They almost never appear at auctions, unlike blue, pink and yellow diamonds, but they also do not result in final prices that would reflect their rare occurrence. Why is this the case? What does this have to do with the largest ever Fancy Vivid Green diamond that is up for auction in Hong Kong in May, the 5.03 carat Fancy Vivid Green ‘Aurora Green’ diamond?

The Rarity of Green Diamonds

It is a well-accepted fact that red is the rarest diamond color in the world, followed by blue and pink diamonds. However, green diamonds often do not receive this consideration. Perhaps it is because they are simply not as popularized in the public eye, but they are not categorized as one of the top 3 rarest diamond colors. The truth is that they are almost as rare, but because they are not in as high demand, they do not receive an equal amount of press time and a subsequent strong demand from the world at large.

The color green appears naturally in diamonds when the diamond is exposed to radiation underground during its formation under the earth. This phenomenon happens incredibly rarely and natural green diamonds are very difficult to discover in diamond mines. Occasionally, a diamond of a different color will have a green overtone, such as a blue-green diamond or a yellow-green diamond. However, pure green diamonds hardly ever occur, and those of Fancy Vivid Green are the rarest of all. That makes them priced the highest of all as well. However, they are still not as in demand as red, pink or blue diamonds and therefore they are not as expensive in per carat price or total price.

Since they are not as popular as red, blue or pink diamonds, they do not qualify as investment diamonds but rather as collectors’ diamonds, and true fancy color diamond collectors pride themselves on owning green diamonds as a part of their collection, not as an asset to resell after a given time period.

Are Green Diamonds Really That Rare?

In the last 40 years or so since natural fancy color diamonds have been appearing at auction, there has been only a handful of natural green diamonds to appear. Since 2003, only a single Fancy Vivid green was ever sold, a 2.54 carat Fancy Vivid Green VS1 diamond. At its Sotheby’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction on November 17, 2009, it sold for a record price of $1.222 million per carat, or $3.08 million total. Any other green diamonds to ever appear at auction in the last 40 years was not Vivid but either a Fancy or Intense color intensity.

The Aurora Green

Christie’s Hong Kong will auction the ‘Aurora Green’ diamond, a rare 5.03 carat Fancy Vivid Green diamond on May 31. It special not only because of its size, which makes it the largest ever Fancy Vivid Green diamond ever sold at auction, but also because of its VS2 clarity, and that it has no fluorescence, which is extremely rare for such a diamond. Just to put it in perspective, it is twice the size of the largest Fancy Vivid Green diamond ever offered at auction – and that diamond sold for $3.08 million! And don’t forget that the price per carat of a diamond increases with size.

Interestingly, according to Christie’s insiders, it is believed that the diamond is valued at a price between $16 million and $20 million, or $3.18 million to $3.98 million per carat. That means that its low estimate of its per carat price is greater than the total price of the only other pure Fancy Vivid Green diamond ever auctioned!

Once, Twice, … SOLD – The Aurora goes for $16.8 Million

As fitted to such a mesmerizing diamond and as customary Christie’s has saved the best for last and the supreme green diamond did not fail.

At the end of the bidding the astounding price for this astounding diamond was $115 Million HKD which is the equivalent of $16.8 Million US Dollars. This brings the price per carat of the Aurora Green to more than $3.3 million dollars. This price tag paid by an anonymous buyer also demolishes the record that was achieved back in 2014 by the Ocean Dream Diamond – a 5.5 carat vivid blue-green that sold for $8.6 million total – 1.5 million dollars per carat.

Interestingly, at the same auction Christie’s also presented a 2.08 carat vivid bluish green diamond with vs1 clarity. It was sold for $2,178,035.

Watch the amazing moment when the winning bid is announced:

To watch all other magnificent items Christie’s presented at this sale visit here

The post Aurora Green Diamond – The Largest Vivid Green Diamond Ever appeared first on Naturally Colored.

The upcoming auction features 319 lots and an amazing number of colored diamonds jewelry – 31.

I have to confess, when I started this post it was titled “3 highlights from the upcoming Sotheby’s auction“. Unfortunately, 3 was far from being enough.

With that in mind, here are the ones that I could not resist writing about:

1. The Shimmering Sun – 77.77 Carat Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond Ring
   77.77 Carat Vivid Yellow Diamond Ring Sotheby’s

   The number 7 is known to hold important meanings in many cultures but here it is something else.

   Whether by accident or deliberately this astounding 77.77 carat diamond ring is estimated at $7.7 Million Dollars which comes to $100,000 per carat ($99k to be exact).

   To add to the perfection, the cushion cut diamond was graded to have a high vs2 clarity and excellent symmetry.

   The ring’s special design also features two heart shaped diamond weighing 5 carats together which seem quite small next to the center diamond.
   With the last big vivid yellow diamond – Graff’s 100 carat Vivid Yellow being sold for $163k per carat, it would be no surprise if this one will exceed its high expectations.

2. Pair of Intense Purple Pink Diamond Earrings
   While it took the Shimmering Sun Diamond 77 carats to reach $7 million dollars price estimations, this rare pair of pink diamond earrings did it in 7.7 carats.

   With one graded as 4.01 carat intense purple pink diamond and the other being fancy intense purplish pink diamond weighing 3.72 carats these diamonds are estimated at $6.2M-$7.1M. The unique design in which the center diamonds are dangling from an unorthodox setting that features 0.55 and 0.63 carat intense pink diamonds that are placed in-front of step cut diamonds weighing 5 carats is something I have never seen before.

3. 4.57 carats Internally Flawless Vivid Pink Diamond Ring
   The astounding diamond is mounted onto a remarkable ring designed by the renowned Carvin French whose pieces are often seen in auction houses.This diamond is in fact perfect.

   Vivid pink is the strongest color grade for pink diamonds combining it with the IF clarity grading got it the $6.2M-$7.1M estimation – $1.35M-$1.55M per carat. The only thing left to check is if you are size 6.

   4.57 Carat Vivid Pink Diamond Ring by Sotheby’s
   5.59 carats Intense Purple Pink Diamond Ring Sotheby’s
4. 5.59 carats Intense Purple Pink Diamond Ring
   The mesmerizing ring features a 5.59cts pear shaped fancy intense purple pink diamond with vvs1 clarity. Weirdly, the ring size for this is 3.5…
5. 55.26 carats White & Yellow Diamond Ring
   Of toi et moi design. 30.13 carats cushion cut vs1 intense yellow diamond mounted alongside a 25.13 carat Type IIa white diamond with E vvs1 grading.
   Price tag: $3.6M-$4.25M.
6. 2.13 carats Intense Blue Diamond Ring
   Pear shaped intense blue diamond weighing 2.13 carats with vs1 clarity surrounded by melee pink diamonds surrounded by another circle of white pear shaped diamonds – plain beautiful. It is estimated to bring in $1.1-$1.3 Million Dollars ($550k-$600k).
   2.13 carat Fancy Intense Blue Diamond Ring Sothebys
7. 2.16 carats Intense Green Diamond Ring
   The uniqueness of this ring is obviously its center diamond. Even though it is not as large as the others and relatively common clarity grading of si1 its color is simply not one you encounter too often – pure intense green. These rare gems that are The meaning – approximately $250,000 per carat!
8. 8.88 Fancy Light Pink Brown Diamond Ring
   This lucky number diamond is estimated at $500,000 ($464k-$541k). For those who are not familiar with this specific color description or wonder how come a huge pink diamond such as this “only” costs $500k the reason is that it is not a pink diamond! Pink brown color diamond is a brown diamond with a secondary tone of pink. The big advantage for pink brown diamonds is their price that is a fraction of the price of a real pink diamond. To enhance the pink tone they used a classic trick for pink diamond rings which is to surround it with small melee pink diamonds and set it in pink gold (rose gold). From the looks of it – it worked! A beautiful ring!

At this point I simply had to stop though there are 23 additional breathtaking and unique colored diamonds jewelry on sale.

To see all lots, receive more information or just wash your eyes visit the sale’s page here.

Update: Sale Results

The results were surprising but not for the better… A lot of the items were not sold.
The Intense blue diamond ring was sold above its estimation, the buyer paid $1.45 Million dollars for it (above $680k per carat which is astounding).

The 8.88 carats pink brown diamond ring also performed very well and was sold for $660k – which means over $74,000 per carat for a brown diamond! (though with a notable pink hue).

Another interesting result was of a 6.52 carat vivid yellow diamond that was sold for over $72,000 per carat which is an extremely high price for a vivid yellow of this size, showing that their prices did not finish climbing…

In regards to the sale’s star, the 77.77 carat Shimmering Sun, I can only assume that we will encounter it once more few years from now…

The post 8 Amazing Colored Diamonds at the Upcoming Sotheby’s HK Auction appeared first on Naturally Colored.

Only a week has passed since Sotheby’s breathtaking auction where the world’s most expensive vivid pink diamond sold for over 17 million and we are already gazing into what’s coming next, and this time it’s by Christie’s.

As always Christie’s important jewels auction features an amazing collection of diamonds, jewelry and precious stones (350 jewelry pieces be exact). However, while most recent auctions highlighted beautiful blue and pink diamonds, this one is different – Christie’s managed to bring us not one but three notable green diamonds at the same time.

The Green Diamond Collection

1. 3.51 Intense Green Diamond Ring
   Image: http://instagram.com/tomburstein

   The first and most notable green diamond at the auction is without a doubt the 3.51 carat pear shaped intense green diamond with si1 clarity.

   Pure green diamonds are extremely rare. They get their color due to exposure to radiation and therefore it is extremely difficult to prove the authenticity of the origin of color. In fact, in some occasions diamond manufacturers leave a piece of the rough unpolished as a proof. Action which reduces the clarity. As can be seen, this 3.5 carat diamond has the GIA certificate to authenticate its findings and still a good clarity grading of si1.It’s magnificently strong green color has earned it an intense green color grading. Altogether, the findings didn’t go unnoticed and Christie’s have evaluated it between $800,000 and $1,200,000 dollars.

2. 5.18 carat cushion cut intense yellowish green diamond with si1 clarity. While unlike the above pure green diamond which is truly a rare fluke of nature, yellowish green diamonds are “easier” to find.
   PHOTO PHOTO PHOTO
   What makes this one so rare and noteworthy is the combination of weighing over 5 carats and the fact that it is intense (not fancy). It is mounted onto an interesting and impressive rose gold ring surrounded by melee pink diamonds and white colorless oval and heart shaped diamonds. This green is estimated to bring in $300,000 – $500,000
3. 10.02 carat fancy yellow green diamond with si2 clarity. Another step and a half down the rarity scale into the more common colors moves us to the fancy yellow-green color. This diamond is estimated to fetch anywhere between $200,000 and $300,000.

Size Matters but the Green Color More

This auction actually provides us with a great opportunity to learn a bit more about the grading and evaluating of green diamonds.

Rare Collection of Green Diamonds presented by Christie’s (Images Christie’s)
Left to right: 3.51 Intense Green, 5.18 intense yellowish green & 10.02 fancy yellow green

Let’s analyze the above three green diamonds:

As you can see, the most important aspect that affects the price, or at least the price estimation, is without a doubt the color!

The stronger and purer green color, the higher the price (dramatically higher).

BUT, in auctions, there is always room for surprise!

Back in April, Christies sold two beautiful and rare green diamonds. One was almost exactly like the current, a pure intense green weighing 3.60 carat with si1 clarity.

It was estimated exactly the same, $800k-$1.2M and was sold for $1,205,000 (hence the current estimate).

The other diamond was a 2.49ct fancy yellowish green diamond with I1 clarity, and it was eventually sold for… $1.8M – far above estimations and till this point for no apparent reason (at least to yours truly).

A Yellow Opportunity

With all the respect to the green highlights, we cannot ignore a few of the yellows that are presented.

36 carat intense yellow diamond ring
Image: http://instagram.com/tomburstein

However, while most sites will probably give coverage to the spectacular 36.09ct Fancy Intense Yellow Diamond that is estimated to bring in a million, I’d like to focus on the other type of yellows – those are not the biggest on the auction nor the most expensive, but rather those that might provide a buy opportunity…

1. A two stone white and yellow diamond ring. The yellow diamond is graded as 5.35ct fancy yellow vs1 and not much is known about the other pear shaped diamond besides its weight of 4.42 carat. Interestingly, this ring is estimated to bring in $40,000-$60,000. This means that if it will close within the price estimations the yellow diamond will cost $8,000 – $10,000 per carat and we can put the other diamond in $0. This is a GOOD price for a 5 carat yellow.
2. Another interesting option though in a higher price range is that of the 15.41 carat radiant cut fancy yellow diamond with vvs2 clarity. Not much to say about this beauty besides for the relatively low price estimation of $180,000-$250,000 which comes to $12k-$16.5k per carat.

* Important note – I tried to trace the full GIA certificate of the above diamonds but for some reason with no luck. Christie’s did not specify if the yellow diamonds have fluorescence. Fluorescence reduces the value of yellow diamonds dramatically. This does not mean that these diamonds are not great catches, just provides some sort of explanation for the lower price estimations!

Pink Representation

Fancy Brown Pink Diamond Ring 9.73ct
Image: http://instagram.com/tomburstein

Since it is practically impossible to go through a diamond auction without some sort of representation of pink diamonds, we’ll note this auction’s pink. It is a relatively “modest” pink diamond. Weighing 9.73 carats and graded fancy brown pink diamond with vs1 clarity. It is estimated “only” at $480,000-$700,000 – far less than the numbers we often report for such huge sized pink diamonds at the auction. The reason being that it is a fancy brown pink. A pink diamond with a secondary notable brown hue. In a way, brown pink diamonds are the cheapest pink diamonds (as cheap as pink diamonds can be), which in my opinion makes them extremely interesting. Keep in mind that a pure fancy pink with such grading would have cost millions…

Vibrant Touch of Orange

The last interesting diamond that you don’t usually get to see at the auctions is the 2.09ct vivid yellow orange. The interpretation of the color definition is that the diamond is an Orange Diamond with the strongest possible color saturation however it does have a secondary tone of yellow. Since it is yellow (and not yellowish) when you try to quantify it you can imagine something in the lines of 60% orange and 40% yellow which is not as good as a yellowish orange diamond definition. What does make this orange diamond much more unique and interesting is the fact that it is round and has a nice clarity grading of si1.

BUT (there seems to always be a but), while pure orange diamonds are extremely rare (recall “The Orange” – a 14 carat orange diamond that sold for 30 million?), yellow orange diamonds are by far more common (though still relatively rare). Even though this magnificent diamond is round and is over 2 carats, pricing it between $350,000-$500,000 seems a bit high – we’ll wait and see how it closes.

Intrigued? Curious? To check out the other 343 lots visit Christie’s

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