Estimate: $30,000 - $50,000
Boutique Jewels and Accessories
Auction: December 8, 2022 11:00 AM EDT
A platinum three-stone ring centering a 4.68 carat cut-cornered rectangular step-cut natural fancy intense yellow diamond, flanked by two trillion-cut diamonds. Trillion diamonds have very light brown tint, M-N color with SI clarity. Total estimated weight of diamonds: 2.00 carats. GIA certification number: 2185757852.
Weight: 3.6 Gross dwt.Provenance
Private collection, Mullica Hill, New Jersey.
Lot Essay
Most diamonds fall into what the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) calls the D-Z range, in which diamonds go from colorless—closer to the D end of the scale—to light yellow, brown, or gray—closer to the Z end of the scale. But the present lot isn’t “most diamonds,” it’s fancy—a term GIA uses to describe diamond colors outside of the traditional D-Z range. A certified “Fancy Intense Yellow” color, the central diamond’s rich yellow hue is much more saturated and vibrant than a Z color, and the diamond’s even color distribution is quite remarkable given its large size.
Much rarer than D-Z range colors, fancy colors only occur in one in every 10,000 carats of mined diamonds. They come in a broad range of hues, including pink, purple, blue, yellow, green orange, and—most rarely—red. A variety of different factors cause fancy colors; fancy yellow colors result from trace amounts of nitrogen that are evenly dispersed throughout the diamond crystal. GIA assigns one of six grades to fancy yellow diamonds based on color intensity: Fancy Light Yellow, Fancy Yellow, Fancy Intense Yellow, Fancy Dark Yellow, Fancy Deep Yellow, and Fancy Vivid Yellow. The more saturated the hue, the more valuable the diamond.
GIA’s Colored Diamond Grading System is a relatively recent development, as the jewelry market didn’t see many saturated yellow diamonds until after the late 19th-century South African diamond rush. In fact, South Africa has yielded some of the world’s most significant fancy yellow diamonds. Prompting the diamond rush in 1867, a 15-year-old boy found the first authenticated South African diamond along the banks of the Orange River: a 21.25-carat yellow rough diamond crystal called the Eureka Diamond. Ten years later, miners in Kimberly, South Africa discovered a 287.42-carat yellow rough diamond crystal that came to be known as the Tiffany Diamond. Purchased by Charles Tiffany for Tiffany & Co., the diamond rough was cut into a magnificent 128.54-carat cushion shape that has famously adorned Audrey Hepburn, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé.
Striking a balance between deep saturation and bright luminosity, fancy intense yellows are one of the most sought-after fancy yellow grades. With interest in colored diamonds on the rise, the present lot presents a unique collecting opportunity.