Many who have had the pleasure of seeing The Everest Trophy have marveled at its beauty. Some have even gone as far as calling it a piece of art. Valued at AUD $320,000, the trophy contains 7,777 individual black diamonds and 230 cut brilliantly cut white diamonds. The man behind the trophy is also known for his unique The Championships trophies which have been designed using the rare pink Argyle diamonds. He is Sydney’s leading jeweller and winner of the prestigious De Beers International Award, Nicola Cerrone.
Secretariat’s World in an exclusive interview, found out more about the founder and creative director of the House of Cerrone, Nic Cerrone.
Q- Firstly, everyone who has seen the trophy have not been able to stop talking about its beauty. What is significant & unique about the design and the diamonds, used in the trophy?
A- Thank you. We wanted to achieve something spectacular, representing the significance of The Everest as the world’s richest race on turn and what that means for Australian racing. The large trophy alone took over 900 hours to handcraft in our workshop and was designed in-secret over many months. It contains more than 8,000 diamonds with a value of $320, 000.
We used 570 carats of brilliant cut and black round diamonds, with two round rubies for the eyes, and set in 27kg of silver.
My understanding is that this is the most expensive trophy ever designed for racing.
Q- How old is Cerrone’s involvement with racing in Australia and in-particular with Racing NSW?
A- Cerrone has been in partnership with Racing NSW for over 5 years as the exclusive designer of the trophies. We have created the one-of-a-kind trophies for The Championships and now, The Everest.
In 2014, Cerrone was asked to design the trophies for the new jewel in the crown for Sydney Racing, The Championships.
The trophies include 2000 emeralds for the body of the racehorse – drawing inspiration from Sydney’s reputation as “The Emerald City”, 140 black diamonds were used on the mane and hooves, and rare pink diamond eyes, which are from Australia’s Argyle Mine.
Cerrone constantly strives to push the boundaries in design. We love to take on challenges and be recognized for our quality, unique work – from designing trophies to million dollar racing hat pieces and a chalice for Pope Benedict XVI - this is something I feel has helped differentiate us and attribute to our success over the last 45 years.
Q- Kindly elaborate on the type of diamonds used in The Everest trophy.
A- They are indeed natural black diamonds. The hardest part was cutting such a large quantity of diamonds specially cut to fit the intricate design and shape of the trophy. The white diamonds too were of exceptional quality.
Q- Seeing the passion of desiging beautiful racing trophies, my next question is obviously, whether you own racehorses?
A- I have always had some level of involvement within the racing industry. It has been fantastic to see Sydney Racing growing significantly over the years and with the launch of The Everest, has become a world class event that puts Sydney on the global map and is something for people to look forward to.
Personally, I have always been as passionate about the horses. We actually own a number of retired racehorses who reside on our farm in the Southern Highlands.
Q- And finally, who do you think will win this beautiful trophy?
A- I stick to spectating as am not much of a betting man – however there are some brilliant jockeys, trainers and horses confirmed. It will be a magnificent race !
Published In EverestDiaries Issue 3, Vol 2
click To view the complete The Everest library - http://secretariatsworld.com/magazines/EDII_V3_DM_180729.pdf