Nirav Modi may have lost his glimmer, but his Rs 13 cr creation still sparkles

A statement piece like the Orchid Ainra necklace will still command a high price whenever it goes up for sale, says auction house Christie’s.

There was a time fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi used to be in the news for selling his statement jewellery pieces for record prices. Today, however, his former customers are left wondering if the hefty sums they paid for his pieces will come to naught.

For at least one customer, however, there seems to be no cause to worry right now. That would be the successful bidder for Modi’s Orchid Ainra necklace (constituting white diamonds and a red hexagonal-shaped one), which was auctioned by Christie’s in 2015 for Rs 13 crore.




Referring to the sale, Rahul Kadakia, international head of jewellery at the auction house, told ETPanache that the piece “was sold because of the value of its [stone’s] size, colour and clarity”.

“So, when it does come back for sale, it will be offered at the market value at that point of time. The market may not be willing to pay a premium for who the designer was and for what has transpired since. But the stone is always going to be worth a certain amount of money,” he said.

According to Kadakia, it is standard practice for gems and jewels that have been auctioned once to come back to the market later.

“There will be a lot of private buying, a lot of institutional buying by museums [at the upcoming Maharajas and Mughal magnificence sale]. But there will also be buying by members of the trade, who buy for their clients or simply to stock and trade. And in the years to come, many of these items will come back on the market,” Kadakia said.