A 17.97-carat Burmese ruby and diamond ring was the top seller at a recent jewelry sale at Phillips in Geneva, raking in $5.4 million.
The piece, which fell just shy of its $5.5 million high estimate, went on the block at the November 11 Geneva Jewels Auction: Three, Phillips said Tuesday. In total, the sale brought in $13.8 million, with 77% of the 112 lots finding buyers.
“We are pleased with the overall result,” said Benoit Repellin, worldwide head of jewelry for Phillips. “We continued to build on the strong momentum of recent sales featuring exceptional colored gemstones.”
One piece that didn’t sell was a 3.24-carat, fancy-vivid-blue diamond ring that was forecast to bring in up to $6 million. That lot was withdrawn prior to the sale, in agreement with the consignor, Phillips told Rapaport News. A source close to the auction houses explained that the reason an item is usually pulled from a sale beforehand is because it hasn’t generated enough interest to make its estimated price.
Here are the other pieces that rounded out the top 10:
Main image: The ruby and diamond ring. (Phillips)
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