From Diamond Investments:
I don’t recall the last time I was wowed by a diamond. When I see so many diamonds, research special diamonds, and discuss large numbers, that amount of zeros has no longer a meaning. It would take something really special to get me excited. Christie’s has just done it! And I think this will be the last one for this year…
Christie’s Aurora Green diamond, to be auctioned in Hong Kong Image credit: Christies’s
In the upcoming Geneva auctions, Sotheby’s and Christie’s together have over 10 diamonds in pink and blue diamonds to be offered to the bidding crowd on the floor, on the phones, and to those that are bidding online. In fact, to be honest, I am a bit skeptical about the quantity of the special diamonds that will be offered in Geneva. I am concerned that there are not enough bidders for all these special diamonds. My concern is not because they are not worth the current estimates (some are worth even more than the high estimates). It is because even these wealthy people still require liquidity at these levels (unless they reach a side agreement with the auction houses), and they need to have the desire to own so many diamonds at any given one time.
I am concerned that the lack of buyers or bidders will end up causing some of the rare and beautiful diamonds not to sell. In the process, it may give the illusion that the unique diamonds are not worth the acquisition, and in turn will hamper the overall demand of fancy color diamonds, a misleading and unfortunate result.
I can honestly say that both Sotheby’s and Christie’s may be blamed if something like this happens. They are both under tremendous pressure from their investors to perform, as 2015 was a bad year for both in terms of jewelry sales in comparison to 2014. However, selling so many rare diamonds at once can prove to be equally harmful. It remains to be seen in less than 2 weeks what will result at the auctions.
Christie’s Unveils World’s Largest Recorded Fancy Vivid Green Ever to be Graded by the GIA
It is not a mistake nor is it a coincidence that the Fancy Vivid Green diamond to be sold at Christie’s Hong Kong was named the “Aurora Green” diamond. A phenomenon like the Aurora Borealis happens once in history, or at least it has been so up until now. The diamond which bears the name of this natural phenomenon is special for several reasons; the color, size, and clarity as well as a surprising characteristic which is unheard of for this color – its lack of Fluorescence.
Aurora Green Diamond
It has only happened once before in the history of either auction house that a Fancy Vivid Green diamond was available for auction. This shows us true rarity, as even the extremely rare diamond colors like pink and blue come up far more often than this. The only other time a Fancy Vivid Green diamond was auctioned was on November 17, 2009 when Sotheby’s auctioned the famous 2.52 carat Fancy Vivid Green diamond at their Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction. It sold for a “world record” of $3,078,914 or $1.222 million per carat.
The 2.52 carat Fancy Vivid Green diamond Image credit: Sotheby’s
During that time, the world was in midst of the global financial crisis, so reaching such a price is more than significant. It also makes us think what the price could have been if the world was going through prosperity rather than a drought. That is a number we will never know.
Six and a half years later, the largest ever documented Fancy Vivid Green diamond is being offered at auction by Sotheby’s’ rival Christie’s. It is twice the size of Sotheby’s’ green diamond and stands at 5.03 carats (ok, almost twice the size). It is a rectangular shaped radiant cut diamond, a real deep and beautiful Vivid Green
The 5.03 carat Fancy Vivid Green ‘Aurora Green’ diamond set in a pink diamond halo setting Image credit: Christie’s
We know that green diamonds get their color while forming from natural radiation inside the earth. There should be no worries, as this radiation is not harmful. What is extraordinary is that the Aurora Green diamond does not contain any fluorescence, which is not typical for this type of diamond. Even the 2.52 carat Fancy Vivid Green diamond from 2009 had faint fluorescence. This qyality is important to its rarity. A collector will take that into consideration when assessing its potential acquisition....MOREHere's Diamond Investments blog, they do a decent job of keeping up with the top end of the market:
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