INTO THE SPOTLIGHT
green diamond ever found, the 40.7-carat Dresden Green, which dates back to the 1700s and is now displayed at the Albertinum museum in Dresden, the capital city of Saxony in Germany where it derived its name. Other well-known gems include the extremely rare 5.11-carat Moussaieff Red; the massive 59.6-carat Pink Star (formerly known as the Steinmetz Pink); and a 14.82-carat orange diamond, believed to be the world’s largest in that colour, simply named The Orange. While fancy coloured diamonds have always been prized through the centuries, several high-profile, record-shattering sales of top diamonds in the past few years have again thrust this small group of gems into the limelight. Last November, Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau paid US$48.4M for a 12.03-carat fancy vivid blue diamond at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva for his daughter, and named it the Blue Moon of Josephine after her. It was the most expensive diamond ever sold, regardless of colour, and fetched the highest If you are wondering why it seems that fancy coloured diamonds seem to be more pervasive now than ever, it’s a simple case of supply rising to meet demand. “The recent commercialisation of yellow diamonds coupled with unique campaigns by Tiffany & Co, the attractive marketing of ‘champagne’ and ‘cognac’ diamonds, and the realisation of pink, purple, blue and other fancy coloured diamonds have spurred a growing appetite for end-consumers,” Karan Tilani, director of the World of Diamonds, explains. “Fashion has also strongly influenced consumer preferences, with individuals getting bolder to flaunt a diamond that isn’t of a pure colourless grade. “In response to soaring demand, mining groups release larger percentages of fancy coloured diamonds from their reserves to keep up with the trends.” He adds that the introduction of innovation software, for example in mapping technology, has yielded in a higher proportion of finequality sparklers churned out by mines. “This includes diamonds with better clarity grades and of more desirable colours. In addition, technology has contributed to faint fancy coloured diamonds being able to retain their colours even after the cutting process.” Despite this perceived increase in availability, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s Asia and chairman of international jewellery in Asia, Quek Chin Yeow, says that there is still an extreme scarcity of large and fine fancy coloured diamonds. “Although the Blue Moon of Josephine was discovered in 2014 in South Africa, I think it is probably the only