CHRISTIE’S MAGNIFICENT JEWELS SALE SET TO SPARKLE ON OCTOBER 18 IN NEW YORK TOP-QUALITY COLORED AND COLORLESS DIAMONDS, RARE GEMSTONES AND THE FINEST ART DECO JEWELS TO HIGHLIGHT A $35 MILLION SALE
News-Antique.com - Sep 27,2011 - Photo caption: The top lot of the October sale is The Vivid Yellow diamond, a super-saturated Fancy Vivid pear-shaped diamond of 32.77 carats (estimate: US$6-8 million; pictured at right). With a golden yellow hue so intense and so deep that the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) ranks it amongst the rarest of gemstones in its class, The Vivid Yellow made a splash in the industry circles when it was announced earlier this summer, and is set to dazzle all comers at the sale next month
New York – Christie’s New York will mark the start of the fall jewelry auction season with a $35 million sale of Magnificent Jewels on October 18. Over 340 items of jewelry – from sparkling white diamond rings to the finest colored diamonds – will make up the sale. As is now tradition at Christie’s, the October sale in New York marks the official opening of the fall season globally, which includes major sales of important jewels in Geneva, Paris, London and Hong Kong before returning to New York for the grand finale auction of the season: the highly anticipated Collection of Elizabeth Taylor in December.
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“As we meet with collectors and dealers around the world in the run-up to this autumn season, it is clear that demand for rare and important jewelry remains as strong as ever,” said Rahul Kadakia, Head of Jewelry for Christie's Americas. “Recent top prices for colored and colorless diamonds and gemstones have helped bring some spectacular jewels into the marketplace, including top-quality D-color diamonds and some truly exceptional fancy colored diamonds in shades of yellow, pink, blue and green.”
The top lot of the October sale is The Vivid Yellow diamond, a super-saturated Fancy Vivid pear-shaped diamond of 32.77 carats (estimate: US$6-8 million; pictured at right). With a golden yellow hue so intense and so deep that the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) ranks it amongst the rarest of gemstones in its class, The Vivid Yellow made a splash in the industry circles when it was announced earlier this summer, and is set to dazzle all comers at the sale next month (see dedicated release).
The sale also features fancy colored diamonds in highly-desirable shades of pink, blue and green, including a pear-shaped Fancy Vivid blue diamond ring of 3.21 carats flanked by white side diamonds (estimate: US$2.5-3 million; pictured page one left) and a marquise-cut Fancy Intense blue diamond ring of 2.28 carats (estimate: $600,000-800,000).
For the many collectors now competing for top pink diamonds, the sale also includes a pear-shaped Fancy purplish-pink diamond ring of 8.20 carats by Tiffany & Co. (estimate: US$1.25-1.8 million; pictured page one, right) and an oval-cut Fancy Pink diamond of 5.23 carats (estimate: US$600,000-800,000). Among the more unusual colored diamonds is a rare Fancy yellow-green diamond. The cushion-cut stone of 17.88 carats forms the centerpiece of an elegant choker necklace by BVLGARI that may be converted to a brooch (estimate: $500,000-800,000).
Per-carat prices for top-quality white diamonds remain strong, and the
