Christie’s New York marks the start of the fall jewellery auction season with a $35 million sale of Magnificent Jewels on October 18. Over 340 items of jewellery – from sparkling white diamond rings to the finest coloured diamonds – will make up the sale. As is now tradition at Christie’s, the October sale in New York marks the official opening of the fall season globally, which includes major sales of important jewels in Geneva, Paris, London and Hong Kong before returning to New York for the grand finale auction of the season: the highly anticipated Collection of Elizabeth Taylor in December.

      “As we meet with collectors and dealers around the world in the run-up to this autumn season, it is clear that demand for rare and important jewellery remains as strong as ever,” said Rahul Kadakia, Head of Jewellery for Christie’s Americas. “Recent top prices for coloured and colourless diamonds and gemstones have helped bring some spectacular jewels into the marketplace, including top-quality D-colour diamonds and some truly exceptional fancy coloured diamonds in shades of yellow, pink, blue and green.”

      The top lot of the October sale is The Vivid Yellow diamond, a super-saturated Fancy Vivid pear-shaped diamond of 32.77 carats (estimate: US$6- 8 million). With a golden yellow hue so intense and so deep that the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) ranks it amongst the rarest of gemstones in its class,

      The sale also features fancy coloured diamonds in highly-desirable shades of pink, blue and green, including a pear-shaped Fancy Vivid blue diamond ring of 3.21 carats flanked by white side diamonds (estimate: US$2.5-3 million), and a marquise-cut Fancy Intense blue diamond ring of 2.28 carats (estimate: $600,000- 800,000).

      For the many collectors now competing for top pink diamonds, the sale also includes a pearshaped Fancy purplish-pink diamond ring of 8.20 carats by Tiffany & Co. (estimate: US$1.25-1.8 million), and an oval-cut Fancy Pink diamond of 5.23 carats (estimate: US$600,000-800,000). Among the more unusual coloured diamonds is a rare Fancy yellow-green diamond. The cushion-cut stone of 17.88 carats forms the centrepiece of an elegant choker necklace by Bvlgari that may be converted to a brooch (estimate: $500,000-800,000).

      Per-carat prices for top-quality white diamonds remain strong, and the upcoming sale offers six large D-colour diamonds – the whitest
shade possible – along with a broad assortment of fine diamond necklaces, earrings, brooches and bracelets. The largest of the D-colour diamonds is a stunning oval-cut diamond ring of 25.74 carats by the celebrated jeweller Graff that is estimated at US$3.5-5 million. Also featured is a rectangular-cut D-colour diamond ring of 20.43 carats by Cartier (estimate: US$1.5-2.5 million) and a pear-shaped Dcolour diamond pendant of 11.05 carats (estimate: $1-1.5 million).

      Art Deco jewels remain a favourite category for collectors who prize the era’s bold geometric forms and exceptional craftsmanship. A highlight of the upcoming sale is a highly-coveted example of Art Deco inspiration by Cartier – a full size “Tutti Frutti” bracelet of diamonds and carved sapphires, rubies and emeralds (estimate: US$600,000-800,000).

      At 3 inches in width, the piece is the largest of the limited-edition Tutti Frutti bracelets to have come to auction at Christie’s since November of 2005.

      Superior examples of this iconic style are among the most desirable signed jewels in the auction market currently; earlier this year, Christie’s London set a new world auction record of US$1.88 million for a Tutti Frutti bracelet when it sold a slimmer version of the signature style for nearly four times the low estimate.