Lozenge Emerald Sweetens Sotheby’s Sale

RAPAPORT… Sotheby’s achieved its highest
total for a Fine Jewels auction as an emerald ring sold for more than double
its estimate in New York.

The piece featured a lozenge-shaped,
10.68-carat Colombian emerald with a baguette diamond on each side. It fetched $1.2
million against a presale estimate of $300,000 to $500,000, realizing an
average price of $113,764 per carat, the auction house said last week.

In total, the sale totaled $11
million, with 76% of lots sold. Some 17 lots yielded more than $100,000 each.

“We saw outstanding prices for
white and fancy-colored diamonds, especially pear-shaped stones — all of which
outperformed their estimates,” said Kendall Reed, head of Sotheby’s fine-jewels division in New York.

Sotheby’s also noted strong
sales of jewels from the Alhambra collection by Van Cleef & Arpels offered at
the auction to celebrate the brand’s 50th anniversary. Four pieces from the
line sold for a combined $141,250, more than twice their high estimate of
$66,000.

Other notable jewelry included a
heart-shaped, 1.08-carat, fancy-vivid-purplish-pink, VS1-clarity diamond ring,
which sold for $483,000 against an estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. A
pear-shaped, 8.96-carat, VS2-clarity diamond ring exceeded its presale valuation
of $100,000 to $150,000, going for $250,000, while another pear-shaped stone,
weighing 8.18 carats, from designer David Webb, garnered $225,000. Its original
price forecast was $100,000 to $150,000.

Two of the private collections
on offer at the sale achieved “white glove” status, meaning every piece sold,
Sotheby’s noted. Those included eight jewels from the estate of Lois Chalona
Hawkins, a prominent New Orleans philanthropist.

The next Sotheby’s jewelry auction
will be the Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale in Geneva in November,
which will include pieces from the royal Bourbon Parma family.

Image: The 10.68-carat emerald and diamond ring. (Sotheby’s)