Yellow diamonds get their extraordinary fiery colour from the inclusion of nitrogen atoms during their creation. Dealer Laurence Graff is credited with generating the surge in their popularity in the 1970s.
The primary stone in this ring is a 43.59ct radiant-cut ‘fancy intense yellow’ diamond and it comes with a 2014 report, stating that the colour is natural and the clarity rated VS2. It sold comfortably within hopes of £900,000-1.4m after a brief flurry of phone bidding.
The price including buyer’s premium was £1.31m.
It is the first seven-figure bid at a regional saleroom since 2012, when Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury sold a pair of pearl earrings for £1.4m and Tennants of Leyburn took £2.6m for a Yongzheng bottle vase.
