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RAPAPORT... Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sales garnered a total $54 million (CHF 60 million) in Geneva on Tuesday, claiming a new record for the sale of a fancy intense blue diamond. The company reported that the auction sold 87.9 percent by lot and 96.6 percent by value.
“Today’s outstanding results once again demonstrate the vibrancy and depth of the international jewelry market and the enormous appetite throughout the world for jewels and gemstones of the very best quality,” said David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s international jewelry department in Europe and the Middle East.
The highlight of the sale was a cushion-shaped, 7.64-carat fancy intense blue diamond ring that fetched $8 million (CHF 8.9 million), or $1.1 million per carat, from an anonymous buyer. Sotheby’s said the ring saw competition from at least three potential buyers before closing.
The second-highest lot was an emerald-cut, 52.82-carat, white diamond sold to a U.S. dealer for $7.9 million, which Sotheby’s said proved that “the strength of the market for exceptional white diamonds.”
Another blue diamond, a rare toi et moi ring by French jeweler Alexandre Reza, sold for $6.3 million (CHF 7 million). The piece was comprised of a 5.02-carat, fancy vivid blue diamond set with a 5.42-carat white diamond in a ring.
Bennett said the prices achieved for these three pieces, which each sold for well above the pre-sale estimate, were “well deserved,” given their rarity and quality.
“Our pre-sale viewing in Geneva was among the busiest that we’ve staged in recent years and the general interest and enthusiasm that we saw in all the worldwide locations where we exhibited highlights from the sale were extraordinary,” he reported.
For the year to date, Sotheby’s jewelry sales have generated $52.4 million in Hong Kong, $39.6 million in New York and $1.7 million in London.
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