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Red Diamond Earns $1.8M at Auction
The final hammer price blew the pre-sale estimate out of the water.
This 1.21-carat red diamond is the most expensive jewelry item sold in Heritage Auctions’ history. The stone sold for $1.8 million, more than 10 times its highest pre-sale estimate.
Dallas—A 1.21-carat fancy orangy-red diamond estimated to earn between $100,000 and $150,000 sold for nearly $1.8 million at Heritage Auctions’ fall jewelry sale on Thursday.
The auction house said it’s the most expensive jewelry item it has ever sold.
When the stone’s sale was announced in August, colored diamond expert Larry West of L.J. West Diamonds in New York City told National Jeweler it’s extremely rare to see a round red diamond.
“The round cut gives the most brilliance but will wash out the color the easiest, so only the darkest of colored diamonds will be cut that way,” he explained.
The Dallas jewelry auction also offered more than 125 jewels from the estate of late Dallas philanthropist Mary Anne Sammons Cree, who died in 2021.
All proceeds will go to various charities, including the Communities Foundation of Texas.
The top lot from the estate was the above 17.63-carat fancy intense yellow diamond ring, expected to sell for $300,000-$400,000.
It beat that estimate, selling for $591,000.
Another item from the philanthropist’s estate, the above platinum and 18-karat yellow gold necklace featuring 21.80 carats of Asscher-cut white diamonds and 25.75 carats of Asscher-cut yellow diamonds, also beat its pre-sale estate.
Expected to earn between $80,000 and $100,000, it ultimately went for nearly $162,000.
The full sales results are available online. Heritage Auctions offers a post-auction buy period for lots that didn’t find buyers during the initial sale.
Editor’s note: This story was updated post-publication to clarify the fact that the red diamond was the most expensive jewelry items Heritage Auctions has ever sold, not the most expensive item overall.
Editor’s note: This story was updated post-publication to clarify the fact that the red diamond was the most expensive jewelry items Heritage Auctions has ever sold, not the most expensive item overall.
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