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Auctions
White Diamonds Shine
A 100-carat-plus diamond that sold at Sotheby’s was the star of the New York auctions.
By Amber Michelle
Finicky buyers who seemed to want to stay on a budget characterized the April New York auctions. For the most part, buyers stayed within range of the presale estimates, with very few pieces garnering the inflated prices of the past couple of years. Countering the trends of a turbulent market, white diamonds sold well at both houses, with The Ultimate Emerald-Cut Diamond leading the way at Sotheby’s when it sold for $22.1 million.
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| 5.29-carat fancy intense purplish pink diamond ring sold for $5,765,000 at Christie’s. |
First up was Christie’s. Changing its usual strategy from a sale focused on big rocks, Christie’s zeroed in on jewelry for this sale, garnering $41,951,125 against a $40 million presale estimate. The 310-lot sale was 77 percent sold by both lot and value, with 238 lots finding homes. This compares to the December 2014 sale’s total of $66,636,375 and the April 2014 auction that tallied up $60,561,125. After some moderately competitive bidding, a dealer on the phone spent $5,765,000,* or $1,090,000 per carat, for a 5.29–carat fancy intense purplish pink diamond ring, making it the top lot of the day.
“The sale was geared to today’s market,” says Rahul Kadakia, international head of Christie’s Jewelry. “It’s about jewelry. We had natural pearls and color, but no big white diamonds.”
White diamonds performed nicely, selling for reasonable prices. Many of those that sold were of lower color, but very well cut, improving the look of the stone. Kadakia explains that “the white diamond market is correcting itself. It is a natural progression and a temporary correction, then it will go back up.” Still, there was an audible gasp in the room when it was announced that the 80.73-carat K,VS2 cushion-cut diamond was pulled from the sale. “Clients were looking at the stone, but it was unsure,” reports Kadakia, “so the owner decided to put it aside and wait for the right moment to sell.”
While white diamonds were stable, almost every yellow diamond on offer was left on the block. Most likely, it was because they were more ordinary stones that hold no appeal for discriminating auction buyers and yellow diamonds historically tend to be a tough sell at auction.
One of the bright spots in a sale filled with starts and stops was natural pearls. There were a couple of strands on offer and all sold for very strong prices, including the second top lot of the day — a four-strand natural colored pearl necklace that sold for $5,093,000 to an Asian private.
A collection of signed jewelry from an unnamed private collector was the most exciting part of the sale, with dealers and privates bidding fiercely for the jewelry, much of which went well above the estimate. “It was fresh to the market, everything was in the original boxes and the prices were reasonable,” notes Kadakia.
The truly exceptional colored gemstones that were in the sale brought very good prices, a dealer said off the record, noting that any medium-quality or commercial goods were soft. Another colored gemstone dealer, who also asked to speak off the record, observed that “buyers in the market are skeptical and smart. If anything is overpriced, they know and they don’t want it.”
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| 100.20-carat DIF type IIa emerald-cut diamond sold for $22,090,000 at Sotheby’s.
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The star of New York auction week, The Ultimate Emerald-Cut Diamond — a 100.20-carat DIF type IIa — had made headlines around the globe, including the front page of the Financial Times. Estimated at $19 million to $25 million, the rock created even more news when it sold for $22,090,000, or $220,459 per carat, to an anonymous buyer on the phone. The audience in the room waited nervously for the result with bated breath, exhaling when the stone reached its estimate and applauding when it hammered down. The jewel has the distinction of being the first 100-carat-plus diamond ever sold at a Sotheby’s New York auction as well as the highest per-carat price of any colorless diamond sold at a New York auction. It is also the largest perfect emerald-cut diamond ever sold at auction and is one of only six diamonds over 100 carats to sell at auction in the past 25 years.
“We took a big chance with the 100-carat diamond,” says Lisa Hubbard, chairman, North & South America, Sotheby’s International Jewelry Division. “This diamond was exceptional in every sense of the word and we were thrilled to see it get such a strong result. I’ve traveled around the world with it and everywhere we went, people were captivated by it. And the marketing was masterful.”
The sale tallied up $65,086,500 against a presale estimate of $59 million to $77 million, setting a new record for a total garnered at a Sotheby’s New York auction. The 368-lot sale was sold 79.9 percent by lot and 84.4 percent by value with 294 of the lots changing hands. The December 2014 auction brought in $44,151,251 and the April 2014 sale scored $44,313,500. Private buyers were big players in this sale, purchasing eight of the top ten lots, all ten of which sold for over $1 million.
Overall, white diamonds did quite well, with respectable prices paid and very few passes. “Well-priced white diamonds were strong,” notes Hubbard. “Diamonds still have that allure, people are into that special sparkle and dazzle.”
Also of note at this sale were several Cartier pieces that sold exceptionally well. “We’ve gone to another level with Cartier,” comments Hubbard. “We’ve created collectors with these pieces. Collectors of art are beginning to see how that influences jewelry of the era.”
While collectible jewelry and one-of-a-kind colored gemstones sold well, with the really rare items holding or exceeding their prices, the stratospheric prices of the recent past were rarely seen as buyers appear to have decided that they need to watch the budget.
“It seems like the market is more stable now, a few things brought really high prices,” concludes Kathryn Bonanno, dealer of rare colored gems and Art Deco jewelry. “It seems that buyers are using more discretion now in their purchases than over the past couple of years.”
*All prices include buyer’s premium.Article from the Rapaport Magazine - May 2015. To subscribe click here.
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