Cartier: Rare pink diamond necklace sells for £190k at Tennants
The necklace, signed and numbered by Cartier, was sold at Tennants Auctioneers in North Yorkshire on March 15.
The 8.62 carat diamond, which is presented as a necklace with a simple white claw setting, was found to have some colouration by Tennants’ jewellery specialist, Jessica Fall.
An ‘extremely rare’ pink diamond by Cartier (Image: Harry Middleton)
Following consultation with the Gemmological Institution of America (GIA), the gem was officially graded as very light pink with a clarity grading of VVS1, defined as ‘just below flawless: of high clarity’.
The diamond was put up for sale by a private vendor from North Yorkshire.
Ms Fall said: “Pink diamonds are officially defined as ‘exceptionally rare’; some estimates suggest as few as one in 10,000 gem-quality diamonds mined worldwide show any discernible colour.Faberge elephant (Image: Tennants)
“Of that small number, a similar percentage (approximately 0.01 per cent) have a pink tone.
“It has been a privilege to be able to handle a diamond of such rarity and beauty, and we were delighted to achieve such a fantastic result for our vendor.”
The diamond, which was sold by a private vendor from North Yorkshire, is presented as a necklace with a simple white claw setting by Cartier, which is detachable from a pendant mount, potentially allowing for varied use.Omega watch (Image: Tennants)
Strong prices were seen throughout the auction.
Some of the notable sales included a four row graduated cultured pearl necklace with a Victorian diamond clasp that sold for £35,000.
Another noteworthy sale was an early to mid-Victorian sapphire and diamond brooch, which went for £5,800.
An 18 carat gold star sapphire swivel ring was sold for £4,200.
Jewellery by leading makers also saw high demand.
A Van Cleef & Arpels Mother-of-Pearl Alhambra Necklace and Earring Suite was sold for £10,000, while a pair of diamond hoop earrings by Cartier secured £4,500.
A Cartier Diamond Panthère Pin was sold for £3,500.
In the silver section, the star of the show was a Fabergé gem-set silver-mounted sandstone match-holder in the form of an elephant, which sold for £10,000.
The watch section was led by a Jaeger LeCoultre Lady’s 18 Carat White Gold Diamond Set Reverso Watch, which sold for £5,000.
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A rare 1967 Omega Seamaster 300 was sold for £3,800, and a Rolex Oysterdate from 1956 secured £2,500.
Military wristwatches attracted keen interest, with a rare Omega Royal Air Force ‘Thin Arrow’ wristwatch issued in 1953 selling for £4,200, and a Hanhart Second World War German Luftwaffe Pilot’s wristwatch securing £3,500.
The sale realised a total hammer price of £604,869 for the 301 lots, and a 91 per cent sold rate.