Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels in NY


I predict that Sotheby’s will have quite a successful year this year, most likely better than last year. Why do I think so? Because we will see further demand for fancy color diamonds and jewelry, and I have a feeling that Sotheby’s will lead the pack this year over Christie's.

On April 21, Sotheby’s will be presenting some unique items, I wanted to be the first to present some of the fine Fancy Color Diamonds that will be made available; in order of valuation.


The first item on my list is a magnificent 6.06 carat Fancy Blue VVS2 oval shaped diamond ring (Lot #366). It is supported by 6 round pink-hued diamonds. For some, like in the Chinese culture, 6 is a lucky number. It is currently valued between $3.5 million and $4.5 million, or between $578k to $743k per carat. Seeing that it is a VVS2 diamond, maybe somebody will be lucky enough to acquire it and repolish it to an IF clarity, and still keep the weight above 6 carats. If they do, they will substantially increase the value of the diamond - therefore I estimate it will sell at the higher end of the price range.

Our next winner is a 6.24 carat Fancy Purplish Pink VVS2 pear shaped diamond ring, held between magnificent sapphires on both sides (Lot 362). It is also determined that the diamond is a rare type IIa. It is estimated to sell between $2.5 million and $3.5 million, or $401k to $561k per carat. Again, we see a diamond where the spread is quite significant.

I figure that here too, there are several ways to extract further value from this stone. The new buyer can either re-polish the stone and bring it up to an IF clarity, and/or will re-polish to get it to be a pure Fancy Pink, which would also increase the value of the diamond. So I expect the selling price to be at the high end of the valuation if not exceed it.

Our next item is a nice sized 11.41 carat Fancy Light Pink IF diamond, a really superb ring (Lot 121). In this case, since it is an IF stone already and over 10 carats, there would be no point of polishing further. That is why the spread in value is also smaller. This ring is valued between $1.9 million and $2.2 million, or $167k to $193k per carat.

The only other top item worth mentioning is the famous 100.20 carat D color IF emerald cut diamond, which is also a type IIa. It is estimated to sell at a price between $19 million and $25 million, which translate to around $190k to $250k per carat. 

Now just imagine if colorless diamonds were valued as much as rare fancy color diamonds, what a stone would have sold for at this size!

What do you think? Will Sotheby’s lead the way in 2015? Would you bid on any of these diamonds based on their potential for re-polish?


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