Sotheby’s auctioned off a magnificent Fancy Intense Orangy Pink Diamond. The diamond, weighing in at 15.23 carats with a VS2 clarity was cut back in the 19th century as a cushion cut, one of the most desired shapes today. It did not take long before the hammer went down, and the ring was sold for $6.1 million, at just over $400k per carat. The auction house gave an estimation of $6m-$7m, although even at these levels, this was quite a spread.

Another Fancy Color diamond sold was a Fancy Deep Pink cut cornered diamond. At 1.50 carats, it is flanked by a 0.26 carat Fancy Deep Blue-Green on one side anda 0.22 carat Fancy deep Greenish-Blue on the other. The auction house estimated it to sell between $500k and $700k. Again, this is quite a large spread, but it ended the evening selling for $533k, or $355k per carat.

A round brilliant shaped fancy color diamond is always a special find, due to the difficulty of ensuring the color is at its best in this shape. This makes the following piece a more unusual and desirable find. A beautiful Fancy Vivid Yellow surrounded by pink diamonds and pear shape colorless was sold for $389k. The center diamond is a nice size at 6.84 carats.

One surprising result of the evening was the sale of a Fancy Intense Green Yellow. In a rectangular shape and weighing in at 3.93 carats, it was estimated to sell between $75k and $100k. In actuality, it ended the night with a final bid of $173k, a full 73% above the high valuation.

Another surprising result was that of Lot #136. The 10.14 carat Fancy Light Yellow round diamonds sold for $161k, while its estimate had only ranged between $60k and $80k.

The Overall results were not as strong as had been expected, and prices fell only in the medium range. It is quite possible that investors are looking forward to the Geneva auctions on May 13-14, where over the years, better opportunities and rarer stones have appeared. Maybe some people do prefer putting all their eggs in one basket? We'll see for ourselves in May!

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