Art Market Monitor

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The Pinkest of Pink Diamonds Comes to Christie’s at $30m

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Christie’s has a nearly 19ct Pink diamond for their November gem and jewelry sale in Geneva. Estimated at between $30 and $50m, the Pink Legacy comes from the Oppenheimer family and will be only the fifth diamond of this size, deep color and internal clarity to ever come to auction. The last one was a year ago which made $32m in Hong Kong:

On 13 November 2018, Christie’s Geneva will present THE PINK LEGACY, the largest and finest Fancy Vivid Pink diamond ever offered at auction by the company. Weighing just under 19 carats (18.96 carats), this exceptional rectangular-cut gem will lead Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction, held at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva. This incomparable pink diamond has descended from the Oppenheimer Family and is estimated at US $30 to $50 million.

Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Jewellery commented: “The discovery of this previously unrecorded and remarkable diamond will cause immense excitement with collectors and connoisseurs of diamonds around the world. The Pink Legacy will be exhibited on a global tour prior to being auctioned on 13 November at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues. Its exceptional provenance will no doubt propel it into a class of its own as one of the world’s greatest diamonds.”

The Pink Legacy has been awarded the highest diamond color grading of VIVID by the Gemological Institute of America. Vivid coloured diamonds are the most strongly saturated gems, displaying the optimum hue of the stone. It is a classic rectangular cut diamond, a cut that is traditionally used for white stones, and weighs an extraordinary 18.96 carats when most pink diamonds of this colour weigh less than a carat. The Pink Legacy is also internally very pure which is extremely rare in pink diamonds where the colour is formed by pressure and slippage of the crystal lattice which typically causes imperfections in the stone.

In addition, it classifies as a Type IIa diamond, which contains little if any nitrogen and accounts for less than two percent of all gem diamonds. Type IIA stones are some of the most chemically pure diamonds, often with exceptional transparency and brilliance. One of the most celebrated pink diamonds is the “Williamson” found in the Williamson mine situated near Tanzania in 1947. It was gifted as a wedding present by Dr. John Williamson, the owner of the mine, to the Queen, then Princess Elizabeth.

In the saleroom fancy vivid pink diamonds over ten carats are virtually unheard of and only four vivid pink diamonds of over ten carats have ever been offered for sale at auction. An historic level was reached in the international diamond market in November 2017 when Christie’s Hong Kong sold ‘The Pink Promise’, an oval-shaped fancy vivid pink diamond of just under fifteen carats for US$32,480,500 (U$2,175,519 per carat), which established and remains the world auction record price per carat for any pink diamond.

Sotheby’s to Offer $20-30m Raj Pink in Geneva

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Following the successful re-sale (it was auctioned once but the buyer defaulted) of the CTF Pink Star diamond in April for $71m, Sotheby’s has returned to the rarified colored diamond market with another pink diamond about two-thirds the size of the CTF Pink Star.

The Raj Star was discovered in 2015. It weighs 37.3 carats and carries a $20-30m estimate range before the November 15th sale in Geneva:

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA), which certified the diamond, characterized it as an “astonishing stone”, describing its hue as “a very bright and ravishing fancy intense pink color”. It continued, “For a diamond to display strong, unmodified pink color like that observed in The Raj Pink is rare, particularly at so considerable a weight”.The discovery of a gem-quality pink diamond of any size is an extremely rare occurrence. Of all diamonds submitted to the GIA each year, less than 0.02% are predominantly pink.

 

Hot On the Trail of Sotheby’s Pink Diamond Sale

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Late last week, two journalists who cover the art market enthusiastically retweeted Lee Rosenbaum’s exposé on the slow payment by the buyer of Sotheby’s massive pink diamond that was sold twice in Asia, once in 2013 and again, after the original bidder backed out of the deal, in 2017.

Although it is understandable that after an embarrassing turn of events for the auction house, which guaranteed the stone for the 2013 sale and then brought in financial partners to reduce the balance sheet load until the diamond could be sold again four years later, Rosenbaum might want to look closely at the sale. After all, the buyer seems to be having trouble paying just like the one before.

Here’s how Rosenbaum tells it:

The specific time limit to “collect the money from the [April] buyer” is disclosed in Sotheby’s latest Form 10-Q quarterly report, filed yesterday with the SEC: It reveals that “the purchaser of the Pink Diamond, who is one of the largest jewelry retailers in the world [identified in the sale’s press release as Chow Tai Fook], is legally obligated to pay the purchase price by no later than Apr. 4, 2018.” The previous quarter’s 10-Q, dated May 10, did not mention the possibility of a year-long payment delay.

The key words in Rosenbaum’s own report are “legally obligated to pay.” In other words, there’s always a chance that Sotheby’s will have to go to court to try to obtain the payment but it is more likely than not that Chow Tai Fook will pay for the stone. They’ve agreed to do it. That’s a far cry from what happened in 2013.Continue Reading

Hong Kong Rises as Gem & Jewelry Center Reflecting Asian Appetite for Alternative Stores of Value

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The South China Morning Post has a booster story on the rise of Hong Kong as a Jewelry trading center as Mainland buyers continue to defy capital export controls and sock their surplus cash into the large colored stone and vintage jewelry market.

Asian buyers have long had a taste for compact, portable stores of value in the form of gem stones. So the increase in buying activity that makes Hong Kong a global center is more a measure of the wealth in China and the safe havens it seeks. Here’s the SCMP:

Thanks to the participation of mainland buyers at Hong Kong auctions, the city has surpassed New York as the world’s second-largest jewellery auction hub and is now on a par with Geneva. To tap the rising demand for jewellery and arts, mainland-headquartered auction houses, such as Poly Auction, Tiencheng International Auctioneer and China Guardian, have opened Hong Kong branches, competing with established international houses, Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Bonhams. The presence of mainland auctioneers has consolidated Hong Kong’s status.

What’s more interesting, though one has to be conscious of the source, is that the auction houses report buyers are moving toward the very wares the market has been chasing over the last decade. Namely, big diamonds are giving way to lesser stones and signed vintage pieces valued for their design.Continue Reading

Sotheby’s Brings ‘Pink Star’ Diamond to Hong Kong

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Sotheby's Pink Star Diamond

Sotheby’s announced today that it is bringing back the Pink Star diamond to the marketplace. The nearly 60ct Flawless Fancy Vivid Pink diamond was originally sold in Geneva three and a half years ago for a record price of $83m. Then the buyer reneged on his bid and Sotheby’s—which had guaranteed the stone for a reported $60m—took the diamond into inventory.

Last year, Sotheby’s sold off a portion of the stone to two other dealers, Diacore and Mellen Inc., but retained an ownership interest and stands to benefit from the commission should the stone sell in Hong Kong on April 4th. The estimate is $60m suggesting that Sotheby’s and its partners see the Asian market as strong enough to get a profitable sale done.

 

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