The items being offered at the diamond and jewelry auctions in Geneva this month were pretty disappointing. Diamond enthusiasts follow auction catalogs closely and the biannual highlight is the auctions that take place at Sotheby’s and Christie’s in Geneva. However, it seems that the most impressive diamond being sold this month will not be in Geneva but instead at Christie’s in Hong Kong. At the end of this month they will be offering a unique 8.01 carat Fancy Vivid Blue diamond in addition to an array of “fancy color diamond art”. This is the best way to describe some of the mesmerizing pieces that will be going under the hammer. The question remains whether bidders will see investment potential in these pieces and bid accordingly.

Moussaieff Blue Diamond

Moussaieff, a household name in the fancy color diamond industry, has been offering unique and rare fancy color diamonds for decades. There is not a single year, that some of their jewels have not appeared at auction. This Hong Kong auction is no exception.

This 8.01 carat Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond with Internally Flawless clarity and excellent polish is a true one of a kind. It is valued to sell at a final price between $18.5 million to $25 million total, or $2.3 million to $3.12 million per carat. In the 5-10 carat sub-category of Fancy Vivid Blue diamond prices, the current record price holder is the 9.75 carat Fancy Vivid Blue diamond that was once owned by Mrs. Bunny Mellon. The diamond was sold for $32.645 million, or $3.348 million per carat on November 20, 2014 at Sotheby’s in New York. Currently there are no comparable pieces available on the market, and this would make a perfect acquisition. Will it or can it set a new record? Anything is possible in a free market!

The 8.01 carat Fancy Vivid Blue IF Moussaieff diamond          Image credit: Christie’s

The 9.75 Fancy Vivid Blue diamond          Image credit: Sotheby’s

This unique Boghossian bracelet features many fancy color diamonds and can be considered true “fancy color diamond art”. The bracelet contains over 30 diamonds with various colors, tones, and shapes that compose various floral designs. It is valued to sell between $2 million and $3.2 million in total.

The fancy color diamond Boghossian bracelet          Image credit: Christie’s

The 8.09 carat Fancy Vivid Yellow VVS2 diamond is noteworthy to investors because of its color depth. This is because despite the fact that there are many Fancy Vivid Yellow diamonds offered on the market, only a small portion of those that are over 5 carats have a superior depth of color and clarity. This is just such a diamond, which makes it rare by comparison. The yellow diamond is being valued at $1.1 million to $1.5 million, or $136k to $185k per carat. Valuations like this are given only to the best of the best Fancy Vivid Yellow diamonds.

The 8.09 carat Fancy Vivid Yellow VVS2 diamond          Image credit: Christie’s

This 12.85 carat Fancy Intense Orangey Pink diamond with a VVS1 clarity and oval shape is rare. Normally a purplish secondary color is preferred to one that is orangey and is also more valuable. However, this diamond still has very beautiful color which will help it sell well. It is valued at $5.7 million to $8 million total, or $444k to $622k per carat, an enormous and almost comical value range. It is interesting to see how the auction house did not commit to either end of the price spectrum. A gauge that is used often for such pricing is that an orangey pink diamond is valued at about half of a straight pink diamond. Let’s use this gauge and extrapolate. If this diamond would have been a straight Fancy Intense Pink, it would have been valued at $888k to $1.244 million per carat. If I look at data available for such sized diamonds, all of them sell above $1 million per carat. Therefore, the valuation of this diamond makes sense. As long as the color is strong enough, then it will reach its minimum estimate. If the color is weak enough and would look more like a Fancy Orangey Pink rather than a Fancy Intense Orangey Pink, then it might not sell.

The 12.85 carat Fancy Intense Orangey Pink VVS1 diamond          Image credit: Christie’s

This ring has a 2.35 carat Fancy Intense Blue diamond with Internally Flawless clarity. Many Fancy Intense Blue diamonds appeared as recently as April during the auctions in New York. However, as was demonstrated by the record breaking prices at which the aforementioned blue diamonds were sold, demand was very strong and there is every reason to believe that this diamond will sell handsomely as well. This diamond is valued between $1.25 million to $1.9 million, or $531k to $808k per carat. In light of recent price behavior, we will most likely see a value that reaches the high end of this blue diamond’s valuation.

The 2.35 carat Fancy Intense Blue IF diamond          Image credit: Christie’s

There will be many other various fancy color diamonds jewelry available in yellow, pink and blue hues at the auction as well. Hong Kong is a strong market for fancy color diamonds, especially for pinks, and the results of the auctions can often be surprising. We are looking forward to this auction, and to the 2 auctions in Geneva that will be preceding it. Should you need any assistance in bidding on any items, or have questions about investing in fancy color diamonds, please do not hesitate to contact us or ask questions in the comments below!