Rapaport Magazine
Auctions

White Hot

Buyers at the spring Christie’s and Sotheby’s New York auctions were scooping up white diamonds as fast as they went on the block.

By Amber Michelle
The New York spring auctions at both Christie’s and Sotheby’s were restrained by the number of lots offered, but not in the bidding. Buyers were quick to pick up white diamonds, especially those over 10 carats. As usual, rare and unusual signed pieces, colored diamonds and fine colored gems sold without hesitation, but the big news was in the buoyant sales of white diamonds. Additionally, both auction houses implemented new strategies to boost sales.
YOU MUST HAVE JAVASCRIPT ENABLED TO VIEW THE SLIDESHOW
Sotheby’s
   The week kicked off at Sotheby’s with a small, well-curated sale that saw solid results. Gary Schuler, chairman, North and South America, International Jewelry Sotheby’s, implemented a new strategy to increase business. He placed all of the big lots in the morning session rather than the afternoon as has been traditional. “This way we can catch the European buyers before they go to dinner and the Asian buyers before they go to bed,” he explained. The strategy paid off, as Schuler later noted that there was broad-based global buying. Bidding was active on the phones, online and in the room, which was comfortably filled.
   The 252-lot sale totaled $28,977,875 and was sold 85.3 percent by lot and 90.1 percent by value. The presale estimate was $21,790,000 to $30,641,000. The December 2016 sale pulled in $25,153,750 for 455 lots, while Sotheby’s April 2016 auction brought in $29,886,875 for 317 lots offered.
   The top lot of the day (shown above) was a pair of square emerald-cut diamond earrings, D, IF, type IIa, excellent polish and symmetry, with stones weighing 20.29 carats and 20.02 carats. The showstopping earrings sold to an Asian private for $5,300,000* — $131,481 per carat — against a presale estimate of $4.5 million to $5.5 million.
   Overall, white diamonds had a very good day, with 10-carat-plus stones selling briskly. “There were strong prices for white diamonds,” said Schuler. “There is a scarcity of stones over 10 carats, so regardless of quality they are attracting interest.” He added that colored diamonds remain the most sought-after segment of the market and prices were also robust for those stones in the sale, which had blue, pink, yellow and a very rare green diamond among the offerings.
   On the colored gemstone side, the Stotesbury Emerald — a hexagon-shaped stone weighing approximately 34.40 carats and signed Harry Winston — was the star. Besides being of Colombian origin, the stone has a rich pedigree. It was formerly owned by noted jewelry collectors Evalyn Walsh McLean, Eva Stotesbury and May Bonfils Stanton. It sold to a private in Asia for $996,500. “It was quite exciting. I was thrilled with the results and quite happy that there are people out there who recognized both quality and provenance,” said Schuler, who revealed that he had first seen the emerald 25 years ago when he was working for Sotheby’s in Chicago.

Christie’s
   The next day at Christie’s, white diamonds continued their hot streak, when the top lot of the day (shown right) was a Van Cleef & Arpels ring showcasing a 22.03-carat rectangular cut D, IF, type IIa diamond with excellent polish and symmetry. It sold to an international dealer for $2,587,500 — $117,000 per carat — against a $2.2 million to $2.7 million presale estimate.
   Once again bidding was bustling in a raucous saleroom filled with dealers, busy phones and online buyers from around the world. The sale tallied up $35,238,100 for 328 lots and was sold 90 percent by lot and 85 percent by value. The presale estimate was $29.9 million to $41 million. The 316-lot December 2016 sale brought in $51,253,625 while Christie’s 253-lot April 2016 auction tallied up $57,029,250.
   Newly appointed head of jewelry for the Americas, Tom Burstein, explained the new strategy for this sale. “We strove to tackle two things. Our goal was to align what’s in the sale with what the market wants. And we were very conservative and rigid in aligning our pricing with the market. That is how we achieved a high sell-through.”
   White diamonds in all sizes fared well in this sale, with those over 10 carats doing particularly well. “With white diamonds we factored in the buyer’s premium to calculate the total price. Then we looked at where that fits in with the current market. We had about a 5 percent leeway built in. It’s unfair to the market to price incorrectly because then it looks like the white diamond market is doing poorly when that is not really the case. You have to know the market and align with it. We priced the stones in such a way that there was enough demand to create competition.” Burstein also noted that they spent time gaining knowledge about pricing by looking at the retail market as well.
   The sale was filled with signed, wearable jewelry that holds appeal for the collector market and the strategy was a bit different for that arena. “When there is beautiful design, provenance and the piece is iconic, then you have to price to collectors, you can take more risks. You price the piece for more than the sum of its parts. Look at the Doris Duke bracelets that were in this sale — they were Art Deco Cartier and they had provenance and they brought in very strong prices,” Burstein explained.
   Overall, the New York spring auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s appeared to have hit their stride by having well-curated sales with desirable merchandise, which meant leaving out more commercial goods. But in the end, it paid off in high sell-throughs for both auction houses.
*All prices include buyer’s premium.

Article from the Rapaport Magazine - May 2017. To subscribe click here.
Comment Comment Email Email Print Print Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Share Share
© Copyright 2024 by Rapaport USA Inc. All Rights Reserved - Privacy Policy | Terms of Use