Pre-Auction Analysis: June 9th, 2021, Sotheby’s New York, Magnificent Jewels

As most of the industry has been prevented from traveling to New York during this challenging period, this Auction Analysis could help those who would like to bid without physically inspecting the goods.                                                 

Our Sotheby’s New York Pre-Auction Analysis focuses on elements that are hidden from the unprofessional eye. We will describe the important visual elements for those who cannot attend the preview and discuss characteristics such as: Undertone, Color Dispersion, and Inner-Grade (UDI; a detailed explanation appears at the bottom of this article). We analyze and grade Fancy Color Diamonds relative to their GIA grade.

We use grades 1, 2, 3, and 4, 1 being the lowest grade. Grade “+” is granted in rare cases and stands for stones with an exceptional characteristic. Stones that receive a minimum total UDI score of 8, without a red remark, pass the industry threshold and can be traded easily. Fancy Color Diamonds that are graded 10 or above, (without a quality remark) are usually sought after by high-end jewelry brands, collectors and the investment community.

For your convenience, we have added direct links for the GIA reports.

• All images in this article review were taken with an iPhone 12 pro, no filters were applied.
• All auction valuations are per carat and in US Dollars.

Lot #71 

25.03 carats, Fancy Intense Yellow, Cushion, VVS1

An extremely small number of similar diamonds enter the market yearly… Check Rarity Here

4.20 carats, Fancy Intense Yellow, Cushion, VS1

An extremely small number of similar diamonds enter the market yearly… Check Rarity Here 

*Additionally 89 cushion-cut Fancy Intense Yellow Diamonds weighing a total of 57.96 carats

High catalog estimation: $650,000 Total

Price realized:$564,500 Total

 * This lot was reported to be sold in the Sotheby’s auction in December 2020 for a total amount of $685,000, the high estimation in this sale is $650,000. 

The analysis will relate to the two center stones only.

A 25.03 Fancy Intense Yellow with a crown which is angled in a way that creates