Yaniv Marcus Discusses Fancy Vivid Green Diamond to be Auctioned in Hong Kong

With the Hong Kong auction coming up on May 31, Christie’s “Aurora Green”, an ultra-rare fancy vivid green diamond, is poised to set a new auction record for the highest price per carat paid for any gemstone.
To get more insight as to the significance of the fancy diamond and an overview of how fancy vivid green diamonds are determined, Investing News Network (INN), spoke with Yaniv Marcus, a diamond expert and head of the Diamond Investment and Intelligence Centre.

Why the diamond is significant

Because of its rarity, size, colour and clarity, the Aurora Green could potentially break the selling price record at the Hong Kong auction. An additional characteristic—its lack of Fluorescence—also contributes to how special the diamond really is, according to Marcus.
Additionally, Marcus said the diamond has “a mesmerizing radiant cut, making it a true natural beauty.” The fancy vivid green gem is set in a pink diamond halo setting.
The rare diamond is the largest fancy vivid green diamond in the world and is valued between $16.2 million and $20.1 million, or $3.22 to $4 million per carat, which was certified as of January 2016 by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Marcus said the GIA hasn’t as of yet certified anything bigger.
Marcus told INN the size of the diamond is twice the size of a previous auction with a fancy vivid green, so this is only the second fancy vivid green to be auctioned in the world, which signifies how rare that colour of gem is, since colours such as vivid blue, vivid pink and vivid yellow are generally more popular colours to be auctioned off.
“[The Aurora Green] is only the second [to be auctioned] one [green], and it’s the biggest one, so it’s very big news,” he added. 

Determining the value of fancy vivid diamonds

The GIA states that naturally coloured diamonds are extremely rare. Green diamonds are generally treated with suspicion and examined carefully in gemological laboratories.
Marcus describes “fancy colour diamonds” as the rarest of diamond colours.  In a blog post, he said green diamonds have generally appeared far less often in auctions over the last 40 years over other rare coloured diamonds, such as red, pink or blue.
“A green diamond has to have enough transactions in order to have some kind of value,” Marcus said. He added, much like selling a house, an asking price has to be established and then [you] see what the market will offer. What the diamond essentially sells for is what it is worth, which can be said for any asset.
Since the Aurora Green is only the second vivid fancy green diamond to be auctioned off, there’s only one former transaction that can be used to compare its value.
Marcus breaks down the gem’s value as follows: 

• The 2.52 carat diamond was sold in 2009 for $1.222 million per carat.
• The 5.03 carat diamond is twice as large.
•  The value of a 2 carat diamond is more than twice the value of two 1 carat diamonds.
• Six and a half years went by since the last such diamond was sold, supposedly collecting momentum for the next time such a diamond would appear.
• The overall market for unique diamonds has increased a combined average of about 8%

In November 2015, a 12.03 carat vivid blue diamond called the “Blue Moon of Josephine” sold for $48.5 million, or $4.03 million per carat, which holds the current record for highest price per carat  for a gem at an auction. It will be interesting to see if the Aurora Green takes the crown for highest fancy vivid diamond auctioned off.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: Interviews conducted by the Investing News Network are edited for clarity. The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.