Christie's Gets Colorful with New York Auction

RAPAPORT... Three rings featuring diamonds with fancy-vivid color will head up the Christie's Magnificent Jewels auction in New York next month.The trio of jewels, called the Perfect Palette, comprises a 2.13-carat, fancy-vivid-blue diamond ring, estimated at $2 million to $3 million, Christie's said Tuesday. Also included are a 2.34-carat, fancy-vivid-orange diamond ring and a 2.17-carat, fancy-vivid-purplish-pink diamond ring, both with a high valuation of $2.5 million. Each will be offered as a separate lot at the April 13 sale, the auction house added.Other notable items are two oval modified brilliant-cut diamonds. The first - a 25.55-carat, fancy-vivid-yellow, VS1-clarity diamond ring - has a high estimate of $1.2 million, while the 6.56-carat, fancy-intense-orangey-pink, VVS1-clarity diamond ring carries an upper valuation of $1 million. An oval mixed-cut, 3.02-carat, fancy-vivid-purplish-pink, SI2-clarity diamond ring, set with round pink diamonds on the band, is estimated at up to $1.5 million. Christie's will offer that piece without reserve.Meanwhile, a pear brilliant-cut, 38.04-carat, D-flawless, type IIa diamond ring with a high estimate of $3.5 million will feature as a top lot. An emerald-cut, 14.50-carat, D-color, internally flawless, type IIa diamond valued at up to $1 million is also up for sale, as are signed pieces by designers Suzanne Belperron, Bulgari, Cartier, David Webb, Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Verdura.Christie's will hold a concurrent Online Jewels auction from April 8 to 20, featuring a selection of items from Bulgari, Cartier and Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co., among others. The auction house has not decided whether it will hold an in-person sale or conduct live bidding over the phone and online, a spokesperson told Rapaport News.Image: The three Perfect Palette diamonds. (Christie's)