RAPAPORT... With a sale that was sold 91 percent by lot and 86 percent by value in a small 184-lot end of the season sale, Christie’s New York had something to crow about. The top lot — a pear-shaped fancy intense internally flawless 6.29-carat blue diamond — sold for $3,554,500, continuing the trend of very rare, high-value items selling well. The auction tallied up $11,367,875, with diamonds making a strong showing. Bidding was active across all categories, according to Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s head of jewelry in New York, as buyers bought for the love of jewels and as a secure store of wealth to weather an economic hailstorm.

White diamonds fared well at the sale, but the highly touted blues were the stars, with a 3.28-carat modified rectangular-cut fancy dark gray-blue diamond placing at number five in the top ten lots, selling for $386,500. Two blue rose-cut diamonds, however, failed to find a home. “While the rose-cut intense blue diamonds failed to sell, I still believe that these were exceptionally rare gems and perhaps the market currently prefers stones that more classic in their cut,” commented Kadakia, who also noted that there is strength in the jewelry market, as a coveted JAR cabochon emerald and diamond thread ring also climbed into the top ten lots, bringing in $242,500.

Buying was international, with bidders coming from Bahrain, Hong Kong, Saudia Arabia, Taipei, the U.S. and Europe. Six of the top ten lots went to U.S.-based buyers both trade and private.