The Jewellery Editor Maria Doulton made her TV debut this week when she was invited to appear on Sky News and Bloomberg TV to talk about two exceptional diamonds that were set to go under the hammer at Christie's and Sotheby's in Geneva on consecutive days.
Maria was first invited to appear alongside Francine Lacqua on Bloomberg TV's 'The Pulse' on the day of Christie's auction of Magnificent Jewels on Tuesday 12 November, where she was quizzed about the excitement surrounding coloured diamonds and, in particular, 'The Orange' - at 14.82ct, the largest Fancy Vivid orange diamond ever to appear at auction (watch Maria on Bloomberg TV here).
In the course of the interview, Maria pointed out that "whereas white diamonds of a size beyond 20ct - so important diamonds - have tripled in value in the last 10 years, coloured diamonds have increased by 10 fold." And while other coloured diamonds have a track record that means you can predict approximately how much they will sell for, so few orange diamonds have ever been sold at auction that 'The Orange' was an anomaly, making it notoriously difficult to estimate its value.
That evening, 'The Orange' made history, selling for SFr 32,645,000 (US$35,540,611) - a record-breaking US$2,398,151 per carat - almost doubling its pre-sale estimate. This makes it the most valuable Fancy Vivid orange diamond ever sold at auction and the highest price paid per carat for a coloured diamond.
The next day, Maria was back in the hot seat talking to Jeff Randall on Sky News about the star lot at Sotheby's sale of Magnificent Jewels in Geneva less than an hour before the 59.6ct 'Pink Star' sold for US$83.2 million. Maria spoke about the recent rash of exceptional auction results that would bode well for the sale of the impressive 'Pink Star'. "The auction world seems at fever pitch, which is the reason experts have chosen this moment to sell some of the most valuable diamonds on earth," she commented.
At more than twice the size of the 24.78ct Graff Pink Fancy Intense pink diamond - until now the largest pink diamond to appear at auction - on the evening of Wednesday 13 November the 'Pink Star' became the most valuable diamond in the world, entering the record books as the highest price paid for a diamond, or indeed any jewel.
