Jewels New York Friday, June 7, 2019 | Phillips

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  • Video

    Graeme Thompson Introduces the Pink Diamond

    Graeme Thompson, worldwide head of Jewels, introduces the cover lot of our June auction, a stunning fancy intense diamond with rarely seen orangy pink hues.

    • An oval modified brilliant-cut fancy intense orangy pink diamond, 6.01 carats
      Tapered baguette-cut diamonds, 0.74 carat
      Platinum and rose gold, size 5 3/4

    GIA Report: Fancy Intense Orangy Pink Color, VS2 Clarity Type IIa
    Accompanied by a Diamond Type Classification Letter and A Letter Concerning An Important Diamond by Stephen C. Hofer

  • Catalogue Essay

    Extraordinary. Rare. Beautiful. These characteristics attempt to describe one of nature’s masterpieces – an exceptional 6.01 carat Fancy Intense Orangy-Pink Diamond. Not only does this diamond display a well saturated and delicate balance of orange and pink color, good clarity, and an exceptional crystalline quality, but it’s shape and cut also optimizes and captures its unique color blend.

    For centuries, pink diamonds have been regarded as symbols of wealth, power and romance. Natural pink diamonds are amongst the rarest colored diamonds. Even more scarce are pink diamonds over 2.00 carats with good clarity, making gems such as the 6.01 carat diamond highly prized amongst collectors. Natural pink diamonds with unusual modifying colors are sought after for their diversity and personal expression. Orange, purple and red modifiers are extremely rare and desirable as well. Sir Thomas Hope’s legendary collection of gems contained six fancy pink diamonds. Two of the diamonds listed are straight fancy pink diamonds of varying saturation, and the remaining four diamonds are described with modifying colors – lilac color, pink topaz color, apricot color and deepest ruby balais color. Judging from this information, Sir Hope felt that his specimens were important because of their natural beauty, not solely based on the importance of a single color.

    Historic pink diamonds have been mined in India, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, and more recently Russia and Canada. However, not all pink diamonds possess a high purity. Diamonds which have the virtual absence of nitrogen have exceptional transparency, and are classified as Type IIa. Most pink diamonds from Australia are small and included and are typically Type Ia. The 6.01 carat diamond has been determined to be a Type IIa diamond, displaying this unusual and beautiful limpid quality. It is reminiscent of old world diamonds mined from the now depleted Golconda mines, such as the famous ‘Princie’ which originally belonged to the Nizams of Hyderabad.

    Unlike other colored diamonds, scientists are not sure how pink diamonds obtain their color. Blue diamonds contain trace elements of boron and yellow diamonds have nitrogen, giving them their color. Scientists speculate that pink diamonds undergo a molecular change because of an extraordinary seismic event during their formation, a mystery that alters the absorption and refraction of light.

    Other unusual qualities of this unique diamond are the saturation of color and the complex mix of hue. The 6.01 carat diamond is intensely saturated, so much so that the saturation is near the vivid border for saturation. Strongly saturated colored diamonds are even more rare and understandably sought after by serious diamond collectors. The even distribution and integration of orange and pink colors in this diamond is exceptional and virtually unique. It is exceedingly beautiful; a gift of nature created by mysterious forces. Similar to the color blend of the ‘Hortensia’ diamond, currently housed in the Louvre, this stone is truly historic.

    Phillips is honored to present this unique 6.01 carat fancy intense orangy-pink diamond.

138

An Exceptional and Rare Fancy Intense Diamond, Diamond, Platinum and Gold Ring

An oval modified brilliant-cut fancy intense orangy pink diamond, 6.01 carats
Tapered baguette-cut diamonds, 0.74 carat
Platinum and rose gold, size 5 3/4

Estimate
$1,200,000 - 1,800,000 

Sold for $1,340,000

Contact Specialist

Susan Abeles
Head of Department, Americas and Senior International Specialist
New York
+1 212 940 1383
sabeles@phillips.com

Jewels

New York Auction 7 June 2019