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RAPAPORT...
Hong Kong: In an evening sale session before an audience hushed in anticipation, after eight tense minutes of bidding and competition between no fewer than seven telephone bidders, Sotheby’s broke an auction record which had stood for more than 20 years. Sotheby's set the per-carat record for a gemstone at auction when it sold a 6.04 carat internally-flawless emerald-cut Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond Ring for HK$61,927,500 ($7,981,835) -- (est. HK$35-48 million.)
Mr. Quek Chin Yeow, head of Sotheby’s Hong Kong Jewellery Department and deputy chairman of Sotheby’s Asia, said, “The results of today’s sale were the latest in a series of triumphs for Sotheby’s Hong Kong, which dominates the market at the top end for white and colored diamonds in Asia.
"The HK$10,252,897 ($1,321,590) price per carat achieved tonight for the internally flawless diamond, substantially exceeded the prior record price per carat of $926,000 for the Hancock Red and almost doubled the recent per carat price for a blue diamond achieved elsewhere at auction. An important emerald with a famous provenance also performed very well and a very fine collection of jadeite jewellery assembled by an important Asian private collector sparked strong competition.”
The ‘Irving Berlin Emerald’ – an Important Emerald and Diamond Sautoir, featuring an extremely rare deep, vivid green emerald weighing 47.60 carats brought the remarkable price of HK$20,487,500 ($2,640,634.) With certified Colombian origins, a renowned source for emeralds of vibrant color and fine clarity, the stone had been formerly owned by America’s best-loved songwriter and lyricist Irving Berlin and his wife Ellin Mackay.
Another magnificent colored stone, a Superb Ruby and Diamond Ring by James de Givenchy for Taffin (est. HK$12-14 million) fetched HK$14,551,500 ($1,875,543.) Set in an elegant and innovative micro-pave diamond-set frame by renowned jewellery designer James de Givenchy, nephew of the legendary fashion guru Hubert de Givenchy, the 7.20 carat ruby boasts the fabulous red color, the rarest and most sought-after of its kind.
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