SOTHEBY’S: HEART SHAPES AND
HIGH-QUALITY JADEITE
Fancy-colored diamonds, jadeite, signed
jewels and period pieces made a strong
showing in the Sotheby’s Magnificent
Jewels sale on July 10, which totaled
more than $56.4 million. Its 202 lots had
a sell-through rate of 80%, and jadeite
jewelry alone had a sell-through of 83%,
said Wenhao Yu, deputy chairman of
jewelry for Sotheby’s Asia.
“The jadeite jewelry selections,
especially those with ‘imperial green’
standard, sold very well,” Yu said.
“Antique pieces with good provenance
saw increased interest from Asia. Large
or rare colored diamonds performed
steadily. All designer items and iconic
signed pieces are well sought-after.”
Colorless diamonds had mixed results
at best, particularly among the top lots,
though diamond jewels from historic
high-jewelry houses fared well. Of the
top 10 lots, numbers one and three were
heart-shaped colored diamonds that sold
separately but were promoted together as
if they were a pair. The first was a 5.04-
carat, fancy-vivid blue with VS2 clarity,
which achieved more than $10.5 million.
Its partner was a 4.49-carat, fancy-vivid-
pink, internally flawless diamond that
went for more than $8.1 million.
Coming in at number two was an
imperial jade necklace with 37 jadeite
beads originating from the same rough.
The total weight of the jade in the piece
was 700 carats. Presented without a
public estimate, it was the last lot in
the sale and was the subject of spirited
bidding. It ultimately sold for more than
$10.4 million.
“It fetched a high price because it
was of really fine quality,” Alexandris
commented.
Despite the focus on the top three
lots, the jewel that received the most
attention was a bracelet that once
belonged to Britain’s Princess Margaret,
sister of Queen Elizabeth II. It achieved
$210,000, more than triple its high
estimate. A product of British crown
jeweler Garrard, the bracelet was a gift
for the princess’s 21st birthday.
“That piece was unbelievable,”
Alexandris said. “It was in the original
box and in perfect condition. Everything
was there, and it was one of the super
rare pieces that you just admire. It really
was a one-of-a-kind piece.”
Another lot that caught Yu’s and
Alexandris’s attention was a grouping
of antique jewels from a private
collection: a filigree brooch in the
shape of a pansy with an old European-
cut diamond; a circular brooch with a
central floral motif, also featuring an
old European-cut diamond; a brooch
of neo-Renaissance design with an old
mine-cut diamond and pearls; a filigree
pendant with seed pearls; and another
filigree pendant with a detachable cross.
The pearls had four certificates from
Mikimoto, and the lot sold for $25,804,
five times its high estimate.
“As always, the lots with great
provenance and those coming in good
quality and conditions do best, which
translates into fierce bidding wars
for items such as Princess Margaret’s
21st-birthday bracelet, the imperial
green jadeite necklace, the group of
antique jewelry, and of course, the
two heart-shaped colored diamonds,”
Yu said.
Day-to-day jewels from iconic auction
houses are achieving high amounts,
Alexandris observed. In the Sotheby’s
sale, he cited a Van Cleef & Arpels Magic
Alhambra necklace with carnelian and
tiger’s eye on an 18-karat yellow gold
chain, which sold for double its high
estimate at $17,740.
“After the coronavirus, a good name
is always stable,” he said. “Lines like
the Alhambra necklaces and bracelets
are still very much in vogue. They
are achieving prices higher than the
estimates, sometimes double. In some
cases, they’re not even vintage. This
means you have a trend that is still stable.
People are buying when it’s something
from a good name and good quality and
it’s something they can wear every day.”
◼
Magnificent Jewels
at Sotheby’s
Hong Kong.
A U C T I O N
R E P O R T
24
SEPTEMBER 2020
DIAMONDS.NET
