Editor’s Note
This article has been updated to include the full quote from Phillips regarding the auction results.
Twelve lots offering storied jewels from the Vanderbilt family sold out in Phillips’s “Geneva Jewels Auction” on Monday, making up a significant portion of the total of CHF 13.7 million (around $17 million) raked in by the sale.
Ninety-six of 113 total lots sold, measuring in for an 85-percent sell-through rate.
said Benoît Repellin, Phillips worldwide head of jewelry.
The Vanderbilt family jewels brought in CHF 3.42 million ($4.25 million), four times the low estimate for the lots. The top lot was “The Vanderbilt Sapphire,” a Gilded Age treasure featuring a 42-karat sugarloaf Kashmir sapphire and a diamond brooch crafted by Tiffany & Co. It sold for CHF 2.88 million ($3.57 million), above its estimate of $1 to $1.5 million.
Repellin said in a statement.
Phillips noted that 90 percent of signed jewels in the auction sold. Repellin highlighted the sale of a Cartier Magnificent diamond brooch for $560,582, a Bulgari “Serpenti” belt for $368,383, and several lots of Cartier “Panthère” jewels.
The auction house said it hosted more than 1,600 visitors during a preview and the sale itself, with bids received from aspiring buyers in 44 countries. A “Geneva Jewels” online auction continues through November 13, and Phillips will lead a “New York Jewels Auction” at its New York headquarters on December 8.