Lots to Look Forward To

January 7, 2019
By Phyllis Schiller

Doyle Ann Limer Lange Senior vice president, executive director, jewelry In signed jewelry, Van Cleef from the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s is probably the hottest. And the very rare, the tutti frutti Cartier, gets very strong prices. I’d say 1970s jewelry is big, the long chains with a pendant. Bulgari coin jewelry has come back strongly. We sold a very long curb-link necklace with six silver coins estimated at $8,000 to $12,000 for a hammer price of $62,500. Stylish gold jewelry is more popular than diamond jewelry at the moment; even Deco bracelets have gotten a little soft, as beautiful as they are. Fancy-color diamonds are very strong — the pinks and blues. We just sold a 1.52-carat fancy blue for $855,000, more than double the high estimate. In terms of colored stones, the market has gotten more particular. They’re looking for the best. Earrings will always do well in any genre. Nineteenth-century earrings are fabulous. They do well. Every genre still has its pieces that people clamor for. I look for wearable, stylish jewelry. And then there’s the rare. A couple of years ago, we sold a pair of natural pearls for $3.3 million. You live for those moments. You never know when they’re going to happen, and– that’s what makes it exciting. There always will be collectors buying at auction. But lifestyles have changed, and the average age of who is buying jewelry is probably 45 to 75. So there is concern in terms of the future. But this market always reinvents itself. Certainly, though, the way women dressed in the 1960s and ’70s, even the ’80s, is different than today. It’s more casual now. This is a very adaptable industry. If things change, then you change. Diamond dealers will buy colored stones or fine jewelry if diamonds get soft. They go where the money is, and that’s really the beauty of our industry. I am cautiously optimistic about 2019. You have to stay optimistic and be realistic at the same time.

Fortuna Seth Holehouse President and jewelry expert We’ve seen that Hong Kong and the Asian markets are driving a lot more sales. While a handful of clients in the US and Europe are branching out and adding to their collections, many are in the later stages of their collecting and are not actively influencing the market in the way that Asia is. We are seeing that tastes are changing. Rather than Victorian and Edwardian pieces, Asian buyers are purchasing more yellow gold, and there is a much stronger shift into Retro and even into 1960s or 1970s, especially if it’s by Van Cleef & Arpels or Cartier. In general, there’s a higher appreciation of jewelry as art rather than looking for a triple Ex, D-flawless, type IIa diamond. In Asia, a client might want, for example, a mystery-set Van Cleef & Arpels sapphire brooch because it’s part of their building of a collection. In the American market, while we do have some collectors who are looking for a nice Deco Cartier bracelet, what we are seeing more often are people who have more serious collections now buying what makes them happy — it’s a different objective. However, it’s not black and white; there are many variations of collectors we are seeing. I think what’s happening — and what really excites me — is that people are starting to see value beyond how many carats there are, and that will continue to happen in a bigger way. In terms of 2019, internally I’m very optimistic about our company’s trajectory, but externally it’s hard to predict where the market will move. We’re constantly trying to find new ways to generate business. But the key is that we’re not just doing what’s always been done.

Skinner Kaitlin Shinnick Senior Specialist, fine jewelry department The overall trend that we have seen this year at auction has been a shift away from buying a particular designer or brand name, and more interest in choosing pieces based on the quality of the design and the workmanship. Collectors are increasingly knowledgeable about the history of the pieces they collect and are aggressively seeking out the rare and the unusual at auction. Younger buyers are becoming more auction-savvy and are willing to bid well above auction estimates to add a piece to their very curated collections. In terms of specific genres that have sold well, at the end of 2018, we saw a resurgence in the market for antique jewelry, particularly from before the mid-19th century. Early mourning pieces have been especially popular. A collection of 18th-century memento mori jewelry that we recently sold saw pieces far exceeding their estimates. A single black enamel band depicting a skeleton brought over $10,000, which was five times its presale estimate. As far as sourcing, private collections new to the market always attract the most interest at auction. Auction remains a popular format for collectors, in both online and the more traditional live formats. Going forward into 2019, I expect to see continued interest in historic jewelry, unusual designs and rare colored stones.

Image: Fortuna; 3.05-carat, fancy-intense-blue diamond ring / antique 18-karat gold, pearl and diamond Flower brooch, probably France, c. 1850.