The world of high-end jewelry auctions recently witnessed a dazzling display of opulence and prestige, with events in both Hong Kong and Geneva showcasing exceptional diamonds, gemstones, and exquisite craftsmanship.
De Beers Group has moved its Auction business headquarters from Singapore to Botswana, aiming to boost operational efficiency. CEO Al Cook expressed confidence in the move's potential to drive cost efficiencies and elevate customer satisfaction.
The Eternal Pink, mined by De Beers at the Damtshaa mine in Botswana is expected to fetch more than $35 million at the upcoming Sotheby’s HK auction, potentially breaking records as the most expensive price per carat ever to come to market. The estimated price per carat for The Eternal Pink is $3.3 million, giving it a chance to challenge the record set by The Williamson Pink Star, which was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2022 for $5.2 million per carat. That gem was bought by a private collector based in the US for $57.7 million.
Global diamond group DeBeers has reported an over 20% bump in auction sales towards the closing of the 2022 sales year during its 10th and final yearly sales cycle. The mining and trading firm sold £340million of the gems at its auction in December – up from £279million in December 2021.
Before the pandemic, diamond prices were falling as the market struggled with oversupply, economic slowdown in China, and a global squeeze on luxury goods spending. The estimated sales at the December auction were down 10 per cent on the November auction, where the firm made £377million.
Sotheby’s got $12.4 million for the 303.1 ct. Golden Canary—the recut version of the Incomparable—making it the third most valuable yellow diamond ever sold at auction. The Golden Canary is a Fancy Deep Brownish Yellow color and is considered the largest internally flawless diamond in the world.
The story of the Golden Canary’s discovery is also quite captivating.
Philips has set the auction date of December 13, 2022, for the sale of lot-139, a Fancy pink diamond Boodles Necklace, among other pieces.
Set with an oval fancy intense pink diamond weighing 4.05 carats, the chain highlighted with collet-set brilliant-cut diamonds, mounted in platinum, length approximately 18 1/8 inches, signed Boodles, case stamped Boodles. The piece is accompanied by a certified GIA report (no. 2155635097), stating that the diamond is Fancy Intense Pink, Natural Color, with VS2 Clarity.
Phillips auction house in Hong Kong has announced that it will hold its Jewels and Jadeite sale on Nov. 27. The event will be putting some of the rarest diamonds (both colored and colorless), Burmese rubies, vivid yellow diamonds along with other items on the ballot. The highlight of the auction is a brilliant-cut 26.12 ct. unmounted diamond that’s expected to fetch between $2.3 million and $3 million. Not only is the stone considered the most chemically pure of all diamonds as a type IIa, it’s D flawless, which is regarded as the most coveted of the colorless diamond spectrum.
After the recent record setting price breaker auction of the Williamson Pink Star, Sotheby’s now announces that they will soon auction eight blue diamonds sourced from the De Beers Group, with the De Beers Exceptional Blue collection expected to fetch more than $US85 million.
Selling to an undisclosed buyer at the Sotheby’s auction house in Hong Kong, the Williamson Pink Star diamond sold at 58 million dollars, fetching more than double the anticipated sales price. The pastel-hued diamond was named in honor of two other pink diamonds, the CTF Pink Star, which sold for $71.2 million in 2017, and the "Williamson" diamond, a pink diamond gifted to Queen Elizabeth II.
The pink colored 11.15-carat diamond is a rare find among gem quality stones and was discovered at the well-known Mwadui mines in Tanzania.
Today the step-cut fancy-vivid blue diamond weighing 15.10 carats sold for (450.9 million HKD) US$57.47 million, or over US$3.8 million per carat, at Sotheby's Hong Kong auction.
Auction house Sotheby’s announced an extremely rare black diamond of 555.5 carats with a 55- facet cut, called the Enigma, will go under the hammer in February.
The Enigma was listed in the 2006 Guinness Book of World Records and will become the largest of its kind to be put up for auction. Sotheby’s expects the stone to fetch between $4.1 and $6.8 million.
According to the auction house, the Enigma is a rare piece that cannot be compared to other diamonds or even other black gemstones sold in the past.