It was a long 7 minute wait, and three bidders; two on the phone and one in the room, but at the end we can only have one winner. The winner was holding paddle #9201 and was sitting in the room.

It was a long afternoon for Christie’s who offered 273 items in a single event starting at 1pm Hong Kong time. Everybody had to wait patiently for lot #2073. Is it a coincidence or fate that the winner won? his paddle #9201, which has the sum of 12 in the numbers equals the aurora green lot number 2073, which also has the sum of 12.

Aurora Green Diamond rarer than a Picasso

The Aurora Green Diamond is so unique, it was able to sell despite other prominent pieces went unsold. The Aurora Green sold for the sum of $16,818,983 or $3,337,099 per carat to be exact, breaking the previous record for any green diamond. The previous record holder was the 2.54 carat Fancy Vivid Green Diamond sold back in 2009 for a then record $1.222 million per carat. The Aurora Green diamond, which was twice the size, sold for slightly more than twice the price per carat. The sale price was at the bottom of the valuation by Christie’s, which means that the Buyer has made an excellent investment.

The Aurora Green Diamond, Sold for a record price   Image Courtesy: Christie’s

The Previous record holder, the 2.52 carat Fancy Vivid Green   Image Courtesy: Sotheby’s

Many people in the world can say they own a Picasso, but only one person in the world can say he/she owns a 5 carat Fancy Vivid Green Diamond, the largest in the world.

Green is in, What is out?

The second Fancy Color Diamond to sell also happens to be in the green family as well. It is a 2.08 carat, Fancy Vivid Bluish Green, with a VS1 clarity. It was sold for a total of $2,178,035 in total or $1,047,132 per carat, breaking a record of its own.

The 2.08 carat Fancy Vivid Bluish Green Sold for a record price    Image Courtesy: Christie’s

A loose Fancy Vivid Yellow, 21.97 carat in size, signed Graff, failed to sell when the highest bid was $HKD 9 million, while the low valuation was $HKD12 million. On the other hand, a 10.76 carat, Fancy Vivid Yellow with a VS2 clarity sold for $1,526,177 in total or $141,838 per carat, a pretty solid price.

21.97 carat, Fancy Vivid Yellow went unsold    Image Courtesy: Christie’s

The 10.76 carat Fancy Vivid Yellow Sold at auction   Image Courtesy: Christie’s

Several other Fancy Color Diamonds did not sell, as investors and collectors continue to demand unique items, and are willing to pay top dollar. Even Auction houses at times, have difficulties locating those unique items. As time moves forward, it will continue to be hard to find special items.

The questions remains: when will the market see special items again? the answer is clear, as prices climb due to rarity, older items held for quite some time by investors will reappear in the market, as we have seen with many items in the past. Odds are slim to none if all of a sudden a new mine or even an old mine suddenly produces an abundance of rare Fancy Color Diamonds.

If the future is a reflection of the past, like in many other instances, that will not happen.