Sotheby’s Aiming Sky High with Blue Diamond

Nov 15, 2016 11:08 AM By Rapaport News

Facebook

Twitter

RAPAPORT... Sotheby’s will auction the Sky Blue Diamond in Geneva on Wednesday, expecting to garner up to $25.3 million (CHF 24.6 million) for the Cartier ring.

The square-cut, 8.01-carat, fancy vivid blue, VVS1-clarity diamond is the headline lot at the Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale in the Swiss city. The auction is scheduled to start 10.30 a.m. Central European Time on November 16 and will include 26 items each with an upper estimate exceeding $1 million.

The auction comes at a time of strong demand for blue diamonds, with the Fancy Color Diamond Index increasing 1.2 percent sequentially in the third quarter, according to the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF). Blue diamonds outperformed their pink counterparts, whose prices gained 0.5 percent, while fancy yellows slipped 0.1 percent. The index for fancy vivid blue diamonds surged 6.7 percent.

“High quality, rare fancy color diamonds, especially vivid blues and vivid pinks, have continuously demonstrated their price resilience, as their supply is very limited,” said Ephraim Zion, a member of the FCRF’s advisory board. This neutralizes the impact of economic conditions on consumer demand, Zion added.

But Sotheby’s ability to achieve the price it wants for the Sky Blue will probably come down to specific circumstances on the day rather than the wider state of the fancy-blue diamond, said FCRF founder Eden Rachminov.

“The auction houses don’t follow anything – they give their [price] estimates according to many reasons,” he said in a telephone interview with Rapaport News, adding that auctioneers have an incentive to give low estimates to generate more interest.

“You just need two private individuals to fight over an item – then the price will go really, really high."

Tags: auction, Auctions, Boehmer et Bassenge, Christie’s, Eden Rachminov, Ephraim Zion, Fancy Color Diamond Index, Fancy Color Research Foundation , FCRF, geneva, Magnificent Jewels, Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, Rapaport News, Sky Blue Diamond, Sotheby’s