The stone, worth just shy of three million dollars, topped the chart of 2018 sales, followed by other magnificent gemstones like a 24.31ct D-IF diamond (in a ring) that sold for 1,947,110 USD, and a Hennel Emerald pendant-necklace set which sold for over 1.3 million dollars. There was also another diamond-and-emerald jewelry set that beached the 1 million dollar mark.
Jean Ghika, Global Director for Bonhams, mentioned that “the market has remained strong for exceptional pieces of jewellery from famed eras and world class makers”. This can be seen also for many other jewelry and auction houses, which seem to be promoting larger fancy-colored diamonds and colored stones as of late.
Emeralds in particular seem to be topping a lot of auction rosters, as the demand for the world's most beautiful green gemstone soars into the spotlight. Meanwhile both jewelers and jewelry buyers alike still have to worry about the rising popularity of hydrothermally created synthetic emeralds as well. Synthetic green beryl (syn. emerald) can have a lot of beautifully rich inclusions that may confuse onlookers into assuming a natural origin. The presence of inclusions is not what determines natural VS synthetic emerald, however the specific kind or type of inclusions are indeed used by gemologists for these separations, as synthetic emeralds grow in different environments compared to earth-mined stones.
2018 also saw the rise in popularity of lab-grown diamonds (which are different from imitations like cubic zirconia or moissanite), however because of De Beers' move into selling its own line of lab-grown stones for much cheaper prices, we are not sure how the market for artificially created diamonds will change in 2019. Will this cheaper price rate lower the overall pricing standards of lab-grown diamonds, or will it make the product more popular due to better affordability?
