Lot 614: An Impressive Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond and Diamond Ring.
Estimate: HK$8,800,000-12,000,000.
Yellow diamonds were not widely seen until a more reliable source was found in South Africa in the late 1860s. However, diamonds bestowed with an evident and attractive yellow color were referenced as early as the 17th century by famed gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier in his travelogue Les Six Voyages de Jean Baptiste Tavernier, when he referred to the famous double rose-cut light yellow ‘Florentine’ diamond together with other historical diamonds, including the Great Table pink diamond and Tavernier Blue, which later became what is known today as the Hope Diamond.
Lot 614: An Impressive Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond and Diamond Ring.
Estimate: HK$8,800,000-12,000,000.
Diamonds were formed around a billion years ago and spent most of their existence at great depths in the lower crust and upper mantle of planet Earth. Yellow diamonds are no exception. It is the presence of nitrogen which causes a diamond to appear yellow, and the intensity of color depends on the amount of nitrogen and how the nitrogen atoms are arranged in the lattice. This replacement of carbon atoms with nitrogen is an extremely long process that is nothing short of miraculous.
Lot 614: An Impressive Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond and Diamond Ring.
Estimate: HK$8,800,000-12,000,000.
Color saturation is the most important factor when it comes to establishing the value of colored diamonds. It is therefore crucial to systematically describe and grade colors. However, so few diamonds of fine and superb colors were seen in the market before the 1990s that GIA only managed to refine its grading system for colored diamonds in 1995, adding the ultimate ‘Fancy Vivid’, a grade reserved for the rarest, most highly saturated diamonds in all hues. It is estimated that only one in 10,000 diamonds is attributed the color prefix beginning "Fancy," and only around 5% of these diamonds, regardless of size, receive the distinctive ‘Fancy Vivid’ grade from the GIA. Moreover, this already small quantity is reduced further to a mere fraction, as size increases.
Lot 614: An Impressive Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond and Diamond Ring.
Estimate: HK$8,800,000-12,000,000.
For fancy colored diamonds, a specimen that weighs over 20 carats, and displaying a notable strength and saturation of yellow, is extremely scarce. Given the paucity of quality rough material, a sizeable colored diamond with a top Fancy Vivid Yellow color grade is even more unusual and rare. To add to its impressive size and striking color, this diamond is also Internally Flawless, impeccably clean to the eye and free from any inclusions. It is a collectors’ gem combining the best color with the highest clarity and an exceptional carat weight.
When we behold such an extraordinary and pure gemstone, let us not forget all the amazing coincidences and accidents which afforded its formation in a world and time so very far away. This alluring fancy vivid yellow diamond will surely enchant and capture the attention of many connoisseurs.