Auctions

Gem Diamonds is to hold its first rough diamond sale of full run-of-mine production from its Ghaghoo mine in Botswana.
 
The production will be sold on tender with viewings to be held in Antwerp, Belgium and Gaborone, Botswana.
 
The Antwerp viewings take place at Gem Diamonds offices from January 29 to February 9, said the Antwerp World Diamond Centre.
 
The last viewing day will close at 1 pm and the bidding will take place on the Gem Diamonds Online eTender Platform. 

A rare Fancy Vivid Blue diamond from the celebrated collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon sold for a staggering $32,645,000 ($3,348,205 per carat) – a new world auction record total price for any blue diamond and a new world auction record for price-per-carat for any diamond at Sotheby’s New York headquarters.

The 9.75 carat, pear-shaped diamond was eagerly sought after by seven bidders who competed for 20 minutes for the extraordinary stone, ultimately selling to a Hong Kong private collector who has named the stone The Zoe Diamond.

The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) and online sales giant eBay have announced the first cooperation agreement of its kind in order to expand the sales by Israeli diamantaires of polished diamond online worldwide and expand overall Israeli diamond sales.
 

Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) President Shmuel Schnitzer is calling on diamond buyers worldwide to attend the September 1-4 International Diamond Week. Noting the recent, steady growth in the luxury product market, he called the event an ideal one-stop-station for purchasing polished diamonds, and which takes place just before a series of international gem and jewelry trade shows in Asia and elsewhere.

Auction house Christie’s will be holding a sale called Spring Jewels, an online-only auction of contemporary jewelry and watches by luxury brands such as Bulgari, Chanel, Cartier, Rolex and Tiffany late this month.

The sale features over 70 lots ranging in style from classic to contemporary, with price points accessible to a wide range of collectors. The auction will run from May 6 to 20.

The biggest flawless blue diamond in the world, weighing 13.22 carats, is to be the highlight of Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva on May 14.

The blue gem has a pre-sale estimate in the range of $21 million-$25 million and is the top item of the 240 lot sale, which th auctioneer forecasts will raise about $80 million.

The auction will also see many other top items come under the block, including the 5.5-carat Ocean Dream, the largest fancy vivid blue-green diamond in the world to sell at auction, with an estimated sale price of $7.5 million.

Christie's reported sales of $60.6 million at its New York auction of magnificent jewels, with the auction being 82 percent sold by lot.

The main item was a pair of circular-cut, D, internally flawless diamonds weighing 22.60 carats and 22.31 carats that were bought for $8,565,000.

Other leading jewelry items included a 40.43-carat, D, potentially flawless, oval-cut diamond bought for $7,669,000, or $189,700 per carat.

A leading player in the field of precious gemstones that has been quietly creating a large stake for itself in the industry is a London-traded firm called Gemfields plc. It is, today, the world’s largest producer of colored gemstones, particularly in emeralds and rubies.

One of the exceptional diamonds sold at auction in 2013 – if not the outstanding diamond of the year – a 59.60-carat pink diamond, was acquired by New York-based diamond cutter Isaac Wolf. The diamond, sold for $83 million in Geneva by Sotheby's in November, setting a record for any gemstone at auction. In a sign of the profound interest and demand for such stones, the exceptional pin had a presale estimate of more than $60 million – about three-quarters of the actual sale price.

The Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction in New York on December 10 concluded the firm’s 2013 jewelry auction season with sales of $65,790,125. The 495-lot auction was 86 percent sold by lot and 92 percent by value.
A 52.58-carat D-color Internally Flawless Golconda diamond was bought for $10.9 million, while a diamond jewelry collection – Property of an Elegant Lady, by Lev Leviev, was sold for $10.2 million