12-Carat ‘Martian Pink’ Diamond Could Fetch $10 Million

12.04-ct. fancy intense pink Type IIa round brilliant-cut diamond ring, by Harry Winston. © Christie's Images Limited 2012

The largest round fancy intense pink diamond to ever appear at auction will be part of Christie’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels sale on May 29. The 12-ct. diamond is estimated to fetch $8 - $10 million.

The extremely rare diamond is owned by a private collector. It was purchased from Harry Winston in 1976—the same year, the United States launched its first satellite on a mission to Mars: The Viking landers. Ronald Winston named the diamond the “Martian Pink” to honor the historic event.

The Martian Pink is one of two known significant sized round pink diamonds in this world—the other being the 23.60-carat Williamson Pink diamond that was presented to Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of her wedding in 1947. While most natural pink diamonds exhibit a color modifier like purple, orange or grey, the gem that is up for auction “shows absolutely no trace of a secondary color, making it exceedingly rare,” the auction house said. “Combined with a Type IIa characteristic, the diamond shows an extraordinary limpidity together with a lovely intense pink coloration.”

11.85-ct. D VVS1 potential round brilliant-cut diamond ring, by Harry Winston. © Christie's Images Limited 2012

A second item from Harry Winston, an 11.85-carat D VVS1 Potentially Flawless round brilliant-cut diamond, is being offered. “Its dimensions, perfected by the round brilliant cut, ensures a stunning visual display of brilliance,” the auction house said. “Combined with top D color, this brilliant-cut diamond is a wonderful example of the classic round stone.” The auction estimate is $1.7 - $2.5 million.

Giant Natural Pearl Sells for $254,500 at Christie’s Dubai

A baroque drop-shaped natural pearl weighing 239.7 grains (59.92 carats) sold for $254,500 at Christie’s Dubai sale of Important Jewels on Wednesday. The pearl, set on a diamond foliate surmount with a spectacle-set diamond chain 42 cm. long, is the largest saltwater pearl ever recorded, according to the international auction house.

It was once part of the collection of Valda Virginia Vaughn Scott, the daughter of an English diplomat and a member of the Alessi family. Her grandfather and great-grandfather served in the Royal Malta Regiment and the Malta Crown Advocate, and they were in turn descended from the Maltese nobleman, the Marquis di Taflia.

The pearl’s provenance along with its size speaks to its value, said David Warren, International Director of Christie’s Jewellery department and Head of Jewellery Middle East.

“Natural pearls of this size are rarely seen on the jewelry market and when offered they attract international interest,” he said. “The buyer is from the region, a traditional hot spot of the finest natural pearl enthusiasts. To date this is the largest natural pearl we have offered in Dubai.”

The auction of diamonds, gemstones, natural pearls, contemporary and signed jewelry, held at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel, took in more than $3.9 million.

A diamond and colored diamond jewelry suite fetched $542,500, the highest sales of the event. In addition to the quality of the materials and design, this jewelry suite is distinguished by the way it coverts from a dual necklace to a tiara with ear clips.

The front of the necklace, designed as a detachable swag, has five graduated diamond flowerheads, three flowerheads mounted with a brilliant-cut fancy intense yellow diamond of 3.57, 3.11 and 3 cts. each, surrounded by a diamond cluster center to the similarly-set diamond petals. These are alternated by two similarly-set diamond flowerheads, each mounted with a brilliant-cut diamond weighing 2.02 and 2.01 cts. to the marquise-cut diamond petals, interspersed by connecting links of pear-shaped fancy vivid and fancy intense diamonds of yellow and orange hues and diamonds of foliate motif. The back of the necklace accented by brilliant-cut yellow diamond spacers, converts to form a tiara; with ear clips en suite composed of two brilliant-cut fancy intense yellow diamonds weighing 3.52 and 3.49 cts. each, with diamond-set leather fitted cases.

The suite is accompanied by 27 Gemological Institute of America reports stating that quality and characteristics of the various diamonds.

A ring centered by a 25.01-ct. fancy brownish greenish yellow diamond flanked by two shield-shaped diamonds weighing a total of 2.40 cts. was sold for $410,500, well-above its pre-auction high estimate of 350,000.

A diamond jewelry suite consisting of necklace, ring and earrings all with a heart-shape theme sold for $266,500—above its high estimate of $260,000. 

The suite is composed of a detachable pendant mounted with two graduated heart-shaped diamond collets weighing 5.77 and 4.01 cts. each to the similarly-set graduated heart-shaped diamond neck chain; Matching ear pendants, each suspending a heart-shaped diamond drop weighing 3.49 and 3.42 carats to the diamond surmount weighing 2.19 and 2.11 cts. each; Ring mounted with a heart-shaped diamond weighing 2 carats to the tapered baguette-cut diamond shoulders with plain hoop.

It is accompanied by seven reports from the Gemological Institute of America the Antwerp Diamond High Council.

Diamonds Fetch Large Sums at Christie’s with a Notable Exception

A fancy vivid blue diamond that sold for $3.67 million at Christie's.

It was a mixed bag of results at Christie’s New York Magnificent Jewels sale Tuesday. A 10.09 fancy vivid purplish-pink diamond, with a pre-auction estimate of $12 to $15 million, did not sell. However, five diamonds sold for more than a million dollars. Two sapphire rings also were among the top 10 items sold by price at the auction.

“While we were disappointed that the 10-ct. purple-pink diamond did not find a buyer, top-quality white, blue, pink and yellow diamonds fared very well, with a strong price of $3.67 million, or $1.1 million per carat achieved for a fancy vivid blue diamond,” said Rahul Kadakia, head of Jewelry for Christie’s Americas. “In all, five top jewels exceeded the $1 million mark, with heavy competition among both trade buyers and private collectors for colorless diamonds, large gemstones, and signed jewels.”

That square emerald-cut fancy vivid blue IF blue diamond mentioned by Kadakia (top picture) had a weight of 3.25 cts.

The big winner in terms of total dollars for the evening was a 37.16-ct. cut-cornered rectangular-cut D IF diamond, which sold for nearly $4.5 million, or $120,000 per carat.

Other diamonds that did well included:

 * A 6.61-ct. rectangular-cut fancy intense pink diamond of VS2 clarity, which sold $3.5 million, or $540,000 per carat; 

 * A 50.29-ct. modified cushion-cut fancy vivid yellow VS1 diamond ring by Carvin French, which sold for more than $2.5 million  ($51,000 per carat); and

* A 16.41-ct. pear-shaped D color VS1 diamond ring by Van Cleef & Arpels (not shown), which sold for nearly $1.1 million ($66,000 per carat).

 The two sapphires rings that earned significant attention at the auction were a 10.06-ct. Art Deco Kashmir sapphire ring of by Tiffany & Co., circa 1920 (pictured left), which sold for $746,500 ($74,000 per carat); and a 40.66-ct. A cushion-cut Burmese sapphire and diamond ring that fetched $542,500 ($13,000 per carat).

The sale took in just under $31.8 million. A total of 224 lots were sold, amounting to 80 percent of the 281 lots offered.

Nothing Says Valentine’s Day Like a 56-Ct. Heart-Shaped Diamond

Photo from Lorre White, “The Luxury Guru,” website

International auction house Christie’s will be offering a 56.15-ct. heart-shaped diamond at the Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale on May 18. The D color, internally flawless, exceptionally white diamond is expected to fetch from $9 million to $12 million. While the sale is well after Valentine’s Day, it certainly isn’t too late to promise the romantic gem to the special person in your life.

Christie’s Jewelry, Jadeite and Watch Sales Totaled $518 Million in 2010

“The Perfect Pink,” a 14.23ct. intense pink gem achieved $23.2 million in Hong Kong in November, 2010, to become the most expensive jewel ever sold in Asia.

Led by spectacular colored diamonds, jewelry sales at Christie’s International totaled a new record of $426.4 million, smashing the previous record of $395 million set in 2007. The international auction house said each of its major sales regions experienced significant increases, most notably Asia with (up 73 percent) and Europe (up 70 percent).

“This tremendous leap in Christie's results is due to a renewed confidence in the jewelry market, seen all over the world,” the company said in a statement. “With many new buyers in Europe, the U.S. and naturally Asia actively participating at a high level, competition has become more intense than ever for rare jewels and gems of the highest quality. In particular, collectors from Mainland China have become a formidable force as they bid enthusiastically on many top pieces, displaying a continued passion for jadeite and growing connoisseurship of ‘Western’ jewelry.”

Colored diamonds were undoubtedly the highlight of the year, with “The Perfect Pink,” a 14.23ct intense pink gem achieving $23.2 million in Hong Kong in November, becoming the most expensive jewel ever sold in Asia. Similarly, The Bulgari Blue (left), a two-stone ring featuring a 10.95ct vivid blue and a 9.87ct G, VS1 diamond, fetched $15.8 million or a world record $1.4 million per carat for the blue gem.

“Based on current market demand, the focus in 2011 will undoubtedly be the search for gems of the highest quality, historic diamonds and colored stones, as well as rare signed jewels, which international collectors consider the most desirable today,” Christie’s said.

In addition, 2010 was a strong year for Christie’s watch sales, which realized a record-breaking $91.2 million. Every watch sale hosted at Christie’s salerooms in Dubai, Hong Kong, Geneva, and in New York achieved sell-through rates above 90 percent by value and the top watch of the year was a unique Patek Philippe Reference 1527 manufactured in 1943 that sold for a record $5.7 million at Christie’s Geneva.

In total, jewelry, jadeite and watch sales took in $518 million for the auction house.

Total sales for Christie’s rose a spectacular 53 percent in 2010 to $5 billion, the highest sales total in the 245 year history of the firm. The figure is also the highest annual sales total ever recorded in the industry. Sales totals include private sales of $572.4 million, a year-over-year increase of 39 percent.