noted for exceptional chemical purity and superior optical transparency. Its clean geometry is complemented by a mounting handcrafted for its current owner.

The Kashmir sapphires offer another expression of rarity. Among the rarest natural gemstones, Kashmir sapphires were historically recovered from the remote Zanskar mountain range in the Himalayas, dating back to 1881. Production lasted only a few years after discovery, and mining has ceased for over a century.

Heritage’s auction offers four rings showing the coveted stones in markedly different settings. An 8.15-carat emerald-cut Kashmir sapphire commands a three-stone platinum ring, flanked by emerald-cut diamonds totaling 3.56 carats. A 7.33-carat cushion-shaped Kashmir sapphire is set in a ring with brushed 18k gold on the exterior and a platinum inner band. Its AGL Prestige Gemstone Report confirms Kashmir origin with no heat enhancement.

History adds to the appeal of a 3.28-carat cushion-shaped Kashmir sapphire ring from the Estate of Walter Lippmann, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and political commentator. A halo of European-cut diamonds surrounds the blue center stone, which is accompanied by GIA and AGL reports confirming Kashmir origin and no evidence of heating.

An antique ring completes the quartet, pairing a cushion-shaped Kashmir sapphire weighing approximately 3.00 carats with approximately 1.75 carats of European-cut diamonds. The sapphire has a GIA “Royal Blue” designation, and GIA and AGL reports confirm its Kashmir origin with no heat treatment detected. A platinum gallery and 18k gold band give the jewel a delicacy distinct from the larger, more architectural settings.

The auction’s cover lot brings a more playful expression of scarcity to the holiday season. Van Cleef & Arpels’ Lady Arpels “Paysage Polaire” Extraordinary Dials watch is numbered 6 in an edition of just 22. On its dial, a diamond-set polar bear and her two cubs inhabit an Arctic scene of layered mother-of-pearl marquetry and blue enamel. A glacial arch rises behind the family, while diamonds frame the composition at the bezel and accent the lugs and crown. The 18k white gold timepiece turns a winter scene into a miniature masterwork.

Exceptional color continues with a 1.07-carat Brazilian Paraíba tourmaline that shows no gemological evidence of heat. Offered unmounted, the oval gem delivers vivid blue color and displays a change of color under different lighting conditions. A Colombian emerald and diamond necklace makes a grander statement, arranging approximately 40.00 carats of emerald-cut emeralds with approximately 30.55 carats of pear-shaped and full-cut diamonds in 18k yellow gold.

A Burma ruby and diamond bracelet contributes deep red to the selection. Its alternating pattern pairs octagonal-shaped rubies totaling 15.05 carats with baguette-cut diamonds totaling 7.68 carats in 18k white and yellow gold. An accompanying GIA report identifies the rubies as Burmese in origin and unheated.

For bidders drawn to diamonds of substantial size, the auction’s largest is a 17.75-carat cut-cornered square modified brilliant-cut stone in a Jacques Timey mounting for Harry Winston. Radiating tapered baguettes, round diamonds and layered shoulders frame the center stone in platinum, while an open gallery reveals the setting’s intricate construction.

Like every Fine Jewelry auction at Heritage, the holiday sale also features a fabulous array of designer brands represented in Bvlgari, Cartier, Lalaounis, Margot McKinney, Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arpels and David Webb, among many others.

A Cartier Art Deco bracelet combines approximately 26.50 carats of carré-cut diamonds with approximately 15.00 carats of square-shaped sapphires in platinum, while a Daniel Arsham collaboration with Tiffany & Co. brings a contemporary sculptural approach. The limited-edition T1 bracelet combines diamonds and green tsavorite garnets in 18k white gold and is accompanied by a Venus of Arles bust that opens to reveal the jewel. Created in an edition of 186, the design makes its presentation part of the artwork.

The selection also includes a diamond-clasp Van Cleef & Arpels gold purse, a white-enamel David Webb cuff with diamond-set lightning-shaped accents and a circa 1970 Bvlgari Monete bracelet featuring a $20 Saint-Gaudens gold coin. Boulder opal earrings by Margot McKinney and a textured gold collar by Ilias Lalaounis add still more approaches to color and form.