AussieNic
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2010
- Messages
- 81
I came across this while reading the news online this morning, and thought who better to share this
"DIAMONDS may be a girl''s best friend but pink and red diamonds are Best Friends Forever.
That''s how Sotheby''s Australia justifies the $700,000 to $1 million asking price for an extremely rare 0.82-carat fancy purplish red Argyle diamond ring to be auctioned in Sydney tonight, The Australian reports.
If the ring, which features the small red diamond surrounded by two blue diamonds and a cluster of white diamonds, sells even at the lower estimate of $700,000, it will smash the record for jewellery at auction in Australia.
The most expensive item ever bought at auction in Australia is a 5.34-carat unmounted brilliant-cut diamond, which fetched $456,000 at Sotheby''s in 2007.
Sotheby''s national head of jewellery, Isabelle Oliver, said a red diamond had never before been auctioned in Australia, but in Hong Kong in 2004 a 0.91-carat red diamond brought in just over $1m (including a 20 per cent buyer''s premium).
Red diamonds are unique to Rio Tinto''s Argyle Mine, where they were discovered in 1987. Up to 60 have been released, but who bought them and for how much are tightly guarded secrets owing to Argle''s clever marketing strategies under which just a few are released each year.
Ms Oliver said she had fielded interest from Australia and abroad, but Sotheby''s auction preview in Sydney at the weekend also attracted rubber-neckers who just wanted to see the rock.
Kirsten Albrecht, the managing director of specialist diamond jeweller Kozminsky, said she was not surprised by the interest.
"Diamonds have held the female imagination for longer than anyone could have possibly imagined," she said.
"With white diamonds, pricing is almost mathematical (but) with the pink and red stones there is such a sense of wonder and excitement about them that the market can ask absurd prices."
Diamonds with even a hint of pink were of increased value to many women, Ms Albrecht said.
Red diamonds are even rarer, but Ms Albrecht warned that the extremely high prices being paid for coloured diamonds now might make them a poor investment in the long run.
Tonight''s jewellery auction is the first of the year, but Ms Albrecht said the retail market had rebounded from last year."
I don''t know what it sold for, or if it sold. I will have to have a look around for some more news reports
"DIAMONDS may be a girl''s best friend but pink and red diamonds are Best Friends Forever.
That''s how Sotheby''s Australia justifies the $700,000 to $1 million asking price for an extremely rare 0.82-carat fancy purplish red Argyle diamond ring to be auctioned in Sydney tonight, The Australian reports.
If the ring, which features the small red diamond surrounded by two blue diamonds and a cluster of white diamonds, sells even at the lower estimate of $700,000, it will smash the record for jewellery at auction in Australia.
The most expensive item ever bought at auction in Australia is a 5.34-carat unmounted brilliant-cut diamond, which fetched $456,000 at Sotheby''s in 2007.
Sotheby''s national head of jewellery, Isabelle Oliver, said a red diamond had never before been auctioned in Australia, but in Hong Kong in 2004 a 0.91-carat red diamond brought in just over $1m (including a 20 per cent buyer''s premium).
Red diamonds are unique to Rio Tinto''s Argyle Mine, where they were discovered in 1987. Up to 60 have been released, but who bought them and for how much are tightly guarded secrets owing to Argle''s clever marketing strategies under which just a few are released each year.
Ms Oliver said she had fielded interest from Australia and abroad, but Sotheby''s auction preview in Sydney at the weekend also attracted rubber-neckers who just wanted to see the rock.
Kirsten Albrecht, the managing director of specialist diamond jeweller Kozminsky, said she was not surprised by the interest.
"Diamonds have held the female imagination for longer than anyone could have possibly imagined," she said.
"With white diamonds, pricing is almost mathematical (but) with the pink and red stones there is such a sense of wonder and excitement about them that the market can ask absurd prices."
Diamonds with even a hint of pink were of increased value to many women, Ms Albrecht said.
Red diamonds are even rarer, but Ms Albrecht warned that the extremely high prices being paid for coloured diamonds now might make them a poor investment in the long run.
Tonight''s jewellery auction is the first of the year, but Ms Albrecht said the retail market had rebounded from last year."
I don''t know what it sold for, or if it sold. I will have to have a look around for some more news reports
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