A diamond jigha, or turban ornament, secured the highest price at the most recent Sotheby’s jewelry auction in Hong Kong, where the top five items on offer remained unsold.
The Belle Époque piece contains variously shaped diamonds, including a pear-shaped drop in a detachable segment that doubles as a brooch. The lot brought in HKD 9.9 million ($1.3 million), within estimates.
In total, the July 12 Important Jewels sale garnered HKD 86.9 million ($11.1 million). However, the five lots with the highest presale prices failed to sell.
Those included a jadeite, diamond and ruby necklace with an upper estimate of $2.3 million; a Burmese ruby and diamond necklace; and a ring with a 21.35-carat yellow diamond. The latter two had high estimates of $1.5 million. Two other rings remained on the auction block, both bearing presale price tags of up to $1.4 million — one with a 3.70-carat green diamond, and the other with a brilliant-cut, 11.69-carat D-flawless.
Here are the next four highest-selling items from the auction.
This Cartier ring featuring a pear-shaped, 2.58-carat, fancy-intense-purplish-pink, VS2-clarity diamond fetched HKD 9.8 million ($1.2 million), well above its HKD 6.3 million ($804,777) high estimate.
A late-19th-century tiara by designer Musy — boasting natural pearls and cushion-, circular- and single-cut diamonds — sold within its expected price range at HKD 9 million ($1.2 million).
A pair of brilliant-cut, D-flawless diamond earrings weighing 4.22 and 4.08 carats went for HKD 3.4 million ($438,029), within estimates.
Sotheby’s sold this Boucheron ring, in which marquise- and pear-shaped diamonds surround a step-cut, 8.18-carat Colombian emerald, for HKD 3 million ($389,359) — right in the middle of its original estimate range.
Main image: The diamond Jigha. (Sotheby’s)
