A 5.01-carat flawless, colourless Type IIa diamond set atop an 18k gold ringrealized $175,000 in Heritage’s Spring Fine Jewelry Signature® Auctionon Monday. Type IIa diamonds are the most chemically pure diamonds known to exist, and less than 2 percent of diamonds are classified as such, making this gem among the rarest diamonds on the planet. As Heritage’s Executive Director of Fine Jewelry, Jill Burgum, said before the auction: “This diamond is an exceptional example of perfection – the best colour, the best clarity and a Type IIa. It doesn’t get much better than this.”
The stunning diamond was one of eight lots to achieve a six-figure result in the May 6 sale, which realized a total of $4,703,144. Midway through the auction’s first session, a diamond and sapphire bracelet sparked a bidding war. Bidding opened at $50,000 for the platinum-topped 18k gold bracelet, which holds approximately 74.00 carats of oval and cushion-shaped sapphires, but bids ultimately soared to $162,500, nearly $150,000 more than the bracelet’s high pre-auction estimate. Another beautiful bracelet, this one featuring a rainbow of coloured diamonds, also caught bidders’ attention and surpassed its pre-auction estimate to achieve a final result of $150,000.
Other top-performing diamonds included a show-stopping 8.54-carat marquise-shaped diamond in a classic white gold mounting that sold for $143,750, an elegant rose gold necklace with a 4.37-carat round brilliant-cut diamond that realized $118,750, a 5.01-carat diamond and platinum ring that also sold for $118,750, an exquisite platinum ring with a 5.00-carat emerald-cut diamond centrepiece that realized $100,000 and a 6.31-carat diamond and white gold ring that realized $75,000.
The auction also featured a wonderful assortment of coloured gemstones, including a 2.62-carat unmounted Paraiba tourmaline that sold for $125,000. That winning bid was $65,000 more than the stone’s high pre-auction estimate. Other gemstone stunners included a circa 1950 Oscar Heyman yellow sapphire and diamond bracelet that realized $93,750; a Ceylon sapphire, diamond and emerald ring that sold for $47,500; and a 2.95-carat unmounted and untreated Colombian emerald that realized $40,000 – $25,000 more than its high pre-auction estimate.
“The Heritage jewellery team was thrilled with the auction’s results,” Burgum says. “We had a beautiful, well-composed sale balancing a mix of diamonds, coloured gemstones and designer brands.”
Also exceeding expectations was the auction’s second session, featuring Property from the Estate of Mrs. Betty Jo “BJ” Graham of El Paso, Texas, a woman whose name might not hold celebrity status but whose remarkable life and many contributions to American history and the arts community of El Paso make her deserving of the limelight nonetheless. During the tumultuous times of World War II, Graham worked on the Cessna AT-17 training program, a crucial effort in preparing pilots for combat. Later, in 1956, she worked as an electrical wiring diagram analyst for Boeing Engineering Development on the iconic Enola Gay project.
A patron of the arts, Graham was also a collector of fine jewellery, with a particular fondness for eye-catching, statement-making pieces. Highlights from Graham’s collection included an 18k gold ring featuring three pear-shaped yellow diamonds weighing a total of 10.35 carats that sold for $87,500 and a 4.15-carat diamond, platinum and 18k gold ring that realized $45,000. Other standouts in Graham’s collection were jewels by the prominent Brazilian jeweller and coloured gemstone specialist Amsterdam Sauer, including an opulent 18k gold necklace bursting with amethysts, emeralds, aquamarines, yellow topazes, rubellite tourmalines, black onyx tablets and 15.65 carats of diamonds that sold for $22,500 and a pair of tourmaline, diamond and cultured pearl earrings that realized $23,750.
