Radiant results: The Christie’s Magnificent Jewels Auction April 2014

April 19th, 2014 by Noam Flint

The spring forecast is in – and things are looking stunning for Christie’s New York. At the recent two-session Magnificent Jewels Auction in the Rockefeller Center salesroom, colored diamonds and white stones alike awed attendees and smashed expectations, setting the tone for what looks to be an exciting season for Christie’s. Featuring a range of historically important gemstones as well as signed pieces from some of the most renowned jewelry houses in the world, this April 16 auction had something for every kind of diamond collector.

So how did the diamonds fare in Sale 2836? Christie’s New York raked in a whopping $60,561,125 for the Magnificent Jewels Auction. Here’s an in-depth look at the results.

Harry Winston pink diamond ring

For many, this 6.10-carat fancy intense rectangular-cut pink diamond ring with a platinum and 18k rose-gold setting by Harry Winston was the main attraction. It’s no surprise, either, as pink diamonds are some of the rarest colored stones. The GIA graded this one in particular VVS1 clarity and Type IIa, the most chemically pure of all types of diamonds.

Christie’s estimated that the ring would sell for between $4 million and $6 million, and the auction house was not far off: A lucky bidder bought this remarkable piece for more than $5.7 million. One of the most notable aspects of this sale is the fact that it was part of the Riki and Jerome Shaw collection, meaning that the proceeds went entirely to benefit animal welfare.

Gray blue diamond ring

Another piece that managed to match its estimate is the modified cut-cornered rectangular-cut fancy gray-blue diamond ring with a platinum setting. The colored stone itself weighs about 5.17 carats and is framed by a trapeze-cut diamond on each side. Christie’s noted that one of the most impressive aspects of this diamond is that it’s Type IIb, which is highly uncommon. In fact, less than one half of 1 percent of all gemstones found in nature are characterized as such.

The diamond clarity is potentially internally flawless – and comes with a detailed working diagram to prove it. Unsurprisingly, this piece fetched $1,145,000 – which is on the higher end of the original estimate of between $800,000 and $1.2 million.

Vivid yellow diamond necklace

It should come as no surprise that this Tiffany & Co. necklace, which featured a modified cushion-cut fancy vivid yellow diamond weighing an impressive 20.34 carats, was sold for $1,445,000 – close to the max estimate of $1,500,000 and far above the minimum price proposed of $1,000,000.

It’s certainly worth the price tag, considering the fact that the jaw-dropping stone is set in a circular-cut diamond surround and is suspended on a neck chain that consists of modified cushion-cut diamonds, each within a circular-cut diamond surround and spaced apart by bezel-set circular-cut diamonds.

Two Green Diamonds

The unusual sale also featured not one but two very special natural green diamonds.

The first was a very rare GIA certified pure intense green diamond, radiant cut, weighing 3.60 carat with si1 clarity. The diamond mounted onto platinum and rose gold ring and flanked on each side by a modified square-cut diamonds weighing 0.72 and 0.74 carats. To add some sparkle, the shank is mounted with colorless round diamonds. The beautiful ring was estimated for $800,000 to $1,200,000 and reached the high bar selling for $1,205,000.

The second diamond was the surprise of the sale. An unusual diamond ring by JAR. Mounted with a GIA certified old mine-cut 2.49 carat fancy yellowish green diamond (a green diamond with a slight but visible yellow tint) with i1 clarity grading and was estimated for $300,000-$500,000 sold for………… $1,800,000 – 50% more than the price of the 3.60 intense green mentioned above which is superior in every parameter.

Carat	2.49 carat	3.60 carat
Clarity	I1	SI1
Intensity	Fancy	Fancy Intense
Color	Fancy Yellowish Green	Fancy Intense Green
Price	$1,800,000	$1,205,000

As can be seen, “on the paper”, the intense green is by far the better diamond, in every criteria, and was estimated accordingly by Christie’s several times higher than the fancy ($300k-$500k VS $800k-$1.2M) but sold for less… A colorful surprise.

Other standouts

There were a few other stones that shone at the Magnificent Jewels Auction.

Colorless stones made a splash as well. A 40.43-carat oval-cut D-color potentially flawless white diamond sold for more than $7.6 million, according to Forbes. The news outlet also revealed that the top lot of the event was a pair of circular-cut D-color internally flawless diamonds, weighing 22.6 and 22.31 carats, respectively. The set sold for quite a price: $8.5 million.

Just because the Magnificent Jewels Auction is over doesn’t mean diamond lovers don’t have more to look forward to. Stay tuned for coverage of more dazzling auctions this season.

We look forward to offering collectors the opportunity to acquire ‘The Blue’ – the largest flawless vivid blue diamond in the world and also ‘The Ocean Dream,’  the largest vivid blue-green diamond in the world at Christie’s Geneva on May 14,” noted Rahul Kadakia, international head of Christie’s jewelry, according to The Rapaport.