Rare Diamonds Blow Away Estimates at Sotheby’s

The royal pedigreed Farnese Blue as well as two jumbo size D flawless stones all zoomed past their estimates at Sotheby’s May 15 auction in Geneva, showing that life remains in the high end gem market.
The 6.16 ct. Farnese Blue nabbed $6.7 million ($1.09 million per ct.), a substantial improvement over its $3.6 million $5.2 million estimate. Its buyer was anonymous.

The pear shape blue gray Farnese’s price was undoubtedly boosted by its unique heritage: Originally given to Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain, as a wedding present in 1715, it passed through four royal families, although its existence was a closely guarded secret until recently. The gem (pictured, below) is believed to have originated from India’s historic Golconda diamond mine, one of the world’s first gem producers and the source of the Hope and Wittelsbach diamonds.

Daniela Mascetti, senior director and deputy chairman of jewelry at Sotheby’s Europe, said in a statement: “The Farnese Blue is quite simply an unforgettable diamond, and everyone who set their eyes on it was mesmerized by its extraordinary color  the rich blue of the deepest ocean.”

Also doing well were two Botswana mined D flawless type IIa diamonds  a 51.71 ct. round (below, left)  and a 50.39 ct. oval (below, right). Both topped their estimates as well as the price fetched by the Farnese Blue. The round sold for $9.3 million ($178,918 per ct.), and the oval fetched $8.1 million ($161,219 per ct.).


If all that weren’t enough, two purplish pink diamonds set auction records. A 9.7 ct. fancy light purplish pink (below, left)  fetched $2.5 million ($267,290 per ct.), setting a new record price for a fancy light purplish pink as well as a new record price per ct. A 2.63 ct. fancy vivid purplish pink (below, right) fetched $2.4 million ($917,443 per ct.), which is a new record price for a fancy vivid purplish pink.


All in all, the auction set five world records and sold 80 percent of its lots, with 70 percent of the lots selling above their high estimates.

Top: Caroline Lang, chairman of Sotheby’s Switzerland, auctioning the Farnese Blue (all photos courtesy of Sotheby’s).

Source: DCLA 

Rare Diamonds Blow Away Estimates at Sotheby’s

The royal pedigreed Farnese Blue as well as two jumbo size D flawless stones all zoomed past their estimates at Sotheby’s May 15 auction in Geneva, showing that life remains in the high end gem market.
The 6.16 ct. Farnese Blue nabbed $6.7 million ($1.09 million per ct.), a substantial improvement over its $3.6 million $5.2 million estimate. Its buyer was anonymous.

The pear shape blue gray Farnese’s price was undoubtedly boosted by its unique heritage: Originally given to Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain, as a wedding present in 1715, it passed through four royal families, although its existence was a closely guarded secret until recently. The gem (pictured, below) is believed to have originated from India’s historic Golconda diamond mine, one of the world’s first gem producers and the source of the Hope and Wittelsbach diamonds.

Daniela Mascetti, senior director and deputy chairman of jewelry at Sotheby’s Europe, said in a statement: “The Farnese Blue is quite simply an unforgettable diamond, and everyone who set their eyes on it was mesmerized by its extraordinary color  the rich blue of the deepest ocean.”

Also doing well were two Botswana mined D flawless type IIa diamonds  a 51.71 ct. round (below, left)  and a 50.39 ct. oval (below, right). Both topped their estimates as well as the price fetched by the Farnese Blue. The round sold for $9.3 million ($178,918 per ct.), and the oval fetched $8.1 million ($161,219 per ct.).


If all that weren’t enough, two purplish pink diamonds set auction records. A 9.7 ct. fancy light purplish pink (below, left)  fetched $2.5 million ($267,290 per ct.), setting a new record price for a fancy light purplish pink as well as a new record price per ct. A 2.63 ct. fancy vivid purplish pink (below, right) fetched $2.4 million ($917,443 per ct.), which is a new record price for a fancy vivid purplish pink.


All in all, the auction set five world records and sold 80 percent of its lots, with 70 percent of the lots selling above their high estimates.

Top: Caroline Lang, chairman of Sotheby’s Switzerland, auctioning the Farnese Blue (all photos courtesy of Sotheby’s).

Source: DCLA 

Blues Lead Fancy Colour Prices

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: DCLA

Blues Lead Fancy Colour Prices

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: DCLA

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Want to save thousands on an Engagement Ring without compromising quality, its simple!

Call DCLA for information before you buy an engagement ring, We will save you $1000’s off your engagement ring purchase, Guaranteed !

Absolutely no obligation for information and advice.
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Diamond Organizations Launch Banking Platform

Two leading industry organizations launched a digital know your customer (KYC) platform at a major banking summit in Mumbai on Friday.

The summit titled “Diamond & Jewellery Financing 2018  Mitigating Risks Efficiently”   addressed the financial industry’s concerns about the diamond sector in the wake of recent fraud cases.

The new platform, released by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) and India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), will bring greater transparency to the diamond industry, and make regulatory compliance more efficient by helping with the due-diligence process, the Belgian organization said.

MyKYCBank is a global compliance platform for the diamond industry. Users can share KYC data with other companies located in Antwerp and India, as well as banks and other financial institutions, the AWDC explained.

“This initiative will improve confidence and boost lending to the sector, and…ensure better sharing of information and transparency and growth of this SME  small and medium sized enterprise sector,” India’s Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said at the summit. “It is important for the banking sector to support the gems and jewelry industry, as it forms an integral part of the country’s gross domestic product.”

The new platform will lower compliance risks for banks, and improve confidence in the sector, said AWDC CEO Ari Epstein.

Source: DCLA