Texas-based auction house Heritage Auctions set a record at its Jewelry Auctions held on September 29, 2022, when a 1.21-carat, extremely rare fancy orangy-red, round brilliant-cut diamond, bearing Lot No. 55149, with an estimate of USD 100,000 -150,000 sold for a staggering USD 1,450,000, which was 14.5 times the lower estimate and almost 10 times the upper estimate. The rare red diamonnd set a price-per-carat value of USD 1,198,347 the third highest price-per-carat value recorded by a red diamond in the world, the first ppc-value of USD 1,694,101 being held by the 1.92-carat, rectangular-cut,fancy-red, un-named red diamond that sold for USD 3,252,675 at a Christie’s Geneva Auction in May 2013. The second highest ppc-valuie of USD 1,565,557 for a red diamond is still held by the 5.11-carat, trilliant-cut, fancy-red, Moussaieff Red diamond, the largest red diamond in the World, which achieved a price of USD 8 million.
The red diamond was previiously set in a bracelet, the property of a Lady, who inherited it from her mother, which also had other colored diamonds set on it. Many of the colored diamonds set in the bracelet turned out to be color-treated. Hence, it was presumed that the red diamond too must have undergone color enhancement like the others. However, due to the extreme rarity of diamonds of this color, experts of the auction house, sent the diamond to GIA for testing, and surprisingly it turned out to be of natural color.
GIA Report No. 2225274265 States that the 1.21-carat, round brilliant-cut diamond with dimensions of (6.62-6.84) x 4.14 mm, has a Fancy Orangy-Red Color, and a Clarity of I-2.
The bidding on this lot started with USD 300,000 and after over thirty competetive bids reached USD 1,450,000. The final price was the highest achieved by any jewel at a Heritage Auction. According to the auction house, the stone’s rare saturation and intensity in Color, were behind its strong performance.
Commenting on the sale of the red diamond, Heritage’s executive director of fine jewelry, Jill Burgum said, “Diamonds described as predominantly red are extraordinarily uncommon, and finding one over 1 carat is especially rare. So we weren’t surprised that this magnificent specimen caught the eye of our discerning bidders.”
The first, second and third largest red diamonds in the World are 1) The 5.11-carat, trilliant-cut, fancy red Moussaieff Red Diamond 2) The 5.05-carat, emerald-cut, Kazanjian-Red Diamond and 3) The 5.03-carat, modified round brilliant-cut, fancy dark-red De Young Red Diamond.
©Smithsonian Institution
The 1.21-carat, round brilliant-cut, fancy orangy-red diamond that sold at the September 29, Heritage Auctions occupies the 11th place in the table of known famous diamonds arranged in descending order of carat weights.
| S/N | Name of Diamond | Carat Weight | Cut/Shape | Color | Highest price achieved at sale/auction | Price per carat |
| 1 | Moussaieff Red | 5.11 | trilliant-cut | fancy red | USD 8 million | USD1,565,557 |
| 2 | Kazanjain Red | 5.05 | emerald-cut | |||
| 3 | DeYoung Red | 5.03 | modified round brilliant-cut | fancy dark red | ||
| 4 | Fancoldi Red Diamond | 3.16 | round brilliant-cut | fancy intense purplish-red | ||
| 5 | Graff Purplish-Red | 2.26 | modified octagonal-cut | fancy purplish-red | Christie’s Geneva auction, Nov. 2007. USD 2,646,000 | USD 1,170,796 |
| 6 | Raj Red Diamond 1988 | 2.23 | ||||
| 7 | Unnamed Red Diamond | 1.92 | radiant-cut | fancy red | Phillips de Pury, New York Auction, Oct.2001, USD 1,652,500 | USD 860,677 |
| 8 | Unnamed Red Diamond | 1.92 | rectangular-cut | fancy red | Christie’s Geneva, May 2013. USD 3,252,675 | USD 1,694,101 |
| 9 | Unnamed Red Diamond | 1.70 | octagonal-cut | fancy purplish-red | Christie’s Hong Kong, Dec.2008 | |
| 10 | Unnamed Red Diamond | 1.59 | modified rectangular-cut | fancy purplish-red | Christie’s New York April 2007, USD 958,400 | USD 602,767 |
| 11 | Red Diamond Sold at Heritage Auctions | 1.21 | Round Brilliant Cut | Fancy orangy red | Sept 29th 2022 Heritage Auctions | USD 1,450,000 |
12 | Unnamed Red Diamond | 1.05 | oval-cut | fancy red | Christie’s April 2002, USD 442,500 | USD 421,428 |
| 13 | Unnamed Red Diamond | 1.00 | pear-shaped | fancy purplish-red | Christie’s Oct 1997 Sale, USD 215,500 | USD 215,500 |
| 14 | Hancock Red | 0.95 | circular-cut | fancy purplish-red | Christie’s New York auction 1987. USD 880,000 | USD 926,315 |
| 15 | Unnamed Red Diamond | 0.91 | modified square-cut | fancy purplish-red | Sotheby’s Hong Kong, Nov. 2004. USD 561,392 | USD 616,914 |
| 16 | Unnamed Red Diamond, Christie’s Hong Kong, May 2001 | 0.73 | rectangular-cut | fancy red | USD 391,280 | USD 536,000 |
| 17 | Rob Red | 0.59 | pear-shaped | fancy intense red | ||
| 18 | Unnamed Red Diamond, Christie’s Hong Kong, May 2000 | 0.59 | oval-cut | fancy purplish-red | USD 262,550 | USD 445,000 |
| 19 | Lady in Red | 0.54 | round-brilliant | fancy intense purplish-red |
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