Magnificent Jewels

Magnificent Jewels

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 29. A Rare and Important Fancy Gray Diamond Ring | Hemmerle | 罕有彩灰色鑽石戒指.

Property from an Important Detroit Collection

Hemmerle

A Rare and Important Fancy Gray Diamond Ring | Hemmerle | 罕有彩灰色鑽石戒指

Auction Closed

December 7, 09:12 PM GMT

Estimate

1,500,000 - 2,000,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Property from an Important Detroit Collection

Hemmerle | A Rare and Important Fancy Gray Diamond Ring


Hemmerle | 罕有彩灰色鑽石戒指


Featuring an emerald-cut Fancy Gray Diamond weighing 10.67 carats set at an angle within a matte gray mounting, size 4, with sizing spheres, with maker's mark for Hemmerle. With signed box and additional unsigned ring mounting. 

Accompanied by GIA report no. 2135796072 dated October 28, 2015 stating that the diamond is Fancy Gray, Natural color, SI1 clarity.


Accompanied by Gubelin report no. 11110137 dated December 14, 2011 stating that the diamond is Fancy Gray, Natural color, SI1 clarity.


Accompanied by a letter from Stephen C. Hofer attesting to the rarity of the diamond.


Colored diamonds have reached unprecedented heights of desirability in recent seasons, leading to headline-grabbing prices. In October of this year, Sotheby’s ushered the Williamson Pink Star to the fantastic price of $57.7 million, doubling the previous per carat record for any gemstone offered at auction and surpassing the $57.4 million paid just six months earlier for the DeBeers Blue. While beauty underpins the allure of both diamonds, the extraordinary sums they achieved stem chiefly from one factor: rarity. 


Of the many colors that diamonds may exhibit, shades of pink and blue are not, in fact, the rarest. Red diamonds lay claim to this title, and yet over the past 25 years more fancy red diamonds have appeared at auction than their enigmatic cousins, fancy grays. 


Admiration for gray diamonds dates as far back as the 3rd century B.C.E. when the Indian writer Kautilya mentions diamonds “having a gray colour like the sheen of a polished blade, which brought all manner of good luck to the wearer.” In his 17th century will, the French Cardinal Mazarin bequeathed a 17-carat gray diamond to the French Crown. Still, references to gray diamonds are few, and their appearance on the market infrequent. 


Most diamonds presenting a gray bodycolor derive their hue from numerous inclusions within the stone. Only a very small percentage of gray stones, including the striking diamond offered here, are colored primarily by trace elements incorporated into their crystal structure. Minute quantities of boron and hydrogen cause the stone to absorb certain wavelengths of light, producing varying shades of gray and blue. This diamond’s designation as type IIb indicates a detectable level of boron. Most blue diamonds are also type IIb, and scientists have yet to pinpoint what determines the relative levels of blue and gray. In most cases, they serve as each hue serve as modifying colors across a spectrum of grayish blues and bluish grays. A pure gray color is truly a gemological anomaly.


Colored diamond authority Stephen C. Hofer sums up the remarkable qualities of the present diamond in his accompanying monograph, writing, “For me, what makes this stone so special, is the unusual combination of large size, pure gray hue, clear transparency, and the unique pattern of gray reflections resulting from the “older-style “emerald cut.” He is particularly taken with the way the stone’s cut interacts with its color, continuing, “There is a wonderful sense of mystery and illusion as we look closer at the arrangement of light, medium and dark gray tones under the table facet area, which immediately draws the eyes deeper into the center of the diamond. At the same time, the relatively steep crown angles cause numerous rainbow flashes of colour (i.e., dispersion), which adds a touch of colour to this fancy gray diamond in both daylight and evening light.”