Asian Tiger

RAPAPORT… When the hammer came down on Christie’s June 1 sale in Hong Kong — the last major sale of the season — observers had run out of superlatives. The ever-increasing totals for jewelry sold at auction this spring seemed to reach new highs with each successive event. How could Christie’s Hong Kong possibly surpass the success of its May 12 Geneva sale?

It could and it did, with a combination of stunning diamonds, colored gemstones and one “once-in-100-years jadeite bead necklace.” The sale, totaling $60,409,616, was 89 percent sold by lot and 94 percent sold by value, with 256 of the 288 lots offered finding buyers. Vickie Sek, director of jewelry and jadeite for Christie’s Asia, announced, “At more than $60 million, this auction is the most important ever organized by Christie’s anywhere in the world.” It also confirmed the shift of buying power in the jewelry market from the West to the East.

Jade Tops Sale

Asian privates dominated the list of buyers, headlined by that single-strand jadeite bead necklace that fetched $7,275,144*. “One will never again come across such a jewel with a combination of vivid emerald green color, glassy translucency and fine texture,” explained Sek. “Most jadeite rough contains very uneven sections of greens and is full of fissures and inclusions. Such a jewel is as rare as the Kashmir sapphire bracelet, if not rarer. With the increase in Chinese Mainland buyers, who traditionally like jadeite, it’s really become more and more desirable.” The 51-jadeite bead necklace was fashioned with an 8.80-carat star ruby clasp.

The Kashmir sapphire bracelet by Cartier, circa 1960, that Sek referred to featured nine graduated cushion-cut sapphires totaling 49.61 carats, ranging from 4.16 carats to 10.52 carats, separated by marquise-cut diamond spacers. Competition for the bracelet was fierce, and it more than doubled the low estimate, selling for $6,915,624 and setting a world auction record for any bracelet.

Sek pointed out that the same bracelet had been sold by Christie’s in 1988 for $902,000 and added, “The Cartier Kashmir bracelet’s quality was so exceptional that it attracted top buyers from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Europe, for a total of eight private collectors bidding.” With the Kashmir mines long since worked out, the opportunity to buy such a remarkable piece was recognized by the ever-increasingly sophisticated Asian market. Another Kashmir sapphire, a cushion shape weighing 17.45 carats, set in a ring, also captivated the bidders, soaring over the high estimate to bring $1,738,536.

Blue Rules

Blue was clearly the color of the day. The blue sapphire bracelet was followed in price by two blue diamond lots. Both brought strong prices, but well within the presale estimates. A heart-shaped fancy vivid blue, VS2 diamond weighing 5.01 carats, set as a ring within a frame of white diamonds, was sold for $4,686,600, or $935,000 per carat. The next lot, earrings set with two heart-shaped fancy deep blue Type IIb diamonds weighing 2.48 and 2.03 carats, suspending a pair of 10.12-carat, D, VS2 and 9.64-carat, E, VS1 pear-shaped diamonds, was sold for $4,398,984.

A third blue diamond auctioned was a heart-shaped, IF, fancy deep blue, weighing 2.88 carats. Set in a ring with a small vivid pink diamond and a small intense pink diamond, it sold for $1,666,632, just above the low estimate. The blue fetched $579,000 per carat.

A pink diamond also found favor with the buyers. The marquise-cut, fancy pink stone weighing 3.08 carats, within a pavé-set diamond frame, with two marquise diamonds of 0.83 carats and 0.80 carats, was sold for $511,032, well above the high estimate.

Extremely fine, large white diamonds brought more conservative prices. A brilliant-cut, E color, IF clarity stone weighing 13.67 carats, set as a ring, was sold for $1,738,536, just above the low estimate, while a cushion-shaped, DIF stone weighing 10.05 carats, and identified as “Golconda,” brought $1,695,394, or $169,000 per carat.

Pointing out the special attributes of this diamond, Sek said, “To find a beautiful, super-rare Golconda diamond is almost impossible. Every gem collector is looking for that extra-special stone that would make their collection even better.” Adding to its value was the rarity of its size and the quality of this particular stone, Sek went on to say, noting there are not many 10-carat diamonds available in the market today. “This 10-carat Golconda stone is extraordinary,” she said. “Rarely have I come across a stone so watery and so pure. Top private collectors from all over the region were bidding on our 10-carat Golconda, producing the stellar price.”

Another exquisite diamond necklace on offer suspended a pear-shaped, rose-cut, DIF, Type IIa diamond weighing 18.47 carats. It was also set with a lozenge-shaped 6.11-carat diamond as well as various small diamonds along the 18-karat white gold chain. The center diamond seemed to scintillate around its edge with a pattern of large triangular facets occupying most of the body of the stone. It was sold for $1,307,112.

A traditional Harry Winston necklace, combining a fringe of graduated pear-shaped diamonds with two rows of graduated marquise-cut diamonds set among brilliant-cut diamonds, sold well over the high estimate at $618,888.

An unusual four-strand pearl necklace, featuring 255 graduated, multicolored natural saltwater pearls in shades of white, gray, gold, pink and brown, was joined by an unusual trapezoid-shaped clasp set with four rows of old mine-cut diamonds. The pearls were artfully arranged in graduated sizes from 3.4mm to 10.4mm. The necklace was sold for $1,307,112.

A charming lorgnette, the rectangular-shaped lenses joined to a diamond bar shaped like an arrow, with that element dangling from a detachable collet-set diamond neckchain, found a buyer at $12,840. An elegant pearl and diamond bar brooch, by Cartier Paris, set with a large button-shaped pearl, flanked by four pear-shaped diamonds and accented by black enamel, was sold for $87,312.

An unusual ring by Cartier, designed to evoke a parrot, generated strong bidding. The ring, featuring a pavé-set diamond parrot wrapped in foliage of carved sapphires and emeralds, with emerald eyes and a black cultured pearl beak, garnered $110,424. The presale estimate was $32,000 to $44,000.

The overall success of the sale, both in terms of lots sold and the totalvalue, is a reflection both of the “Asian tiger” economy, as well as the careful nurturing of clients in the Asian marketplace. In Asia, Christie’s marketed the top gemstones of this particular auction as “The Sensational Six,” and that, Sek noted, “really sparked a high interest in our sale. Lots of clients went onto Christie’s website to find out what ‘The Sensational Six’ really were. The Kashmir sapphire bracelet was the star lot of the ‘Sensational Six,’ as well as of the entire jewelry sale.

*All prices include buyer’s premium.