Personal Consultation
By Benji, Content ManagerA common question revolving astronomy is whether the earth turns around the sun or vice versa and how do we know? At the end of the day it is all about the sun, the centre of the Milky Way. The question now is whether the “sun drop”, the most beautiful Fancy Vivid Yellow ever, weighing in at 110.30 carats, that broke the world record back in November 2011 at Sotheby’s will keep its position with the upcoming Sotheby’s auction in Geneva next month where the 100.9 carat Graff Vivid Yellow will take the stand to be auctioned off.
The sun drop was valued at $11m-$15m by Sotheby’s back in November 2011, and ended up selling for “just” over $12.3 million, or about $112,000 per carat. Back then it was the most expensive yellow diamond ever sold. According to the BBC news at the time, this was considered a fantastic and resilient investment piece due to the fluctuation of the Euro/USD exchange. Indeed, two and a half years later, Graff, famously known for acquiring and breaking world records when he purchased both the Graff Pink and the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond. This time around his name appears on the opposite side of the spectrum; the selling side.
Sotheby’s is doing a fantastic job promoting this special Gift of nature. Will this be a pure investment purchase where the bidder will call in like the sun drop, or will he be present in the room and show the connections these passion investment pieces hold, similar to the famous “Orange” sold also in November 2013 for a world record breaking $35.5 million for a Vivid Orange.
Sotheby’s is estimating the Graff Vivid Yellow to be valued between $15 million and $25 million. If sold at the lower end of the valuation, it means the price is at $148,662 per carat. If it sells at the higher end of the spectrum, it will be valued at $247,770 per carat, a complete leap from the record set in 2011.
At the lower end of the valuation, it means that the investor who purchased the sun drop, made a cumulative return of 24.7% over 2.5 years. If sold at the high end, the return would increase to a total return of 54.8%, which would make any investment executive drool!
On the same token, it means that the sun drop would increase in value from the original $12.3 million to the range of $16.4m-$27.3m.
If that happens then this would set the 2014 season to be a successful season for special fancy color diamond prices, as the overall market watches and follows what happens in auction rooms.
The last question remains: what if the Graff Vivid Yellow sells more than the estimate? Can it? Well the range of $15m-$25m is quite large; Sotheby’s is really covering themselves in this transaction.
