Jewels In The Crown

In a Bazaar exclusive: Rahul Kadakia, international head of jewellery at Christie’s, on the most spectacular diamonds to ever go to auction

I never intended to get into the world of auction houses, but I suppose, looking back, it was a natural extension. Born into a family of jewellery dealers, I have been surrounded by jewels and gemstones from a young age, and worked in the family business for five years before enrolling at the GIA in Los Angeles. Then, in 1996, 23 years ago, Christie’s recruited a few young students to join them, and I’ve been with the company ever since.

Over the years I’ve seen my fair share of spectacular jewels go up for action: The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor: The Legendary Jewels was one of the highlights of my career. It was such a record-breaker (totalling nearly $116 million) because the jewellery was fantastic—with pieces from Cartier, Boucheron, every major house, the very best of every facet of the jewellery world—but also because Elizabeth Taylor was a humanitarian, with so much romance in her life.