Christie’s in Hong Kong

54ct. Diamond Crushes Estimate at Christie’s

The 54.03-carat Chrysler Diamond necklace was among the top sellers at the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale in New York, bringing in $5.1 million.

The pear-shaped, D-color, internally flawless stone was originally purchased by Harry Winston in 1958 from the estate of Thelma Chrysler Foy, the daughter of railroad and automotive executive Walter Chrysler. The necklace beat its high estimate of $4.5 million at the June 8 auction, which garnered $26.6 million in total, Christie’s said Tuesday.

Also headlining the sale was the Dancing Sun, a cushion modified brilliant-cut, 204.36-carat, fancy-intense-yellow, VVS2-clarity diamond, the largest originating in North America. The stone sold for $5 million, near the upper end of its valuation.

The Flawless Match, a ring featuring a pear-shaped, 2.52-carat, fancy-vivid-blue diamond and a pear-shaped, 2.43-carat, D-color, internally flawless, type IIa diamond, fetched $2.9 million, within its estimate. Meanwhile, a collection of 19 jewels by JAR, the largest selection of the designer’s pieces offered at auction, went for a total of $5.9 million. That set was led by a diamond bracelet called Branch Under Snow, which achieved $1.9 million, more than three times its high estimate.

The auction house sold 87% of items at the event. Before the live sale, it also held a Jewels Online auction that raked in $3.5 million, with 97% of lots finding buyers.

Source: Diamonds.net

The Largest Diamond Ever Mined in North America up for Auction

*204.36-carat “Dancing Sun” fancy intense yellow diamond*

A 204.36 carat fancy yellow diamond hits the block at the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction on June 8 in New York City. The Dancing Sun, with an estimate of $3.5 million to $5.5 million, is the largest polished diamond ever mined in North America.

It was cut from a piece of rough weighing 552.74 carats. Six smaller diamonds were cut from the same rough, ranging from 14.52 to 1.06 carats, and are also included in the sale. All six are set into rings. The rough diamond came from the Diavik Diamond Mine, the second to open following the great Canadian diamond rush of the 1990s.

The previous record for the largest known gem quality rough ever mined in North America was the 187.66 carat Foxfire rough, also mined at Diavik. It was cut into several gems, including a pair of pear shapes weighing 37.87 and 36.80 carats, auctioned at Christie’s New York in December 2018 for $1.5 million.

Largest ever Russian diamond to be auctioned at Christie’s

100.94 carat D colour, internally flawless,
christies, — *100.94 carat D colour, internally flawless rectangular step-cut diamond*

Alrosa Spectacle, a 100.94 carat diamond that is thought to be the largest ever cut in Russia, will be auctioned in Geneva later this month.

The diamond could fetch between 12 million and 18 million Swiss francs ($13.32 million – $19.96 million) when it goes under the hammer at Christie’s May 12.

“This fantastic 100 carat D color diamond was cut from a rough stone that originally weighed more than 200 carats. It was called the Sergei Diaghilev rough diamond and it was mined in 2016,” Marie-Cecile Cisamolo, a specialist in the auction house’s jewelry department, said.

“Between the rough and diamond that we’re offering today, it took one year and eight months to cut into this perfect stone.”

The diamond is one of 144 lots on offer in the sale, which also includes rings, earrings, brooches and other pieces made with diamonds, sapphires and rubies.

Source: dailysabah

Christie’s to Auction $12M Pink Diamond Ring

A fancy-intense-pink diamond ring with a high estimate of CHF 11 million ($12 million) is set to feature in the Magnificent Jewels sale at Christie’s Geneva.

The oval-shaped, 15.23-carat piece, surrounded by diamonds, will be offered alongside the 100.94-carat Alrosa Spectacle diamond at the May 12 auction, Christie’s said last week.

Other notable items include a heart-shaped, 53.33-carat, D-color, VVS1-clarity, type IIa diamond pendant with a high valuation of CHF 3 million ($3.3 million). A pear-shaped, 141.22-carat, fancy-brown-yellow diamond set in a diamond necklace is also on offer, carrying a high estimate of CHF 2.8 million ($3.1 million).

Meanwhile, a ring featuring a 47-carat, cushion-shaped old mine Colombian emerald surrounded by diamonds will go under the hammer. The jewel, which is from an important private collection, carries a high presale estimate of CHF 1.6 million ($1.7 million).

Christie’s will also sell a rectangular cut-cornered, 8.06-carat, fancy-purplish-pink, VVS2-clarity diamond ring bracketed by tapered baguette-cut diamonds. The piece, created by Boucheron, has a high valuation of CHF 1.5 million ($1.6 million).

Christie’s will preview the items from May 8. The sale will also feature an online component, which will be open for bidding between April 29 and May 10.

Source: Diamonds.net

Christie’s Gets Colorful with New York Auction

Three rings featuring diamonds with fancy-vivid color will head up the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction in New York next month.

The trio of jewels, called the Perfect Palette, comprises a 2.13-carat, fancy-vivid-blue diamond ring, estimated at $2 million to $3 million, Christie’s said Tuesday. Also included are a 2.34-carat, fancy-vivid-orange diamond ring and a 2.17-carat, fancy-vivid-purplish-pink diamond ring, both with a high valuation of $2.5 million. Each will be offered as a separate lot at the April 13 sale, the auction house added.

Other notable items are two oval modified brilliant-cut diamonds. The first — a 25.55-carat, fancy-vivid-yellow, VS1-clarity diamond ring — has a high estimate of $1.2 million, while the 6.56-carat, fancy-intense-orangey-pink, VVS1-clarity diamond ring carries an upper valuation of $1 million.

An oval mixed-cut, 3.02-carat, fancy-vivid-purplish-pink, SI2-clarity diamond ring, set with round pink diamonds on the band, is estimated at up to $1.5 million. Christie’s will offer that piece without reserve.

Meanwhile, a pear brilliant-cut, 38.04-carat, D-flawless, type IIa diamond ring with a high estimate of $3.5 million will feature as a top lot. An emerald-cut, 14.50-carat, D-color, internally flawless, type IIa diamond valued at up to $1 million is also up for sale, as are signed pieces by designers Suzanne Belperron, Bulgari, Cartier, David Webb, Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Verdura.

Christie’s will hold a concurrent Online Jewels auction from April 8 to 20, featuring a selection of items from Bulgari, Cartier and Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co., among others. The auction house has not decided whether it will hold an in-person sale or conduct live bidding over the phone and online, a spokesperson told Rapaport News.

Source: diamonds.net

24ct. Yellow Diamond Beats Estimate at Christie’s

A 23.58-carat diamond ring was the top lot at Christie’s Jewels Online sale, fetching well above its high estimate.

The piece, which featured a cut-cornered rectangular modified brilliant-cut, fancy-yellow, SI1-clarity stone, bracketed by two triangular-cut diamonds, brought in $325,000 against its $300,000 upper estimate, Christie’s said Wednesday. In total, the auction running from January 27 to February 10 garnered $2.7 million, with 98% of the items on offer finding buyers.

Two diamond rings sold for $81,250 each, just above their high valuations. One contained a round, 4.18-carat, F-color, VS2-clarity diamond. The other was set with an emerald-cut, 3.56-carat, D-color, internally flawless, type IIa diamond, flanked by two smaller emerald-cut and two triangular-cut diamonds. A diamond medallion necklace by Graff, bearing a total weight of 35.38 carats, also realized $81,250, within estimates.

A number of Graff diamond and gemstone jewels were sold without reserve at the auction. Those included a pair of emerald and diamond earrings, which brought in $40,000, beating estimates, and a ruby and diamond ring, which smashed its high valuation, fetching $32,500.

Meanwhile, a pair of aluminum Violet earrings by designer JAR garnered $13,750, more than four times their upper estimate.

Source: Diamonds.net

28 Carat Diamond Could Fetch $2 Million At Christie’s Online Auction

Christie’s is offering the largest D-color diamond to be sold at an online auction. What may be more important is that this sale could establish a new way of selling statement diamonds and gems.

A 28.86 carat, D color, VVS1 clarity diamond is the top lot at Christie’s Jewels Online sale, June 16 – 20. Its estimate is $1 million – $2 million, making it the highest valued lot ever offered for sale online at Christie’s.

With live auctions closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic, auction houses have turned to its already robust infrastructure of online auctions and it has paid off for the two largest auction houses, Christie’s and Sotheby’s, with sell-through rates well above 90 percent and many items surpassing estimates. However, what is being sold is limited to signed and unsigned period jewels at lower values than what are normally sold at live auctions.

Christie’s to auction largest, finest pink diamond in its history

The largest and finest fancy vivid pink diamond ever offered at auction by Christie’s it’s about to go under its hammer in Geneva, with experts expecting it to fetch a record price of between $30 million and $50 million.

The Pink Legacy was once owned by the Oppenheimer family, the former owners of De Beers.The rectangular cut diamond, named Pink Legacy, was once part of the Oppenheimer collection, Christie’s said, referring to the family who built De Beers into the world’s No. 1 diamond producer.

It’s rated “vivid”, which is the highest rating for a diamond’s colour, as it displays the optimum hue of the stone. At 18.96 carats, is also the largest fancy vivid pink diamond Christie’s has ever offered and it would lead its Magnificent Jewels auction in November.

“To find a diamond of this size with this colour is pretty much unreal,” Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Jewellery at Christie’s said in a statement. “You may see this colour in a pink diamond of less than one carat. But this is almost 19 carats and it’s as pink as can be. It’s unbelievable.’

Scientists classify diamonds into two main “types” Type I and Type II. In the latter, the diamond has a particularly rare, almost homogenous colour. “Pink diamonds fall under the rare Type IIa category of diamonds,” Kadakia said. “These are stones that have little if any trace of nitrogen, and make up less than two per cent of all gem diamonds. Type IIa stones are some of the most chemically pure diamonds often with exceptional transparency and brilliance.”

Pink Diamonds have been fetching record prices at auctions. The 59.6 carat Pink Star diamond, in fact, sold for $71.2 million in April last year, becoming most expensive gem ever sold that way.

In November, another pink rock set in a ring embellished with smaller diamonds sold for about $32 million at Christie’s in Hong Kong after a three-minute contest.

The Pink Legacy will be shown in Hong Kong, London and New York before being auctioned in Geneva on Nov. 13.