Historic 1939 World’s Fair Necklace with Newly Acquired 80-Carat Diamond

If diamonds are a girl’s best friend, then this is one heck of a companion.

The fine jewelry empire has acquired an 80-carat diamond, described as “an extraordinary oval diamond,” that it will use to reimagine a beautiful piece it created for the 1939’s World Fair in Queens, New York. The sparkly stunner is the largest diamond that the company has ever offered, surpassed only by The Tiffany Diamond, the famed diamond discovered in South Africa in 1877 that was acquired the next year by founder Charles Lewis Tiffany for $18,000 and is famously not for sale. According to Town & Country, this new diamond is expected to fetch more than $10 million.

Tiffany plans to unveil the reimagined 1939 necklace with this yet-to-be-named diamond when its flagship location on 57th Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan reopens in 2022. “What better way to mark the opening of our transformed Tiffany flagship store in 2022 than to reimagine this incredible necklace from the 1939 World’s Fair, one of our most celebrated pieces when we opened our doors on 57th Street and Fifth Avenue for the first time,” said Victoria Reynolds, Tiffany & Co. Chief Gemologist, in the company press release. “The new necklace perfectly reflects our brand heritage as a New York luxury jeweler, whose founder was known as the ‘King of Diamonds.'”

When the original necklace which showcased a prominent aquamarine gem surrounded by diamonds in lieu of a central diamond — was presented at the 1939 World’s Fair, millions were said to flock to the dazzling piece and marvel at its beauty. The spectacle took place on the eve of Tiffany’s opening its signature outpost on Manhattan’s tony Fifth Avenue in 1940. Now, a similar moment plays out as jewelry fans eagerly anticipate the reopening of Tiffany’s iconic New York City flagship location next year and the new necklace.

A 2022 trip to the Big Apple to browse some diamonds and check out the reenvisioned World’s Fair necklace? We sure hope the pandemic is well behind us by then, and we can make like Audrey Hepburn on a whirlwind adventure of our own.