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Auctions
A Satisfying Sale
Sotheby’s Hong Kong set two new world auction records at its autumn sale.
By Mary Kavanagh
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| The Jewel of Kashmir, a 27.68-carat Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring sold for $6,702,564, setting a new world auction record price per carat for a Kashmir sapphire. |
A spectacular natural pearl necklace and a stunning sapphire ring were show stealers in a sale that enjoyed its moments of competitive bidding, but was also intermittently lackluster, with roughly a third of lots on offer unsold. Quek Chin Yeow, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s Asia and chairman of international jewelry Asia, said it was a good result overall and that traditionally about 70 percent of lots offered have been sold. “We are delighted with the results of this sale, with the Cowdray Pearls setting a world auction record for a natural gray pearl necklace at $5,266,667 and a 27.68-carat Kashmir sapphire achieving a world auction record price per carat for Kashmir sapphire at $242,145 per carat,” he said.
This sale brought in $62,368,750 against a presale estimate of $77 million. The 269-lot sale was sold 66.5 percent by lot and 67.7 percent by value. This compares to the spring sale that achieved $37,202,244, just over one-third of the presale estimate, and the autumn 2014 sale, which scored $75,275,870 — at the time the third-highest-ever total for the sale of jewelry in Asia.
The top lot of the day was The Jewel of Kashmir, a 27.68-carat sapphire and diamond ring that sold to a private buyer from Hong Kong for $6,702,564, setting a new world auction record price per carat for a Kashmir sapphire at $242,145 per carat. This result was not unexpected, according to Quek, who referred to the 2014 Hong Kong autumn sale when this record was broken twice on the same evening. “The difference between last year and this year is that the price expectation was higher to start with,” he said. “Although there was a lot of interest, buyers in the current economic climate were not as aggressive as we though they might be,” he added.
The second top lot of the evening and new world-record holder for the highest price ever paid at auction for a natural gray pearl necklace was the Cowdray Pearls. The spectacular necklace from the collection of Viscountess Cowdray, Lady Pearson (1860 – 1932), comprising 42 graduated natural gray pearls, sold together with a pair of natural gray pearl and diamond ear clips mounted by Cartier London. “These are very rare,” Quek said, pointing out that the new record applied to natural pearl strands of all colors, not only gray.
The top ten lots included a good mix of sapphires, pearls, diamonds, fancy colored diamonds and rubies. The third top lot was a fabulous 27.91-carat Burmese ruby, diamond and natural pearl bracelet, which was bought by an Asian private collector for $3,830,769, slightly below the low estimate of $4 million. Bidding was much more competitive for a highly contested fancy intense blue diamond and white diamond ring, which was sold to a member of the international trade for $1,887,179, more than double the low presale estimate of $880,000.
Two yellow diamond items also performed exceptionally well and featured in the top ten. The fourth top lot was a 41.65-carat internally flawless fancy vivid yellow diamond and diamond ring bought by an Asian private for $3,615,385, far exceeding the high presale estimate of $2,300,000. Another top seller, a 45.88-carat fancy yellow diamond and diamond pendant, also bought by an Asian private, achieved $1,302,564, more than three-and-a-half times the low estimate of $350,000.
Jadeite, which has traditionally been very popular in Asia at the fine jewelry auctions, was noticeably missing from the top ten. “I think the jadeite market was weaker than expected,” Quek said, noting that sales from clients in China increased overall. “I think there has been a slight change in the focus of our China-based clients. They have been very active in this category over the past two to three years and now they have switched to buying different things, such as diamonds and vintage pieces,” he added.
Another highlight of the evening was The Dowager Viscountess Harcourt Diamond Necklace that features 28 old mine-cut diamonds from the 1887 auction of the French crown jewels. Weighing in at 65 carats, it was bought by Tiffany & Co. for $1,548,718, exceeding the low presale estimate of $1,300,000. This historic piece was first purchased by Tiffany & Co. at the 1887 auction and subsequently sold to Junius S. Morgan of the famous banking family in England. Morgan in turn passed the stones on to his granddaughter, who had them remounted in the present necklace around 1900. “I’m not surprised. We thought Tiffany might want to bid and were thrilled they did,” Quek said. “We were delighted to have the honor of selling this historic piece from the crown jewels.”
The auction venue wasn’t packed, but in-room bidding was strong. “The mood was very lively and there was a lot more bidding than in spring,” Quek said. “We had the right people in the room, including a few new clients from Greater China and Asia.” The list of buyers in the top ten was more varied than usual, with two members of the international trade and Tiffany & Co. alongside private buyers from Asia. “We usually have all top ten Asia privates,” Quek said, highlighting the diversity this time round. Sotheby’s also chose to further classify Asian private buyers into Asian private, South East Asia private and Hong Kong private to provide another level of detail on the buyers. “We were quite specific with the top ten this time,” Quek said. “We split it up in terms of buyers to give more idea of the variety.”
Overall, the sale was a mixed bag in many ways — from the variety of items on offer to the variety of buyers represented in the top ten. The sale also set two new world auction records, but there were a large amount of goods unsold or that sold below their low estimate. “There were some misses in the sale,” Quek said. “But overall, it’s a very respectable result.”Article from the Rapaport Magazine - November 2015. To subscribe click here.
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