Ellen Sin
Consultant
Lot 667
A rare pair of fancy coloured diamond and diamond earrings
30 November 2015, 17:00 HKT
Hong Kong, Six Pacific PlaceSold for HK$3,160,000 inc. premium
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A rare pair of fancy coloured diamond and diamond earrings
Each floral earring centring a radiant-cut fancy vivid yellowish orange diamond weighing 2.87 carats, and a radiant-cut fancy vivid yellow-orange diamond weighing 2.53 carats, within a brilliant-cut diamond petal surround, diamonds approximately 7.80 carats total, length 3.0cm
Footnotes
Accompanied by a GIA report stating that the 2.87 carat diamond is natural Fancy Vivid Yellowish Orange colour. Report number 17481719, dated 14 October 2008.
Accompanied by a GIA report stating that the 2.53 carat diamond is natural Fancy Vivid Yellow-Orange colour. Report number 16286425, dated 14 August 2007.
天然2.87及2.53克拉艶彩帶黄橙色及黄橙色鑽石配鑽石耳環
鑽石共重約7.80克拉,彩鑽各附GIA證書
According to the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA), only one in ten thousand diamonds classify as fancy coloured diamonds outside the normal D - Z colour range. Colour in diamonds is caused by the intrusion of an impurity into the diamond's carbon crystal structure during formation. A diamond is coloured according to the type and number of impurities introduced. Nitrogen impurities are the cause of yellow and orange coloured diamonds.
It is believed that the world's first diamond colour grading system dates back to sixth-century India. In the present day, fancy coloured diamonds are graded according to a number of factors, the most important being colour and colour intensity known as 'saturation'.
Orange diamonds very seldom occur in nature and are considered among the most rare of fancy coloured diamonds.
An average estimate indicates that mines produce coloured diamonds at a rate of 1-2 carats for every 3000 carats mined. Of those 85% are either yellow or brown. The other colours like orange, pink, red and blue are far more rare.
According to the GIA, as the colour appearance of strongly coloured diamonds transitions from orangy yellow to orange, the occurrence of these diamonds becomes progressively more rare. The less yellow present, the more rare the diamond. Vivid orange and vivid yellowish orange diamonds are the most rarely occurring, and are often referred to as 'pumpkin' diamonds.
The present lot is composed of two diamonds certified by the GIA as fancy yellowish orange and fancy yellow-orange. Importantly, these grades indicate that orange is the predominant hue in each diamond. Furthermore, both diamonds are impressively graded as being of a vivid saturation, suggesting that they are both of the strongest saturation that can be attributed to any fancy coloured diamond. This lot presents the rare opportunity to possess a pair of very closely matched, vividly saturated diamonds of predominantly orange hue.
