The jewelry auction season for 2019 came to a close in New York with two solid performances from Christie’s and Sotheby’s. While both sales lacked exceptional marquee items, they had strong sell-through rates and prices that met or exceeded estimates.
The Magnificent Jewels sale at Christie’s offered approximately 450 lots, achieving more than $67.5 million in sales, with 91% selling by lot and 93% by value.
For Sotheby’s, which splits its New York sale into Magnificent Jewels and Fine Jewels, the two auctions of more than 500 lots totaled $43.1 million ($37.9 million at Magnificent Jewels and $5.1 million at Fine Jewels), with 84% of the lots selling. (The auction house, under new ownership, no longer releases the percentage of lots sold by value, according to a Sotheby’s spokesperson.)
Officials for both auction houses touted sales of fancy-colored diamonds. However, a closer look into this category revealed mixed results. White-diamond sales were mixed as well, while “big three” gems (rubies, sapphires and emeralds) of exceptional quality were still showing growth. There was also robust demand for signed jewels — and to a lesser extent, unsigned vintage and period pieces, which require knowledge and a good eye to judge their quality and value.
Sotheby’s
Fancy-colored diamonds and signed jewels dominated the December 10 Magnificent Jewels auction at Sotheby’s, according to Quig Bruning, jewelry specialist at the auction house.
“Our top four lots were all colored diamonds, as were six of our top 10,” Bruning notes. “We had exceptional results for blue diamonds, with the Indian Blue diamond, a 7.55-carat, deep-greyish-blue diamond, selling for over $6.6 million, as well as pinks, with an auction record of nearly $2.8 million for an exceptional 20.16-carat, fancy-deep-brownish-pinkish-orange diamond.”
In addition, a 2.58-carat, fancy-greyish-blue diamond fetched $860,000, more than four times its high estimate.
However, there were several high-profile colored diamonds that didn’t sell. Among them was a bracelet called the Majestic Pink, made of 204 radiant and marquise-shaped fancy-pink and red diamonds, by New York-based jeweler Carvin French. Its estimate was about $3 million.
Similar items that failed to find a buyer included a rare 1.38-carat, fancy-red diamond (estimate: $1.8 million to $2.8 million); a 7-carat, fancy-blue diamond (estimate: $2.2 million to $2.8 million); and a 17.25-carat, faint-pink diamond (estimate: $1 million to $1.5 million).
Bruno Scarselli, a New York-based dealer of colored diamonds, says the mixed results reflect confusion among US buyers and difficulties within the industry.
“Generally speaking, the markets and the population are confused as to where we are heading,” he observes. “The retail market in the US is slower than last year but is still healthy and kicking. Colored diamonds with an upside generated higher-than-expected prices, while certain types of high-valued colored diamonds resulted in flat prices.”
Colored diamonds within signed jewels are more desirable, Scarselli continues. This was true for the number-two lot of the sale: a brightly colored and elaborate iris brooch by high-jewelry house Verdura. The jewel features a brilliant-cut, 14.37-carat, fancy-vivid-yellow diamond with SI1 clarity. It sold for just over $2 million, within estimates.
The demand for colorless diamonds continues to be mixed, Bruning explains. “As with the larger jewelry market, we are seeing a contraction in the white-diamond market. While collectors gravitate to beautiful white diamonds with compelling shapes, the competition is not as fierce as what we’re seeing for colored diamonds of similar quality.”
Among signed pieces, a number of lots sold for well above their presale valuations, including three of five pieces by Harry Winston, two jewels by Boucheron and two lots by Bulgari.
“Private collectors aggressively sought out signed pieces,” Bruning adds. “While Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels continue to be the leaders in that category, we also saw impressive prices for works by Verdura, Boucheron and Harry Winston.”
Jewels with distinguished provenance were in strong demand as well. For example, pieces from the collection of silent-film star Mary Duncan Sanford achieved $1.4 million, well above their combined $769,000 high estimate and led by two Van Cleef & Arpels jewels. All 11 pieces from the family collection inherited from Princess Natalie Paley were sold, totaling $536,250 — far more than they had been expected to fetch. These included important jewels by Cartier and Verdura.
“Basically, the market is driven by quality and rarity. Our buyers are savvy and are looking for jewels that cannot easily be found, that are fresh to the market, and that exhibit quality,” Bruning says. “When you have all three of those characteristics, we see prices far exceed their presale estimate ranges.”
Christie’s
The December 11 auction at Christie’s Rockefeller Center headquarters was particularly strong for signed jewels, pieces with exceptional provenance, and colored gemstones.
The top lot of the sale was the duPont Ruby, an 11.20-carat unheated pigeon’s blood Burmese ruby in a platinum and 18-karat gold brooch. The piece, which also contained emeralds, diamonds and pearls, sold for $8.96 million, well above its high estimate of $5.5 million. It was offered by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts but previously belonged to Jessie Ball duPont, the wife of Alfred I. duPont.
“There was a strong appetite for important rubies, led by the duPont Ruby as well as a beautiful ruby and diamond ring of 9.77 carats by JAR that greatly exceeded its estimate,” says Daphne Lingon, Christie’s head of jewelry for the Americas. “These types of stones are significant for their deep color and size, and as they do not come to market often. When they do, our clients respond with enthusiasm.”
The buyer of the duPont ruby was Graff, which also purchased the number-three lot of the sale, a Belle Époque platinum and diamond ring with a 30.14-carat unheated cabochon Kashmir sapphire, circa 1915. The piece, from a “distinguished New York estate,” sold for just over $3 million, below its $3.5 million low estimate.
Graff is renowned for its exceptional diamonds, but the London-based high-jewelry brand chose the two colored gems over the sale’s number-two lot, a round-cornered rectangular modified brilliant-cut, 3.07-carat, fancy-vivid-blue, VVS1 diamond on a platinum ring. This sold for more than $3.3 million, within estimates.
Another exceptional colored gem was the duPont Emerald, a Belle Époque-era, 9.11-carat Colombian emerald mounted on a platinum ring by Tiffany & Co., with the same provenance as the other duPont jewel. It sold for over $1.6 million, more than double its $700,000 high estimate.
“These stones are truly best in class, and our clients responded, resulting in impressive prices,” Lingon says.
In recent years, fancy-colored diamonds have often dominated the top 10 lots of major auctions. In this sale, only two of these gems were among the top lots. The other was a 30-carat, fancy-vivid-yellow diamond in a ring that sold for nearly $1.7 million, within estimates.
Colorless diamonds continue to show modest sale results, with rare exceptions — such as a 23.55-carat diamond ring by Harry Winston that fetched $2.2 million, within the predicted range. The piece came from a private collection.
The sale featured signed jewels and other vintage and antique pieces from several prominent families with valuable jewelry collections. Among them were 48 pieces from the Rothschild family and 28 signed pieces belonging to philanthropists Judith-Ann Corrente (with provenance including socialite Babe Paley), Caroline Ryan Foulke and Deeda Blair.
“The collection of Judith-Ann Corrente comprised some of the most significant signed pieces by Belperron, René Lalique, and Cartier, which achieved impressive prices,” Lingon relates. “We also saw a demand for jewels from the Rothschild Family, including important Art Deco jewels by Cartier and Boucheron, as well as natural pearls and beautiful vanity cases.”
Among signed jewels, Cartier was by far the most prominent, with 24 pieces selling; Van Cleef & Arpels came next with 11 pieces. One of the top lots in this group was a Cartier Art Deco diamond bracelet from the Rothschild collection that fetched $771,000, besting its high estimate of $700,000.
The caliber and the demand for antique and vintage jewels in the sale was impressive, according to Peter Schaffer, director of New York-based retailer A La Vieille Russie, which specializes in European and American antique jewelry and antique Russian decorative art.
“We are interested in jewels of quality regardless of whether they have signatures or not,” Schaffer says. “We did think the last sales contained that quality level, and we were pleased to see that they all sold.”
Image: Christie’s Images Ltd. 2019Article from the Rapaport Magazine - February 2020. To subscribe click here.