Christie’s has managed once again to meet and exceed expectations in New York. It has successfully sold the top lot of the evening; an 8.08 carat, Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond by Bulgari.

The auction house ended the evening with $69,225,750 in sales compared to $62,592,750 during the same auction last year in New York; a 10.6% increase year over year. The auction house sold 7 items this year above $1 million each for a total of $35,544,500 or 51.3% of total sales, while last year it sold 8 items over $1 million each for a total of $26,042,500 or 41.6% of total sales.

Bulgari saves the evening

It only took a few minutes and a fierce battle between an individual in the room with others on the phone. At the end the last bidder standing won the battle and took home the sensational 8.08 carat, Fancy vivid Blue Diamond by Bulgari. The diamond ended up selling for a total of $18,312,500 or $2.266 million per carat, after being estimated between $13 million and $18 million. The last bid was $16.5 million, the rest are fees.

The 8.08 carat Fancy vivid Blue Bulgari Diamond          Image credit: Christie’s

The 15.56 carat, Fancy Intense Pink, heart shape, diamond, with a VS1 clarity, was sold for $9,537,500 or just under $613k per carat. It was estimated to sell between $9.5 million to $12 million. This sale price includes Christie’s normal fee. For a diamond of this nature, the price was weak.

The 15.56 carat Fancy Intense Pink Heart Diamond          Image credit: Christie’s

The much anticipated “Foxfire Diamonds” were auctioned off and ended up selling for a total of $1,572,500, the lower end of the estimated value by the auction house ($1 million-$3 million total), or $21k per carat. The provenance helped here since the color is U to V (in the colorless range).

The 37.87 & 36.80 carat Foxfire Diamonds from the Diavik Mine          Image credit: Christie’s

The 8.09 carat, Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond with potentially Internally Flawless clarity was sold for $1,308,500 or $161.7k per carat. This is a very strong price for this type of diamond. We have seen some very unique Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond sell for this range of price during 2018. It was estimated to be valued between $900k to $1.2 million total.

The 8.09 carat Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond          Image credit: Christie’s

The 3.01 carat, Fancy Vivid Green diamond ended up selling for $972,500 or $323k per carat. This low price, yet almost twice the high valuation, is caused by the clear inclusion in the diamond, which is the main reason this diamond has not sold for over $5 million.

The 3.01 carat Fancy Vivid Green Diamond (with 2 additional Fancy Color Diamonds)          Image credit: Christie’s

A 15.26 carat, Fancy Yellow with a potentially Internal Flawless clarity by Tiffany & Co. was sold for $225,000 total or $14.7k per carat which was actually a bargain for such a diamond. Whoever bought it at the Tiffany & Co. store most likely paid over double this price. It is clear that the Brand did not have a major impact here on value.

The 15.26 carat ,fancy Yellow Diamond by Tiffany & Co.          Image credit: Christie’s

What will 2019 bring for the Fancy Color Diamond industry and for Investors? What should one invest in? where will true value come from? All this and more will be discussed inside our annual review coming out soon.