RAPAPORT… You’re the top, you’re the coliseum; you’re the top, you’re the Louvre Museum.” If Cole Porter was around today, he might well be penning lyrics to describe a top jewelry lot — in this case, a magnificent emerald and diamond tiara that entranced, enchanted and dominated Sotheby’s Geneva sale on May 17. It ultimately sold to an anonymous buyer for a record-breaking $12,736,927*. The superlatives have not yet been coined to describe both the quality of the tiara and the excitement that surrounded its sale. The remarkable piece, set with 11 polished pear-shaped Colombian emeralds weighing some 500 carats and set upright from a crown of rose and brilliant cut diamonds, came originally from the Donnersmarck collection. Even the most optimistic presale estimate of $10 million was smashed as bidders vied for the lot.
For David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s jewelry department for Europe and the Middle East, offering the tiara was “Once in a career — but it is twice now for this tiara. We sold it in 1979 at a sale in Zurich.” Bennett describes the sale as “extraordinary. It was difficult to know what we would follow last November with.” That was the $105 million event with the $46 million diamond. Sotheby’s managed to do that with this 479-lot event, where a resounding 90 percent of the lots were sold, for a total of $89,121,687.
While expressing his hope that the tiara would be kept intact, Bennett points out, “I am not sure someone will wear it; it’s an object.” Anticipating that a tiara has a limited use, even among the royal set, the piece was constructed with fittings that allow the drops to be removed. “These could allow the drops to be used as a necklace,” he says.
Commenting on the entire sale, Bennett says, “It was the most enjoyable and successful sale I have ever taken.” That happiness stemmed in part from the statistics: 76 percent of the lots were sold above the high estimate, marking either tremendous confidence in the market or a scarcity of goods — or both. Sotheby’s sale was filled with extremely fine diamonds and signed jewelry.
The strength of the sale can be read in many ways.Consider that the top ten lots alone totaled $40,948,951. Only a few years ago, that would have been a significant total for an entire sale. Consider as well that a 10.99-carat fancy intense pink diamond fetched $10,840,358, and that the price was paid not by a private customer but by Lev Leviev, one of the top members of the diamond trade. It was that November 2010 sale, by the way, that brought this pink out of the vault. “Immediately after the sale,” Bennett relates, “I had a call. The individual said ‘I have a pink diamond just like the one you just sold.’” It wasn’t exactly the same, Bennett adds. “It was smaller, but a true pink. I loved this stone,” he says, and clearly others did as well. Although it sold between the low and high estimates, placing an estimate on a unique stone is far from a science. And at $986,383 per carat, no one is unhappy with the result — except perhaps the underbidders.
There were so many outstanding lots in this sale, Bennett notes. “It was all about the jewels. Most of the professionals were saying this was the best thing they’d seen in many, many years. There was a large number of Kashmir sapphires and diamonds not seen before. We were fortunate in having a great collection of things, reasonably estimated.” The 479-lot sale took just under three hours.
Christie’s
That speed was not replicated at Christie’s Geneva sale the next day, even though the sale was considerably smaller. But speed was not the goal. In spite of the six and a half hours it took to hammer down 317 lots, 265 of which sold, no one was complaining, least of all the dealers who had spent considerable time, prior to the event, evaluating the properties. The length of the sale was dictated in large part by the number of items offered without reserve. Such lots typically begin with lower-than-usual opening bids and slowly make their way up. In the end, 160 lots sold above presale high estimates.
When professional jewelry buyers have to queue for a chance to examine goods, you know there’s something special going on. That was the scene at Christie’s Geneva sale, according to Jean-Marc Lunel, head of the jewelry department in charge of the sale.
“The sale was unbelievable,” he said on the day following the event. “Even the exhibition — the whole world was there. We have a private room for dealers and it was so packed. We issue ‘passports’ for the dealers and there were 150 on one day. They were sitting for hours with all the equipment, trying to guess how much they should bid on each lot.” In the end, the dealers and the private clients wound up paying $78,693,041 for 265 lots. Or as Lunel figures it, “$200,000 per minute.”
The event was exciting from the first minute, Lunel notes, “Already, when François Curiel was hammering the first lot, the room was packed. People wanted to go out of there with at least one thing in their pocket.” The deepest pocket, as is often the case, belonged to Laurence Graff of Graff Diamonds, the London-based dealer who always has an eye out for the most spectacular and fine diamond. This time around, he picked up a 56.15-carat DIF, heart-shaped diamond for $10,946,422, or $195,000 per carat.
That record was remarkable, but not more than the price paid for a cushion-cut Burmese sapphire weighing 130.50 carats. The stunning royal blue stone was set in a brooch with old-mine diamonds, in a silver and gold mount. Estimated to bring $850,000 to $1,300,000, it set off a bidding battle that was finally won by New York dealer Ben Mellen, who paid a stunning $7,122,742 for the lot. The sapphire attracted enormous attention, according to Lunel. “Everyone who is in the business looked at this stone, even if they had no money. It is the best sapphire I have ever seen. I think it will be a long time before someone finds a stone like this for the color, the cut, the clarity.”
Like the pink that was enticed to auction by the sale of a previous pink, Lunel says this sapphire will bring in more goods. “Yes, this encourages people to sell — and to buy.”
Pedigreed Pieces
Both sales did spectacularly well with period jewelry, as well as contemporary pieces. At Christie’s, an Imperial Mughal necklace comprising eleven polished spinels, three of them engraved to honor Mughal emperors, soared to a record price of $5,210,902. The extremely unusual neckpiece went to a private customer with a taste for history.
At Sotheby’s, a group of Noble Jewels — previously owned by titled persons — likewise soared past their estimates. Among these was an emerald and diamond necklace set with enormous emerald cabochons and diamonds, with matching earrings. The two-piece lot from the collection of the Countess of Romanones elicited a six-way battle that ended when one bidder paid $409,230, way above the presale estimate of $100,000 to $150,000.
There was a time when dealers dominated the sales. Through the years, private clients learned to shop for themselves and gave the dealers serious competition at auctions, often pushing prices past the level a dealer could manage and still make a profit. Now, the wheel seems to be turning back toward the dealers again. With extremely fine goods difficult to come by, they are willing to spend whatever it takes to secure the finest diamonds and colored gemstones.
*All prices include buyer’s premium.
