A rare 101.27 carat diamond the size of a ping pong ball will be sold by auction house Christie’s in Hong Kong next month and is expected to go as high as $6-$7 million.

This is the largest colorless diamond to appear on the auction market in 18 years and one of only three colorless diamonds of over 100-carats to have ever been auctioned, Christie’s said.

The diamond, which is rated VVS1 (very very slightly imperfect 1st degree) for clarity is expected to fetch a relatively low per-carat price of $6 million.

A 39.34-carat “D” color, flawless diamond sold for $6.87 million at a Christie’s New York sale earlier this month.

Rare polished diamonds achieved all-time highs per carat at sales in Geneva late last year, although a much-hyped 72.22 carat “D” flawless white diamond did not sell at a Sotheby’s Hong Kong auction earlier this month, suggesting demand for top stones may be waning due to a weakening world economy.

The 101-carat “shield-shape” stone was cut from a 460-carat hunk of rough and mounted on a tiara, rather than a necklace or pendant given its extraordinary thickness.

Included with the auction are naming rights to the stone, who Christie’s said might come from Russia or the Middle East.

Other items to feature in Christie’s May 28 sale include a colored diamond ring set with a fancy green diamond estimated to be worth $3 million, as well as a rare emerald and diamond ring set with a 14.31 carat emerald which could go as high as $800,000.

Pink diamonds are recovered from a limited number of sources around the world. India, one of the oldest known pink diamond deposits, is recognized for diamonds of a pastel color. Brazil and South Africa have also been known to harvest stones of pink color. In 1979, an area in the northwestern region of Australia, near the Argyle Lake, was found to possess pink diamonds. This region is known to harvest a consistent supply of pink diamonds with a distinctive color.

The rarity of pink diamonds can be attributed to the unusual set of factors involved in creating this pink hue. The color can be attributed to the extreme geological forces exerted on the stone after formation. These extreme heat and pressure forces manipulate the diamonds structure. Pink diamonds rarely occur in a pure pink color. Diamonds with pinkish color normally exhibit modifiers of purple, orange and brownish hues.

There are two types of naturally occurring pink diamonds: Type Ia and Type IIa. Type Ia diamonds account for most of the worlds natural pink diamonds. These diamonds contain trace amounts of nitrogen. Type IIa, which are considerably rarer, are relatively nitrogen free.

Treatments
Color treatment processes have been around for hundreds of years. The most primitive process, often called “painting”, involves foil backing the stone to create a desired color. In recent years, more sophisticated treatments have evolved to create such colors. These treatments are more durable and require more intellectual process to detect. However, all treatment processes must be disclosed by the seller.

The most common color treatment process is known as High-Pressure High Temperature treatment (HPHT). HPHT process used to enhance the color of diamonds can also be used to remove color from diamonds, usually type IIa diamonds.

Synthetic Pink Diamonds

Pink diamonds can also be created in laboratories using HPHT growth machines as well as chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Using the HPHT method, diamonds are grown with Ib nitrogen impurities. Electron radiation is then used to enhance the color of the stone. The CVD method is a fairly new process. Diamonds created using this method contain type Ib components much like the HPHT method. Color enhancement treatments are then applied to enhance the color of the stone.

Pink Diamonds and The Market

Natural pink diamonds have always been a hot commodity for diamond collectors because of their extreme rarity. The limited supply of these colorful stones only adds to their rarity. It is essential that those looking to purchase colored diamonds have an awareness of the different kinds of colored diamonds available. It is also important to buy from those whom you feel comfortable. All honest and reputable sources disclose any treatment information. Trust becomes an important factor when buying precious gemstones especially when treatment options are difficult to detect.

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the famous telescope named for Edwin Hubble, is now being used to discover diamonds in space. Scientists working on the project hope it will help them understand how carbon rich molecules develop. Although the Hubble is not the first telescope, it has led to many extraordinary breakthroughs in astrophysics.

The Hubble provides the perfect mechanism to view extraterrestrial objects. Ground based telescopes have significant disadvantages when compared to the HST — blurred images caused by the atmosphere and no background from scattered light. The Hubble is also able to view ultraviolet light which is normally absorbed by our O-zone layer.

Most of the meteorites that crash to the Earth’s surface contain carbon. About 3% of the carbon in these meteorites contains tiny diamonds. These small diamonds are only about a nanometer in size. However, scientists believe that meteorites reflect the composition of interstellar gases and dust. If this is true, the presence of extraterrestrial diamonds would seem inevitable. These diamonds are believed to radiate large amounts of energy in the infrared wavelength, making the Hubble Telescope the perfect tool to seek these diamonds. Young stars that radiate high amounts of ultraviolet light make the best searching ground for these extraterrestrial diamonds.

Sotheby’s Hong Kong recently announced the display of an extremely rare 72 carat pear shaped white diamond. Weighing in at an astonishing 72.22 carats, this is the largest flawless D-color pear shaped diamond to appear in auction in Asia. The diamond is estimated to be worth $9.5 - 12.5 million. The diamond has been graded by the Gemological Institute of America and is particularly revered for its excellent polish and symmetry.

This immaculate diamond was cut from an original rough diamond weighing in at 188 carats. It will be offered at the spring sale on April 10th. This diamond is sure to spark interest and intense bidding from avid collectors. Sotheby’s is known for auctioning diamonds and gemstones of extreme rarity and value including a 6.04 ct. Fancy vivid blue diamond ring which sold for an impressive $7.9 million and a 10.04 carat fancy vivid pink diamond which sold for $6.2 million.

If you happened to purchase a diamond between January 1, 1994, and March 31, 2006, you may be eligible for a small portion of the $295 million settlement with DeBeers. The settlement is part of an agreement entered in to by DeBeers for anticompetitive practices while not directly admitting to any wrong doing.

While some are claiming that you could get several hundred dollars for as small of a purchase as $2,000, it simply does not add up for me, especially once the lawyers get their share.

At any rate, if you would like to be a part of the class action lawsuit, all you need to do is fill out a claim form before March 19, 2008. If you want a shot at getting a few dollars from DeBeers head over to the Settlement Website and fill out the form there. If you have any questions or need assistance just call us here at the store.

Yehuda Diamond Company, an online retailer of clarity enhanced diamonds, has recently been sued by their online competitor Blue Nile. Blue Nile claims certain statements about clarity enhanced diamonds can be misleading to consumers. Clarity Enhancement is a process by which microscopic material is inserted into diamonds that contain feathers. This filling material contains the same optical properties as diamond itself and causes light to pass through the feather. This treatment process makes it harder to view such inclusions. In the complaint, Blue Nile acknowledges that “clarity enhancement can improve a diamond’s apparent clarity by one or two grades.” However, it states that these statements can be misleading to consumers looking to buy quality diamonds.

Clarity enhanced diamonds present a problem for consumers looking to buy natural, quality diamonds. The durability of such clarity enhanced diamonds is nowhere near that of pure diamond. Additionally, this enhancement treatment can be eroded by heat, routine cleaning and even sunlight. Reputable and knowledgeable jewelers always disclose treatment methods of any diamonds they offer for sale. But realistically, not all jewelers are reputable. Customers looking to buy diamonds need to be aware of the treatment methods available for quality gemstones. Consumers need to arm themselves with the knowledge necessary to make an educational decision when it comes to buying diamonds. Buyers, by no means, need to be experts when purchasing gemstones. However, they need to educate themselves with the proper knowledge and be able to know the right questions to ask. Trust becomes an important factor when buying precious gemstones of any kind. Consumers need to trust the source of their diamond purchase and make sure they are not being misled.

Pink, red and purple diamonds, the rarest and most valuable diamonds on the planet, have recently seen an increase in prices. The 23rd Annual Argyle Pink Diamond Tender had a variety of exotic and unusual stones suitable for any aspiring gemstone collector. Many avid gemstone collectors spurred high bids for these precious colored gemstones. Prices on such stones can reach about $400,000 - $500,000 per carat to the wholesaler.

The Argyle Mine, located in the Kimberly region of Western Australia, has the most volume production of diamonds in the world. The average yearly production from the mine yields 35 million carats which is 1/3 of the worlds total production. The Argyle mine also produces about 95% of the world’s pink and red diamonds.  The mine is known for producing some of the rarest diamonds on the planet. With production of pink diamonds said to end around 2018, this will only add to their rarity and increasing value.

Gemory, a Silicon Valley based firm, has created a new technology enabling permanent inscription of high resolution photos onto diamonds and other gemstones. Over the past 25 years, inscription technology has been limited to basic letter, number and logo inscriptions. Known as the Gemory Process, this nanotechnology is the next evolution of gemstone inscription.

The Gemory Process allows the inscription of high resolution images in a range of gray scale tones. These photo inscriptions are non-invasive will last forever on the surface of the diamond. Unlike traditional inscription technology, the Gemory Process does not use lasers that melt and remove portions of the diamond. The inscriptions can be removed without compromising the stones clarity, color and carat weight.

This unique inscription process can also help to guard your precious stones. You will be able to quickly verify the authenticity of your gemstones with no worry of error.

For more information on the Gemory Process, visit Gemroy’s website at www.gemory.com.

The perplexity of the mysterious red glow emitted by the hope diamond has recently been explained. The famed Hope Diamond, a 45.52 carat deep-blue diamond housed in the Smithsonian Museum, has been long viewed as a cursed gemstone. It was believed the diamond was stolen from the eye of a sculpted idol of the Hindu goddess Sita. The diamond later because part of the French Crown Jewels.

The Hope Diamond gives off a mysterious fiery red glow minutes after being exposed to ultraviolet light. This phenomenon was first recorded in 1965. The source of the fiery red glow has puzzled scientists for years. However, US Naval Research Laboratory and Penn State University have recently discovered the source of the phosphorescence comes from the boron present in the gemstone. Boron is the same element that makes this stone appear blue in visible light. Most blue diamonds glow blue or white after exposure to ultraviolet light. The Hope Diamond glows red indicating a mixture of boron and nitrogen.

The high price of colored diamonds has created a increase in synthetic colored stones entering the market. New technologies, such as the SpectroGem, help to fight the infiltration of synthetically colored stones into the natural gemstone market. These systems scan the movement of light through a diamond and can tell real colored diamonds from synthetic and “enhanced” diamonds. This same technology can also be used to determine the source of gemstones.

Israel Diamond Exchange has joined forces with the European Gemological Laboratory to fight the infiltration of synthetic and treated stones into the natural diamond market. EGL Israel recently launched the EGL SpectroGEM, the first system available in Israel with the ability to identify treated and synthetic stones. EGL invested more than $500,000 into this new system and hopes to boost consumer confidence in the diamond market.

The SpectroGEM, a spectroscopic system which scans the movement of light within a diamond, can determine whether a diamond is natural or synthetic. It determines the light performance of a stone and maps how the stone reflects light waves. Additionally, the SpectroGEM can also determine if a stone has undergone HPHT treatment ( High Pressure, High Temperature). EGL hopes the SpectroGEM will help restore credibility and boost consumer confidence in the diamond market.