Blue Diamond Blows Away Estimate at Heritage

A blue-diamond ring led Heritage Auction’s most recent jewelry sale, fetching $275,000.

The 1.21-carat, fancy-light-blue, VVS2-clarity center stone — flanked by tapered baguette-cut, light-blue diamonds weighing approximately 0.50 carats — far exceeded its $150,000 high estimate at the Fall Fine Jewelry Signature Auction, the house said last week.

The September 28 sale of more than 300 lots featured a variety of diamond and gemstone jewels, as well as signed pieces.

The top lots included a gold ring with an oval-shaped, 8.84-carat, unheated Burma spinel and 6.50 carats of diamonds, which beat its $90,000 high estimate at $106,250, and an Edwardian-era platinum ring bearing a circular brilliant-cut, 6.86-carat, I-color, SI1-clarity diamond that brought in $93,750.

Leading the sale’s signed items was a Bulgari gold ring with a cushion-shaped, 10.67-carat, purple Ceylon sapphire surrounded by 4.50 carats of baguette-cut diamonds. It fetched $87,500.

Four necklaces were among the top sellers. The first, featuring 46.76 carats of G- to I-color, VS-clarity diamonds in 18-karat white gold, netted $71,875. Next was an 18-karat yellow gold  necklace from Oscar Heyman, circa 1980, that contained 24.81 carats of diamonds and fetched $62,500. A Van Cleef & Arpels platinum and gold necklace from circa the 1950s, showcasing 9.50 carats of transitional and full-cut diamonds, garnered $56,250, while an 18-karat gold Cartier necklace with 14.75 carats of diamonds sold for $41,250.

Other pieces that did well included an Oscar Heyman platinum bracelet with 10.15 carats of baguette-cut diamonds, which went for $52,500, and a platinum ring featuring a marquise-shaped, 5.90-carat diamond between baguette-cut diamonds, which yielded $50,000.

Image: The blue diamond ring. (Heritage Auctions)