Books, Brilliance and a 28.88-Carat Diamond—Inside the De Beers Assouline Launch Party Ahead of a Landmark Auction
The Jwaneng 28.88 is expected to fetch up to $2.8 million at auction, but first, it landed in London
If ranking London's most underrated locations, Piccadilly's Assouline would easily take a top spot. Seductive with its dark oak bookshelves and old-school bar, yet almost secretive, it's the perfect place for a party—particularly one that unveils both a remarkable 28.88-carat diamond and a beautiful coffee table book. Which is exactly why De Beers chose the London location for a special event on Wednesday 18th March. That, and the fact that Assouline crafted the coffee table book itself, celebrating 100 years of the the diamond house's storytelling and its close relationship with diamonds.
Among the guests at the launch of A Diamond Is Forever – The Making of a Cultural Icon were Poppy Delevingne, Nathalie Emmanuel, Susie Lau, Melissa Holdbrook-Akposoe, Archie Madekwe, and many more particularly polished attendees. All gathered to celebrate 240 pages charting De Beers' role—from redefining how we approach diamonds in the 1930s, to this historic images of Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe in the 1960s, to more recent campaigns—all anchored by copywriter Frances Gerety's phrase "A Diamond Is Forever," which has defined De Beers since 1947.
Speaking of the book, Al Cook, Chief Executive Officer of the De Beers Group, says: "humanity's love of diamonds goes back thousands of years. Their beauty, strength and rarity make them the most treasured of Earth's creations."
"Over the past century, De Beers has shared the love of diamonds across the world. A Diamond is Forever, The Making of a Cultural Icon and this exhibition chart 100 years of storytelling, creativity, and artistry—honouring how natural diamonds carry stories across billions of years, from deep within the Earth to the hands of those who treasure them," he adds. In a particularly exciting turn, guests were then treated to seeing a standout natural diamond firsthand.
Ahead of its auction debut on 23rd April at Sotheby's Luxury Sales in Hong Kong, De Beers unveiled the Jwaneng 28.88—a 28.88-carat, internally flawless, D-colour diamond from the Jwaneng mine in the Kalahari Desert, Botswana. It's expected to fetch between $2.2 and $2.8 million at auction.
So, clearly, the British-based brand has plenty to celebrate. And if you aren't quite ready to try your hand at the auction, investing in A Diamond Is Forever – The Making of a Cultural Icon would still feel especially wise.
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