Christie’s and Sotheby’s Trying to Get the Edge

The May auctions taking place in Geneva are less than 3 weeks away, and neither auction house has revealed its full line of items on their website. Only Sotheby’s is giving a glimpse into a handful of interesting items. Normally by now the online catalogues are available for full viewing and inspecting of goods.


The top 2 lots from Sotheby’s are both rare and stunning. One is the rare 25.59 carat “Sunrise Ruby”, estimated to sell between $12.18m and $18.1m. This large spread of value just shows how valuation can be seen from both sides of the spectrum. On one hand it can be seen as a conservative value, and on the other, a quite high optimistic one. Both are justified.





If we look back just a few months ago, the “Graff Ruby” sold for just under $1 million per carat, a record for Rubies. That was an 8.62 carat ruby. Here we have one that is almost 3 times the size. So at a valuation of $12.18m it translates to just about $475k per carat while on the optimistic side it gets to about $707k per carat, still about 30% less per carat compared to the Graff Ruby.



The other top lot is a rare 8.72 carat Fancy Vivid Pink diamond ring named the “Historic Pink”. The last time we saw a similar stone in an auction with this color purity was the 6.43 ct FVP sold back in October 2010 for just under $7.7m, or $1.2m per carat. Before that there were 2 stones that held this record, but both over 10 ct in size back in 2006 and 2005.


 
Currently the record holder for a pure FVP is the 5.00ct sold on December 1, 2009 in HK for a staggering $10.83 million or $2.166m per carat. However, the current diamond is estimated to be sold between $14.1m and $18.2m, or between $1.6m and $2.09m per carat. Based on the fact that the auction is in Geneva, and based on current global turbulence in many areas, we might just see a new world record price per carat for a FVP.



Across the street at Christie’s, a quite unique lot that will be going under the hammer is a 5.18ct Fancy Vivid Pink diamond. The auction house estimates its value between $9.5m-$12.5m, or $1.84m to $2.41m per carat.


2 major auction houses, with 2 similar stones, and the smaller one has a higher valuation. How do we know who is more accurate? Why such high difference in value? What will be the outcome? Let us know what you think!
It is quite exciting and tense at the same time. See you in Geneva!


Popular Articles View more articles
Article Image

Paddles up! Collectors showed their enthusiasm for colored stones that went under the gavel in 2023. From auction results we learn what buyers favored this past

Article Image

The cheers and applause that accompany diamond auction houses have been evident over the past four years, asewll as the recored rising diamond prices.

Article Image

Pink diamonds represent some of the most elusive of all fancy color diamonds to ever emerge from the earth.