Famous Coloured Diamonds That Sold for a Record Price at Auctions
Coloured diamonds are an auctioneer’s best friend. Don’t believe it? Here’s a list of some of the craziest prices that investors and collectors have paid for coloured diamonds in the last decade alone:
The Oppenheimer Blue Diamond
The Oppenheimer blue diamond, weighing at a substantial 14.62 carats in a rectangular cut and fancy vivid blue shade, is one of the largest stone in its category(fancy vivid blue saturation). Not surprisingly, it fetched a staggering price of $57 million at the Christie’s magnificent jewels sale in May 2016.
The blue diamond broke all previous records for diamonds on that day and is still considered to be the “gem of gems”
If you’re wondering why natural blue diamonds are so expensive, it’s because they are so rare.
They exist in nature and get their blue colour from the trace amounts of boron that changes its lattice structure. Blue diamonds are graded from a range of Flawless to Included just like white diamonds.
Pink Star Diamond
However, Blue Diamond’s success as the most expensive auctioned diamond was short-lived, thanks to the Pink Star diamond. Which became the world’s most expensive gemstone when it was auctioned for $71.2 million including the buyer’s premium at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, in 2017.
This 59.60-carat beauty is the largest Internally Flawless, and fancy vivid pink diamond graded by the GIA. It also sold far above its estimate of $60 million.
The Blue Moon of Josephine
The Blue Moon of Josephine is only slightly overshadowed by the Oppenheimer Blue in terms of carat weight. But is no less stunning.
With a cushion cut and a carat weight of 12.03, it’s a flawless Fancy Vivid Blue diamond. It was sold during Sotheby’s Geneva auction of 2015, for an astounding price of $48.4 million. It was the most expensive coloured diamond until the Oppenheimer sale.
The stone is named after the buyer Joseph Lau’s seven-year-old daughter for whom this stone was purchased.
The Orange Diamond
Don’t be deceived by the ‘orange diamond’s simple name. It’s one of the most breathtaking, rare and stunning stones in its size and calibre in the Fancy Vivid Orange shade. Standing in at 14.82 carats, it boasts a pear cut and one of the largest orange diamonds to date. It was sold soon after it made its first public appearance during the 2013 Christie’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction.
Mouawad Blue Diamond
This diamond was originally known as the Tereschenko Diamond. This pear-shaped brilliant blue diamond was bought way back in 1984 by Robert Mouawad for only $4.6 at the Christie’s Geneva sale in November 1984. This was a record price for the time. Today, however, it would receive an auction estimate for 10 times as much.
Graff Pink
The Graff Pink needs no introduction especially if you’re a fan of pink diamonds. This magnificent 23.88 carat and internally flawless, rectangular diamond are famous for its Fancy Intense Pink hue.
It sold for a staggering $46 million during the 2010 Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva. At the time, the Graff Pink held the distinction of being the most expensive pink diamond sold at an auction. That’s until the Pink Star came and stole its spot.
Nonetheless, it is still the most expensive pink diamond in its calibre (Fancy Intense). The Fancy Intense is rarer than rare colour and is the highest grading for a coloured diamond.
Blue diamonds, pink diamonds and red diamonds are typically very rare to find and the more intense their colour and the bigger their carat weight, the higher prices they fetch at an auction.
Watch out for the “twin-stone” fancy vivid blue diamond ring coming up for auction in the top lot of Christie’s New York Magnificent sale. Weighing it 3.06 and 2.61 carats with an estimate of $6 million – $8 million respectively.