Blue Diamond Sets Record

RAPAPORT… Like dominoes falling, two auction records tumbled in quick succession at Sotheby’s Hong Kong sale.

Sotheby’s Hong Kong sale set two impressive records on October 8. First, the firm achieved a total of $40,838,152, the highest ever for a sale of Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite in Asia. Secondly, the auction set a new world record for the top price per carat for any gemstone sold at auction, breaking a record that has stood for 20 years. The honors went to a 6.04-carat internally flawless, emerald-cut fancy vivid blue diamond, set in a ring, that fetched $7,981,835.* Per carat, the stone achieved $1,321,590, soaring above the previous per-carat record of $926,000 per carat — set by the 0.95-carat Hancock Red diamond, which sold in 1987 for $880,000. The sale of the blue diamond also was significant because it was bought by a dealer, Alisa Moussaieff for Moussaieff Jewellers.

Moussaieff had considerable competition for the stone. At least seven telephone bidders were after this one gem. According to Sotheby’s, it took all of eight tense minutes of battling before the prize was won. The piece soared above the presale estimate of $4.5 million to $6.15 million. Although faceted as an emerald cut, the stone was fairly square in shape.

The blue added considerably to the auction’s bottom line, and lifted up a sale that was only 64.8 percent sold by lot. Still, all but one of the top ten lots brought more than $1 million. Showing a continuing strength at the top end of the market, the trade took three of the top ten. The mix of gems and jewels in the top ten is a testament to the strength of the Asian market. Other than the international trade, Asian privates were the main buyers in this pricey part of the sale, taking half of the top ten items.

NOTABLES

Blue was not the only color in demand at the Sotheby’s sale in Hong Kong. An emerald and diamond sautoir, known as the Berlin Emerald, was bought by a private client for $2,640,634, also well above the presale estimate. The square, antique, step-cut emerald, weighing approximately 47.60 carats, was bezel-set in platinum and then suspended from an elegant chain set with brilliant and step-cut diamonds that weighed a total of 19.15 carats. The piece came originally from the estate of music composer Irving Berlin and Ellin Mackay Berlin, his wife. Certified as natural and of Colombian origin, the necklace was featured on the cover of the auction catalog against a background of a piece of sheet music from Berlin’s song “They Say That Falling in Love Is Wonderful.” The musical theme continued through the catalog, with many of the most important jewelry pieces photographed on musical instruments.

If there are blue and green, there must be red — and what a red there was in this sale! A trade buyer homed in on an exquisite 7.20-carat cushion-shaped ruby, certified to be of Burmese origin, with no indications of heating. The piece sold for $1,875,543, just above the high estimate of $1.8 million. The superb ruby ring, set in an elegant swirl of brilliant cut diamonds and mounted in platinum and yellow gold, was designed by James de Givenchy for Taffin, his own firm. The designer is known among a devoted group of customers for his choice of fine and unusual colored gemstones, often combined in original pairings, and always set in unique designs.

The importance of colored gemstones is a remarkable phenomenon, considering that it was not so long ago that a canary yellow diamond was viewed as something audacious. Never mind that the Tiffany Diamond is a canary and the Hope Diamond is deep blue. But in this sale, color was a consistent theme, and not only at the top end. A pair of earrings, set with pear-shaped spessartite garnets weighing 9.97 and 10.08 carats, and also set with cushion-shaped demantoid garnets, was sold for $25,713. The intriguing pair was signed Agapoff and mounted in 18-karat yellow gold.

Jadeite, always a popular and important component of Hong Kong auctions, was well represented in this sale, both in classic carvings, as well as elegant jewelry. Top price for a jadeite lot went to a classic jadeite bangle. Almost uniformly emerald green except for a small patch of paler green and a spot of yellow, it was sold for $1,500,215, above the top presale estimate. Although the buyer chose to remain anonymous, one can fairly assume the bangle went to an Asian customer. Appreciation for fine jadeite continues to capture buyers’ attention — and their dollars — in the Hong Kong sales.

DIAMONDS FARE WELL

Fancy color diamonds have become a staple in the Hong Kong sales, and for a buyer who can’t decide among pink, yellow, blue or in-between, a multicolored diamond necklace solved the dilemma. The necklace consisted of various-color rounds and oval cuts with a fringe of 13 pear-shaped fancies, including fancy light purplish pink, fancy vivid yellow, fancy vivid yellow-orange, fancy pink, fancy vivid yellowish orange and fancy intense blue. This group of fancies, weighing a total of 13.79 carats, was suspended from oval diamonds weighing a total of 9.37 carats. Various Gemological Institute of America (GIA) reports indicated that nine of the white diamonds weighing 1.00 to 1.11 carats were all F color and VS1 to VS2 clarity. The colorful necklace fetched $1,630,136, slightly under the low estimate, which may reflect the unusual design of the piece.

In the white diamond department, top price went to a pair of unmounted diamonds. The brilliant cut stones weighed 10.51 and 10.56 carats and were both GIA graded as D flawless with excellent cut, polish and symmetry. They were also determined to be Type IIa stones. They were sold for $2,467,406 to an Asian private.

For those who prefer to have their D flawless diamonds set in signed jewelry, the sale offered a pair of diamond pendant ear clips by Van Cleef & Arpels. The main pear- shaped drops weighed 8.10 and 8.24 carats, and were set within a frame of round diamonds, suspended from a cluster of marquise, pear-shaped and brilliant cuts weighing an additional 16.50 carats. The pair sold just above the high estimate for $1,529,087. The symmetrical design, typical of the 1960s, when the earrings were made, uses simple prong settings to show off the stones.

A member of the international trade scooped up an 18.30-carat E color, VVS1 brilliant cut diamond for $1,168,195. The stone was set in bezels on an 18-karat white gold shank but seemed ready to be plucked out of the mounting and placed in a stylish setting.

It has been a while since an invisibly set brooch by Aletto Brothers turned up at auction. This one offered a lovely, classic ruby and diamond flower brooch with detachable stem and leaves, a remarkable achievement. The brooch fetched $186,568, just over the high estimate. The curving ruby petals in this piece are extremely supple in appearance and truly reflect the jeweler’s art.
 
An increasing appetite for jewelry, accompanied by a passion for only the finest in gems and signed pieces, continues to energize the Hong Kong sales. With the competition’s sale a distant six weeks later, Sotheby’s had the audience all to itself.

* All prices include buyer’s premium.