A fancy intense 3.03-carat pink diamond is among the highlights at Phillips’ New York Jewels Auction next month with a $1.2m to $1.6m estimate.
Other diamonds of note include a 4.43-carat oval fancy vivid yellow diamond ring (estimate $75,000 to $125,000), and a colorless emerald-cut diamond weighing 6.03 carats (F color, VVS1 clarity) with a $90,000 to $150,000 estimate. All three diamonds are set in rings.
The sale also features Etoile de Mer, a starfish-shaped sapphire, tsavorite, and diamond brooch by Jean Schlumberger, the French jewelry designer who famously revitalized Tiffany & Co during his tenure there, from 1956.
Among the 105 lots there is also a selection of signed jewels from Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, Chaumet, and others. The sale is on 12 June.
The Blue Belle sapphire and diamond necklace is to lead a Christie’s New York sale next month with an estimate of $8m to $12m.
The tassel pendant features a 392.52 carat unheated, cushion modified, mixed-cut sapphire from the famed Ratnapura region of Sri Lanka, together with oval-shaped diamond terminals, and a brilliant-cut diamond neckchain, mounted in gold.
The estimate is well below the $17.6m the piece sold for at Christie’s Geneva when it last changed hands in November 2014.
The sapphire was recovered in 1926 and was sold in 1937 to was sold to British motor magnate Lord Nuffield, founder of Morris Motors.
There were reports at the time that the gem would be gifted to HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on her coronation day, though this didn’t actually happen.
“Sapphires of this caliber are extraordinarily rare,” said Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s international head of jewelry.
“This remarkable stone must be considered among the most prestigious colored gemstones to appear on the market in many years – truly worthy of any world-class collection.
Among other highlights at the Magnificent Jewels live auction on 17 June, is the Marie-Thérèse Pink Diamond, 10.38-carat kite-shaped fancy purple-pink diamond that is said to have belonged to Marie Antoinette.
It has recently been set into a contemporary ring by the Parisian jeweler Joel Arthur Rosenthal
Lucara is drawing down up to $28m in emergency funding for its underground mine expansion after reporting a slump in Q1 earnings and lowering its revenue guidance for the full year.
The Vancouver-based miner received lender approval for the funds from its Cost Overrun Reserve Account (CORA) extending a standby undertaking, as it faces increasing financial pressure from declining revenues, operational disruptions, and a weak diamond market.
Revenue for the first quarter slipped 23 per cent to $30.3m, as heavy rainfall in January forced the company to process lower-grade stockpile material at its Karowe open pit mine, in Botswana. It sold 72,871 carats, down 22 per cent year-on-year.
“This lower revenue outlook has led management to assess the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, with concerns raised about sufficient working capital, cash flow from operations, and liquidity to meet obligations and ongoing UGP (underground mine plan) development,” Lucara said in its Q1 2025 Results.
Projected revenue for the full year has been lowered from $195m – $225m to $150m – $160m, although this figure excludes sale of the 2,488-carat Motswedi diamond that was recovered in August 2024.
Petra said lenders had approved a draw of up to $28m from the cost overrun reserve account to allow work on the underground expansion to continue.
In exchange, Nemesia, its largest shareholder, agreed to extend its shareholder standby undertaking until the project is finished.
During Q1 Lucara said it recovered six stones over 100 carats including the a 1,476 carat non-gem diamond that was sold on tender for $1.11m.
Laurence Graff and his son Francois are ranked 44th in the newly-published Sunday Times Rich List 2025 of Britain’s 350 wealthiest individuals.
Their worth is estimated at £3.65bn ($4.85bn), up £50m ($66m) on last year’s figure.
Laurence Graff founded the iconic Graff Diamonds in 1960 and remains chairman, aged 86. Francois, who has been involved in the family business for over 35 years, now serves as CEO.
Also in the Rich List, at number 342, is Alisa Moussaieff and family, with an estimated £342m ($454m) worth.
She is the CEO and creative director of the exclusive Moussaieff Jewellers, founded by her late husband Shlomo in 1963.
Top of the list is Gopi Hinduja and family. He chairs the Hinduja Group, a multinational conglomerate spanning automotive, oil and speciality chemicals, banking and finance, IT, cybersecurity, healthcare, trading, infrastructure project development, media and entertainment, power, and real estate, valued at £35.3bn ($46.9bn).
Christie’s Geneva sold 100 per cent of lots at its Magnificent Jewels yesterday (14 May) and raised $72.3m – despite the withdrawal of the sale’s main attraction, the 23.24-carat Golconda Blue.
It carried a $35m to $50m estimate and would have been the largest fancy vivid blue diamond ever offered at auction. But consignors pulled the gem with less than three weeks’ notice, saying it would be sold a family member instead.
The new top lot was another blue, an emerald-cut 6.24-carat fancy deep blue diamond (pictured) that was sold to London-based Moussaieff Jewellers for $12.7m. Christie’s said it set an auction record price per carat for a deep blue jewel.
A fancy, vivid blue oval-shaped diamond ring of 3.68 carats set by Graff, sold for $5.8m to Lawrence Graff.
And a private collection of 21 pieces by JAR (Joel Arthur Rosenthal) sold for $7.1m, with a diamond necklace selling for $2.8m, almost five times its pre-sale estimate.
Christie’s said the auction raised $72.3m, with 77 per cent of the 115 lots selling above their high estimate. By comparison, last year’s Magnificent Jewels auction raised $54.2m.
A leading auction house was shocked to discover a pink diamond it planned to sell was actually a fake.
The gem was sent to the Institute of Diamonds – the De Beers diamond grading and verification division – ahead of the sale.
It was examined there and found to be a forgery, De Beers CEO Al Cook said in a LinkedIn post to his 42,500 followers.
“At first glance, the stone looks beautiful. It even has an inscription on the side which claims its a diamond,” he said.
But a combination of experts and sophisticated detection machines confirmed the stone was not actually diamond.
“As soon as our team looked at the stone, they suspected it was a fake,” said Cook in a follow-up to his original post.
“The certification inscription on the side had led the auction house to believe it was real.”
He also said: “Our team was quite excited to see this extraordinary stone and actually very sad when it turned out to be a fake.
“Luckily the fraud was stopped before an auction customer paid a vast sum of money!”
Cook didn’t provide further details, and De Beers declined to elaborate.
In his original post Cook said: “Henry Smith from our Institute of Diamonds confirmed that this pink stone was a forgery. ‘It had even been lasered with a fake inscription’.
“Henry explained that the auction house was shocked, but ‘cases like this emphasise the critical role of advanced detection technologies’.”
Cook also said in his post that De Beers was ramping up production of DiamondProof, the verification device aimed specifically at retailers that was showcased at JCK last year and which is now available in the US.
He said it can distinguish a natural diamond from a lab-grown or moissanite in a few seconds.
Watch and jewelry sales in the US remained steady in March, with a slight overall increase of 0.4 per cent, according to the latest US Department of Commerce figures.
Jewelry sales rose slightly, while watch sales dipped, as consumers opted for higher-priced items, but bought fewer of them.
In February overall sales increased by just 0.2 per cent and in January they fell by 1.0 per cent
The US government’s BEA (Bureau of Economic Analysis) reported a 0.7 per cent increase in consumer spending in March, the biggest increase for two years, but said it was largely driven by a rush to buy cars before US reciprocal tariffs forced prices up.
Watch and jewelry sales have been characterized by very modest increases in recent months, following on from a year of sustained growth – 10 per cent or more in some months – as shown below.
Reciprocal US tariffs – announced in April, then paused until July – will almost certainly hit sales, as producers forced to either absorb the costs or pass them on to consumers.
The diamond world is facing fresh turbulence following the U.S. government’s decision to impose tariffs on imported diamonds — a move that De Beers CEO Al Cook says does nothing to support American jobs or the economy.
In an exclusive interview with the Financial Times, Cook made it clear: “There are no U.S. diamond mining jobs to protect.” He stressed that these tariffs don’t create employment or benefit the domestic industry — instead, they act as a consumption tax that ultimately punishes the American public.
A Tax on Love, Not a Boost to Industry The U.S. remains the largest market for diamond jewellery, accounting for about half of global demand, yet it has no significant commercial diamond mining of its own. Every diamond on American soil has been imported — meaning the 10% blanket tariff on all imports, introduced by President Donald Trump, hits the diamond trade especially hard.
Unlike many raw materials that were exempt from the tariffs, diamonds were left out, intensifying the impact on a sector already grappling with declining demand and competition from synthetic alternatives.
According to Cook, the result has been immediate: the trade in natural diamonds briefly ground to a halt. The World Diamond Council echoed his warning, stating that $117 billion in annual revenue and over 200,000 U.S. jewellery jobs could be at risk if diamonds aren’t removed from the tariff list.
“Tariffs on diamonds are not protecting American industry,” Cook emphasised. “They’re just increasing the cost of engagement rings, anniversary gifts, and other sentimental purchases.”
Global Trade Routes Disrupted What makes diamonds unique is their complex, high-value supply chain. They’re small, easy to transport, and often pass through multiple countries — from mines in Botswana and Angola, to polishing hubs in India, and finally into U.S. jewellery stores. Tariffs disrupt that finely tuned system.
This comes at a particularly sensitive moment for De Beers, as parent company Anglo American prepares for a sale or initial public offering (IPO) of the diamond giant. Despite industry challenges, De Beers is pushing ahead with IPO plans that could launch by early next year.
But the company is feeling the pain too: first-quarter revenue dropped 44% year-on-year to $520 million, reflecting both lower prices and reduced demand. Anglo American has also written down De Beers’ value by $4.5 billion over the past two years.
Hope on the Horizon? Still, Cook remains optimistic. He believes that over time, U.S. tariffs on diamonds will be lifted. The American government has already granted tariff exemptions for items like smartphones and car components, and Cook is confident natural resources like diamonds will follow suit.
Adding to that optimism are positive developments in U.S.–India trade talks. India polishes over 90% of the world’s diamonds, making it a key link in the supply chain. A favourable trade agreement between Washington and New Delhi could ease the pressure and offer the diamond sector a much-needed reprieve.
In the end, the message from De Beers is clear: Tariffs on diamonds don’t help American workers or industry — they just make life more expensive for consumers. As negotiations progress and the global market adjusts, the diamond world will be watching closely to see whether policymakers come to the same conclusion.
Yellow diamonds are making a stylish comeback. Whether offering a warm, earthy glow or a vibrant pop of colour, these fancy-coloured stones bring a fresh, contemporary edge to fine jewellery. They can be worn as neutrals, used as centrepieces, or layered for subtle impact—making them as versatile as they are striking.
The colour in yellow diamonds is the result of nitrogen atoms bonding with carbon within the diamond’s crystal lattice. This bond subtly alters the diamond’s atomic structure, changing the way it interacts with light. Specifically, it absorbs the blue part of the visible spectrum, allowing yellow tones to dominate. The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA) grades yellow diamonds based on their colour intensity, classifying them as light, intense or vivid. The deeper and more saturated the yellow, the rarer and more valuable the diamond. Curiously, the lighter tones are often more affordable than white diamonds, making them an attractive alternative for those seeking something both elegant and unique.
Why Designers Are Embracing Yellow Diamonds
Jewellery designers are increasingly drawn to yellow diamonds for their warmth, individuality, and unexpected elegance. These stones challenge the norm, offering something joyful and radiant while still being refined. As the jewellery world moves beyond the conventional, yellow diamonds are gaining traction as centrepieces with personality.
How to Wear Yellow Diamonds
Once your collection includes the classics such as white diamond hoop earrings, tennis bracelets, stacking rings or a line necklace it’s easy to introduce a splash of colour. Yellow diamonds pair beautifully with white or rose gold and work well layered with other tones. Go bold with vibrant yellow bangles and cocktail rings, or opt for a more understated approach with a mix of pale-yellow and Champagne diamonds, as seen in Sethi’s neutral-toned confetti styles.
Yellow Diamonds: The Emerging Trend in Engagement Rings
More couples are seeking engagement rings that reflect their personal style rather than adhering to tradition. Yellow diamonds especially those in softer or more earthy tones offer a refined, alternative aesthetic that still feels timeless and romantic.
One designer, Root, recalled a client who brought him a family heirloom: a pear-shaped yellow diamond. He combined it with a matching white diamond to form a heart-shaped engagement ring. Initially, clients were hesitant about yellow diamonds, unsure whether they carried the same prestige. That perception is changing rapidly.
Designer Lau echoes this sentiment. “As our view of what defines a high-quality diamond evolves, I find myself drawn to warmer tones and even imperfect shapes, they feel authentic and special,” she explains. Yellow diamonds are increasingly favoured for their character, individuality, and natural charm.
Why Yellow Diamonds Are Here to Stay
There’s an undeniable joy and brightness that yellow diamonds bring. Whether in soft pastel shades or vivid canary tones, they evoke a feeling of sunshine and optimism, something many people are seeking in their jewellery today.
As the desire for unique and meaningful designs continues to grow, yellow diamond engagement rings are well-positioned to become the next generation’s classic. After all, who can resist a jewel that radiates light, joy, and a touch of the unexpected?
Discover the magic of yellow diamonds, your perfect piece may be one sunny sparkle away.
Botswana is bracing for deeper spending cuts and a widening budget deficit as a prolonged slump in diamond demand pressures its economy, even as the country signals interest in expanding its stake in diamond giant De Beers.
Vice President and Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe said the government is preparing to make “drastic” fiscal adjustments to stay afloat, including slashing expenditures and boosting tax revenues.
“The first thing we need to do, obviously, is to live within our means,” Gaolathe said in Washington. “That means cutting spending — doing away with what we believe is some of the fat.”
Diamonds make up a third of Botswana’s revenue and lead its exports, but a prolonged drop in global demand since mid-2023 has forced the government to raise its budget deficit forecast to 9% of GDP — the highest since the pandemic. The downturn has also led to a 3% contraction in the economy this year.
With foreign reserves under pressure, officials plan to cut costs by trimming the government vehicle fleet and curbing travel. They’re also moving to boost revenue through stricter tax enforcement and a new digital transaction levy set to launch in September.
Despite fiscal stress, Gaolathe said Botswana is reluctant to seek financing on international markets, preferring concessional loans. “Let’s borrow where it’s cheapest,” he said.
Bigger De Beers stake The diamond downturn has also accelerated changes in the industry. Anglo American (LON: AAL), which owns 85% of De Beers, has been seeking a buyer for the iconic diamond company. Botswana, which holds the remaining 15% and is De Beers’ primary diamond source, says it wants a greater say in the sale.
“We are very confident that partners are coming forward,” Gaolathe told Bloomberg, noting interest from countries, funds and companies with “deep interest” in the industry. Botswana wants any new owner to be financially strong and committed to the diamond business long-term — and said it is open to increasing its stake to as much as 50%.
The government and De Beers recently signed a 10-year deal to fund global marketing aimed at reviving demand for natural diamonds, which have been losing ground to lab-grown alternatives. New US tariffs on Botswana’s diamonds have since added uncertainty to any near-term rebound.
“High tariffs on our diamonds will have a deleterious effect on us,” Gaolathe warned. The Bank of Botswana expects only a “muted recovery” this year.
