Christie’s Successful First Auction for 2020 In Hong Kong With New Record

I had mixed feelings waiting for the Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels auction this past July 9th by Christie’s. Based on current global situation with Covid-19, it was uncertain if the auction house would deliver acceptable results, even when managing and in fact reducing expectations. Christie’s did more than that. Not only did christie’s has made significant sales results, but it had also broken a record.

The total sale for this auction was $39.7 million (HKD $ 306,010,000) and a total of 121 items were shown by Christie’s after the auction take place.

The star of the evening, the 12.11 carat, Fancy Intense Blue Diamond with Internally Flawless clarity (GIA 1206752233) has sold for a total value of $15,894,156 (HKD $122,385,000 at a 7.7 conversion rate). It was valued between $8.4 million to $12.3 million. This value translates into a price per carat of $1,312,482. This is a new World Record per carat for any Fancy Intense Blue Diamond above 10 carat.

The second highest sold fancy color diamonds was the little brother of the 12.11 Fancy Intense Blue Diamond. It was the 2.08 carat, Fancy Intense Blue Diamond, also Internally Flawless and marquise shape (GIA 2205720467) like the 12.11 carat. It was sold for $1,418,831 ( HKD $10,925,000). It was evaluated between $908k to $1.17 million. this sale converts to $682k per carat.

The 2.01 carat Fancy Pink with VS1 clarity (GIA 11164860) was sold for $178,571 or $88.8k per carat. it was sold for over 73% above its high value. Normally, this is still extremely cheap for such a diamond, so why did it sell for so much less? it had a 74.7% depth. what does that mean? in simple words it means that the diamond is fat! there is excess weight which is not needed and does not contribute to the clarity or color intensity. It means weight you pay for without benefit. The weight contributes an illusion to the weight, hence 2.01. If it had more acceptable depth range (in 60-65%) then it means the weight would have been less than 2 carat, and so the price per carat is lower.

The 8.04 carat, Fancy Brownish Orangy Pink oval diamond with Internally Flawless clarity (GIA 2203480247) was sold for $608k after being valued at between $250k to $380k. This sale translates to $75.6 per carat. I am sure that there will be an attempt to remove the brownish color, and leave it as orange pink which will increase its value.

Conclusion

Christie’s is showing 121 items after the auction. The total sales are $39,741,558 and the two Fancy Intense Blue diamonds had a total of $17,312,987 or 43.5%. This tells us that Unique and Rare Fancy Color diamonds still take centre stage at most auctions and bring in a substantially higher percentage of sale value compared to the number of items.