RAPAPORT...
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Fancy vivid blue, 6.01-carat diamond ring sold for $10,135,897.
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The yearning for hard goods that has been the hallmark of
the semiannual auctions at Sotheby’s Hong Kong continued during the first week
of October, as mainly Asian buyers scooped up art, ceramics and jewelry at
record-setting prices. The week of sales, with 3,600 lots on offer, totaled
$411 million, proof that the Chinese appetite is far from sated. While the
October 5 jewelry sale accounted for just $65,408,494 of that total, this was
the highest ever for Sotheby’s jewelry department at this venue, with 282 of
the 359 lots offered — 78.6 percent — sold.
As proof of the heady atmosphere, the top ten lots sold
accounted for exactly half of the jewelry auction’s total: $32,478,975*. That
showed a high level of confidence on the part of Quek Chin Yeow, deputy
chairman and head of jewelry of Sotheby’s Asia. Moreover, the estimates for the
top ten lots were remarkably on target: Four of the top jewels on offer sold
between the low and high estimates, while the other six came in just above the
high estimate. Given that two of the lots achieved world records, these
on-target estimates show a keen understanding of the market by the auction
house and tremendous faith in the buyers.
Fancy That
Colored diamonds were the record-setters, starting with the
top lot in the sale, a 6.01-carat fancy vivid blue diamond set in a ring. The
lot was sold for $10,135,897, setting two records. It was the highest price
paid for any fancy vivid blue sold at auction and it was also the highest price
paid per carat for a fancy vivid blue: $1,686,505. The record for any blue is
still held by the Wittelsbach Diamond that sold for $24,311, 390 at Christie’s London on December
10, 2008.
A fancy vivid orange diamond, appropriately named the
Mandarin Orange and weighing 4.19 carats, also set two records for an orange
diamond: one for its total price of $2,956,410 and one for its per-carat price
of $705,587. While the buyer of the vivid blue remained anonymous, an Asian
private was identified as the successful bidder for the Mandarin Orange
diamond.
Given the fierce competition for both the blue and the
orange diamonds, it took some time to hammer down these lots. Likewise, items
throughout the sale elicited strong bidding and took longer to sell,
“particularly some of the diamonds, signed jewelry and jadeite,” Quek said. He
added, “Bidding came strongly from Asia, to be expected, but some international
participation was also seen.” The room was crowded with nearly 500
participants.
But the diamond that carried the highest presale estimate, a
fancy vivid pink emerald cut, failed to sell. Was it overestimated at $12.8
million to $19.2 million? Or does the sky really have a limit? According to
Quek, “When you compare the estimate with prices for the Graff Pink, as well as
the May offering in Geneva of the 10-carat pink, our vivid ‘Golconda Pink’
cannot really be seen as ‘over-estimated.’” This lot contributed mightily to the low sold-by-value
figure of just 65.6 percent.
White Wins
White diamonds took seven of the top ten prices, two of them
set in signed rings. The second-highest price of the sale was achieved by a
30.31-carat pear-shaped DIF diamond that was sold for $5,541,026. The
exquisite, antique-style cut gave this type IIa stone a subtle brilliance. A
14.43-carat square emerald-cut DIF diamond, set in a ring by Cartier, circa
1931, was sold to a European private for $2,669,231.
The top ten included two lots of diamond earrings, each set
with brilliant-cut D color, IF diamonds. A pair of round Golconda-type
diamonds, weighing 6.57 and 6.60 carats and set as pendant earrings, was sold
for $2,353,333. Another pair, equally well matched at 5.52 and 5.56 carats, was
sold to a Southeast Asian private for $2,094, 872.
The Asian thirst for D color, IF diamonds surely was
satisfied by a necklace and matching ear clips. The necklace was centered by a
6.10-carat pear-shaped diamond, completed by a row of pear-shapes totaling
45.29 carats; the ear clips were each set with five pear-shapes weighing a
total of 12.64 carats. Every diamond in the lot was certified by the
Gemological Institute of America (GIA) to be D color, IF clarity. The entire
lot was sold for $1,664,103, above the low estimate.
Period jewelry caught bidders’ eyes as well, including a
charming, delicate diamond tiara, circa 1910. Though unsigned, the tiara was
sold for $51,288, over the high estimate. A gold mesh handbag, circa 1920, from
Tiffany & Co., sold for $41,672, nearly double the high estimate.
Jadeite, the traditional gem of Asia, figured into the top
ten lots. A magnificent jadeite and diamond necklace, with oval jadeite
cabochons alternating with clusters of rose-cut diamonds, was sold to an Asian
private for $1,664,103.
Yellow Rises
Fancy intense yellow diamonds continue to command attention,
as well as bids. An intense yellow diamond weighing 25.16 carats, fashioned as a dazzling cut-cornered
rectangular brilliant, IF clarity, was sold for $694,952. A pair of fancy
yellow diamonds weighing 3.30 and 3.51 carats, each suspended from a round and pear-shaped diamond, set in
charming frames, was offered as a pair of pendant earrings, which sold for
$110,269.
Colored gemstones, including two sapphire rings, also
brought out the bidders. A cushion-cut 23.02-carat sapphire in a lively “royal
blue” tone, with a report stating that it was of Burmese origin, sold for
$356,452. A ring set with an antique-cut Kashmir sapphire weighing 10.40
carats, flanked by two cushion-cut diamonds of E and F color, was sold for
$1,305,280.
The sophistication of the Hong Kong audience may be
discerned from the prices buyers were willing to pay for lots that interested
them while they left other lots on the shelf. Many lots were sold above the
estimates and the variety of gems and jewelry that found homes indicate that
these buyers have tastes that range widely. They like well-known names but are
not swept away by brands. Both a David Webb brooch and a Boucheron sapphire and
diamond necklace failed to sell. This first sale of the season certainly set
the mark high for the sales that will follow.
*All prices include buyer’s premium.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - November 2011. To subscribe click here.