RAPAPORT... Sotheby’s brought in GBP 5.3 million ($6.8 million) from its
Fine Jewels sale in London on Tuesday, with many items going for well above their
high estimates.
The top lot, a necklace by Van Cleef & Arpels featuring
a detachable rectangular cushion-shaped, 18.22-carat emerald center stone,
surrounded by pear-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds, sold for $402,375,
beating its high estimate of $354,090.
A late-19th-century Hunt & Roskell necklace —
set with an oval, 11.8-carat sapphire, diamonds, and a detachable pendant
containing a 6.4-carat, pear-shaped sapphire — went for $321,900, more than
triple its high estimate of $103,008.
A number of other items also smashed their high valuations,
including a pair of Cartier onyx and diamond earrings from 1925. Those brought
in $281,663, nearly four-and-a-half times their $64,380 presale estimate. A
cushion-shaped, 18.47-carat sapphire ring, flanked by diamonds, fetched
$209,235, above its $193,140 high estimate.
Emeralds also proved popular, with a Van Cleef & Arpels 8.34-carat
emerald ring selling for $152,903 against a high estimate of $70,818, and an
emerald pendant necklace by Hemmerle going for $144,855, nearly six times its
$25,752 high valuation.
The Hemmerle items, the largest collection of the designer’s
pieces to come to auction, all left their high estimates in the dust. Those
included a pair of cameo earrings, which sold for $88,523, more than double the
$38,628 expected valuation, and tourmaline and green sapphire earrings, which
blasted their $11,588 high valuation to fetch $64,380.
Image: The Van Cleef & Arpels emerald and diamond necklace. (Sotheby’s)
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