blue diamond – Page 4 – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

$14M Blue Diamond to Headline Christie’s Geneva

A fancy deep blue diamond ring with a high estimate of CHF 14 million will go under the hammer at Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction next month.

The 7.03 carat stone, mounted by Moussaieff, will lead the November auction, Christie’s said Thursday. Another prominent lot is a 46.93 carat, D color, internally flawless diamond ring, which is expected to fetch CHF 3.8 million to 4.5 million.

Christie’s will also offer a 42.97 carat Burmese sapphire pendant, valued at up to CHF 3 million, and a pair of untreated Colombian emerald earrings, each weighing over 7.5 carats, with a presale estimate of CHF 1 million to 1.5 million.

Other items on offer include a rare Belle Époque brooch, dated circa 1910, which was procured by the Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba at the height of her career. The turquoise and diamond piece is valued at CHF 250,000 to CHF 350,000.

The sale also encompasses several Art Deco pieces from Cartier. Three brooches, formerly in the collection of Countess Béatrice of Granard OBE, have a high presale estimate of CHF 220,000. A diamond Cartier bandeau, which can also be worn as a choker, two bracelets and a brooch, is valued at up to CHF 500,000.

Highlights from the collection are available for viewing at Christie’s London on October 22 and 23, and at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, Geneva, from November 7 to 12.

Source: Diamonds.net

$1.2M for Van Cleef Ring Target At Bonhams

Bonhams will spotlight a 2.17 carat Van Cleef & Arpels blue diamond ring at its upcoming sale, estimating it will fetch $800,000 to $1.2 million USD.

The emerald cut, fancy intense blue, VVS2 clarity diamond is accented by round brilliant cut diamonds. The piece, from a private collection, will lead the September 26 New York Jewels auction.

Other pieces from the Van Cleef collection include an oval shaped, 21.56 carat Burmese sapphire ring flanked by diamonds, valued at $250,000 to $350,000. An emerald cut, 6.09 carat, fancy vivid yellow diamond ring, surrounded by white diamonds, is estimated at $140,000 to $180,000.

The sale will also feature a round brilliant cut, 11.11 carat, E color, VS2 clarity diamond, which is expected to go under the hammer for $250,000 to $450,000. A 24.64 carat, fancy yellow diamond ring, centered between two white diamonds, is valued at $270,000 to $370,000, while a cushion shaped, modified brilliant cut, fancy deep pink diamond ring weighing 2.42 carats carries an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000.

Several Art Deco pieces, including two items from the estate of German silent-film actor Joseph Schildkraut, will also be up for auction.

Bonhams will hold an exhibition tour of the pieces in Los Angeles, Hong Kong and New York prior to the sale.

Source: Diamonds.net

Botswana unveils rare 20 carat blue diamond

Botswana’s state run Okavango Diamond Company unveiled on Wednesday what is believed to be the largest blue diamond ever discovered in the southern African country, which is one of the world’s top producers.

The 20.46 carat, oval-shape fancy precious rock has been named “The Okavango Blue” in honour of the Okavango Delta, the country’s wildlife rich world heritage site.

From all coloured diamonds, blue stones are the most unusual and so the miner says its find is one of the rarest in the world.

“It is incredibly unusual for a stone of this colour and nature to have come from Botswana a once in lifetime find, which is about as rare as a star in the Milky Way,” Okavango Diamond Company managing director Marcus ter Haar said in a statement.

“It sits in the very top bracket of all time historical blue diamond finds especially because only a very small percentage of the world’s diamonds are classified as fancy colour,” he noted, adding the company expects to sell the stone by the end of the year.

In 2016, a massive intense blue diamond, known as The Cullinan Dream, sold for $25.4 million at a Christie’s auction in New York, breaking all records and becoming the most expensive gem of its kind ever sold at auction.

Last year, a 6.16 carat blue diamond, secretly passed down through European royalty over three centuries, fetched $6.7 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva $1.4 million more than what experts expected it to be sold for.

Arguably, the most famous is the Hope Diamond, also known as Le Bijou du Roi “the King’s Jewel”, Le bleu de France “France’s Blue”, and the Tavernier Blue. The massive, 45.52 carat, deep blue diamond is now kept at the U.S. National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Botswana, which was overtaken by Russia as the world’s top diamond producing country in 2014, is grappling with aging mines, as well as power and water shortages.

Still, diamonds are the country’s main source of income and account for about 80% of its exports.

The nation is home to some of the world’s most prolific diamond mines, including Lucara Diamond’s Karowe operation, where the now famous Lesedi la Rona, the second-largest gem-quality diamond to ever be found, was unearthed in 2016.

Source: Mining.com

Dubai Police recover $20 million diamond stolen from UAE-based company

Police analysed thousands of hours of CCTV footage and questioned over 100 people to investigate the daring theft of a $20 million diamond from the vault of a Dubai based company.

Police were alerted about a robbery of a rare stone 9.33 carat after an unknown person broke through three security gates to get to the company’s vault on May 25. “The security system of the vault requires a group of employees to open the last gate simultaneously. Despite the precautionary measures, the suspect managed to steal the diamond.

In a major operation, Dubai Police recovered the diamond from Sri Lanka after it was smuggled out of the UAE in a shoe box by sea, an official said.

The suspect, a guard working with the money transfer company, was arrested in the UAE. After stealing the diamond, he gave it to a relative who smuggled the precious stone out of the UAE by hiding it in a sports shoe box, the police said.

The Asian suspect, who worked for the company. was arrested in a neighbouring emirate, had managed to break through three security gates to the vault to steal the diamond.

Blues Lead Fancy Colour Prices

A Twin Stone Pear Brilliant cut Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond

Fancy blue diamonds out performed other major color categories in price terms during the first quarter, the Fancy Color Research Foundation said.

Prices for fancy blues jumped 5% year on year for the three months ending March 31, according to the FCRF, which released its quarterly Fancy Color Diamond Index on Monday.

By contrast, prices of fancy pink diamonds declined 1.7%, while the index for yellows slipped 0.6%, the organization said. The overall index for fancy color diamonds edged up 0.1%.

Vivid blues and vivid pinks weighing 2 carats showed the best performance in their respective color categories during the quarter.

The Fancy Color Diamond Index tracks prices of fancy yellow, pink and blue diamonds in Hong Kong, New York and Tel Aviv.

Source: diamonds.net

The Farnese Blue diamond

The Farnese Blue diamond a 6.16 carat pear shaped, GIA graded as Fancy dark gray blue.

Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels in Geneva will auction the diamond on May 15.

The history of the diamond : Recovered in Indian Golconda region, the diamond was first given to Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain in 1714.

It then passed to her son Philip, Duke of Parma, and through various Italian nobles ending with the Habsburg family.