Pre-Auction Impressions: May 12th 2015, Sotheby’s Geneva

Lot #460

Fancy Vivid Pink Diamond Ring. High catalog estimation: $18,100,000 per carat

Price Realized: ִ$15,903,422 pc

On Tuesday Sotheby’s will feature an 8.72 ct, cushion cut, Fancy Vivid Pink, VS2 diamond.

This is indeed a beautiful and rare pink diamond. Though graded as solid pink, we were a bit surprised the stone received this color description as it exhibits a strong purple modifier. The color dispersion is relatively low when compared to a standard modified fancy shape, but still quite good for an old mine cushion cut. It is clear in the image pictured above that the catalogue and live version of the stone display vast differences in color, an observation that a phone or online bidder should acknowledge before bidding.

According to the monograph, the diamond’s fluorescence is only detectable under DiamondView and the accompanying GIA report states ‘None’ for fluorescence.  However, when we placed the stone under a standard UV light, the stone surprisingly fluoresced at a medium blue level. Most buyers – even professional buyers – tend to pass on physically checking the diamond once they have its GIA report.