Things often don’t go as planned in the auction world, but rarely does a sale reveal itself to be both as unusual and as predictable as the Sotheby’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale on April 2.
For one thing, gems with the auspicious number 88 in their carat weight accounted for the top three lots, all selling above their estimates. A symbol of perfection and eternity, 88 is often associated with prosperity and luck in China and other Asian cultures.
Also, in a dramatic change from recent years, only one fancy-colored diamond made it into the top 10 lots. That gem sold for three times its high estimate, while two highly touted blue diamond rings failed to sell. This same unusual pattern followed for signed jewels and jadeite.
Lucky numerals
The auction’s biggest seller was an oval brilliant, D-color, type IIa diamond that weighed 88.22 carats and went for nearly $13.8 million. The auction house described the stone as “perfect” based on “every critical criterion” for measuring diamonds, since it received the highest grades for color, clarity, cut, polish and symmetry.
The next two lots were a ring with a 13.88-carat sapphire and diamonds, which netted approximately $2.5 million, and a 10.88-carat diamond ring that sold for almost $1.8 million.
“Demand remains strong for exceptional colorless diamonds, [particularly] the auspicious ‘88’ series,” said Yvonne Chu, acting head of Sotheby’s Jewelry Department.
The auction achieved just over $40 million, with just 65% of the 200 lots finding buyers. That’s a low percentage, but it could have been worse, according to jeweler Ephraim Zion of the House of Dehres in Hong Kong.
“It wasn’t a bad auction, really. A lot of big items sold,” he said. He cited the 88.22-carat diamond as doing well, and noted that “the 10.88-carat diamond sold for quite a high price, because somebody wanted it and was willing to pay nearly $164,000 a carat for it. There were two or three bidders for that stone.”
He also pointed to a pear-shaped, 8-carat diamond ring that sold for $634,611 as an example of the resilience of the Asian market.
“It was different, a very long stone that was not in such great shape, but yet it sold well, almost $80,000 a carat,” he said. “We were very worried about this sale, because we thought it was not going to do well. The market in general is very quiet. The demand has declined a lot, and most of the retail stores are not doing that well. So when the auction came and these big items sold, we were very happy.”
Color clouded
Not everything did as well. Among the 72 lots that failed to sell were several high-profile fancy-colored diamonds, signed jewels and jadeite. However, other items in these categories with less fanfare performed better than expected.
Two fancy-vivid-blue-diamond rings were among those left behind. Zion found this surprising for one of the rings, a cut-cornered rectangular step-cut, 3.32-carat stone. “It was reasonably priced, but there was no interest.”
Chu was particularly pleased with a fancy-grey-blue diamond and diamond ring that shattered its $357,000 high estimate when it sold for nearly $1.3 million, as well as a pair of earrings with fancy-pink-brown diamonds that fetched $695,840, within estimates. However, she did acknowledge that some fancy-colored stones had fallen short of expectations.
“Overall, top-quality fancy-colored diamonds are still highly sought-after in the market, attracting interest from international collectors. However, in certain cases, the bidding did not quite reach the minimum price the sellers were willing to accept,” she said.
A break with tradition
Among signed and vintage jewels, high-profile brands such as Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier and Harry Winston performed nicely, as expected, according to Chu. Pieces by Chanel, JAR and Jean Schlumberger, meanwhile, mostly exceeded expectations. These included a fancy-intense-yellow diamond Camélia brooch by Chanel, which achieved double its high estimate at $302,955.
The most prominent of the signed jewels, a Van Cleef & Arpels Toscane necklace with emeralds and diamonds, sold for nearly $1.1 million.
Nonetheless, a highly touted emerald, ruby and diamond brooch failed to sell. The brooch, circa 1750, belonged to Lady Anne Maud Rhys (1910 to 1998), seventh duchess of Ciudad Rodrigo and a descendant of the first duke of Wellington. Its high estimate was $383,000.
Also going unsold was an Art Deco tutti-frutti jabot pin by Cartier with gems, diamonds, and a high estimate of $63,780. And of the 29 jadeite pieces on offer, 13 were unable to find buyers, including a pair of double-hoop earrings with a high estimate of approximately $830,000.
Zion said dealers had approached him with jadeite pieces even though they knew he didn’t deal in jade — a sign that there was too much of it on the market, he observed.
Tastes are changing in general, according to Chu. “The market is moving away from traditional to more modern designs, demonstrated by young collectors bidding on contemporary design pieces.”
Image: Sotheby'sArticle from the Rapaport Magazine - June 2019. To subscribe click here.