Christie's New York will mark the start of the fall jewellery auction season with a $35 million sale of Magnificent Jewels on October 18. 

Over 340 items of jewellery - from sparkling white diamond rings to the finest coloured diamonds - will make up the sale. 

As is now tradition at Christie's, the October sale in New York marks the official opening of the fall season globally, which includes major sales of important jewels in Geneva, Paris, London and Hong Kong before returning to New York for the grand finale auction of the season.

The grand finale being the highly anticipated Collection of Elizabeth Taylor in December.

"As we meet with collectors and dealers around the world in the run-up to this autumn season, it is clear that demand for rare and important jewellery remains as strong as ever," said Rahul Kadakia, Head of Jewellery for Christie's Americas. 

Fancy coloured diamonds in highly-desirable shades of pink, blue and green

"Recent top prices for coloured and colourless diamonds and gemstones have helped bring some spectacular jewels into the marketplace, including top-quality D-colour diamonds and some truly exceptional fancy coloured diamonds in shades of yellow, pink, blue and green."

The top lot of the October sale is The Vivid Yellow diamond, a super-saturated Fancy Vivid pear-shaped diamond of 32.77 carats (estimate: US$6-8 million).

With a golden yellow hue so intense and so deep that the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) ranks it amongst the rarest of gemstones in its class, The Vivid Yellow made a splash in the industry circles when it was announced earlier this summer.

The sale also features fancy coloured diamonds in highly-desirable shades of pink, blue and green, including a pear-shaped Fancy Vivid blue diamond ring of 3.21 carats flanked by white side diamonds (estimate: US$2.5-3 million; pictured page one left) and a marquise-cut Fancy Intense blue diamond ring of 2.28 carats (estimate: $600,000-800,000).