Editor’s Note
This article highlights the sustained strength of Hong Kong’s jewellery auction market, driven by high-quality offerings and strategic curation. The positive momentum underscores the sector’s resilience and enduring appeal to collectors.
Market resilience was on full display at Hong Kong’s autumn live jewellery auctions, with leading auction houses reporting enthusiastic paddle activity and strong results. Successes were widely attributed to the exceptional quality of lots on offer as well as meticulously curated catalogues that appealed to collectors.
The recent strong sales have continued the momentum from this year’s spring auctions as well as those of autumn 2024. Overall, auction performance over the past two years has shown a clear recovery from the markedly subdued results of 2020 to 2022.
The catalogues of major houses showcase extensive collections across gemstone types and highly coveted jewellery brands, keeping buyers engaged and competitive. Many of these pieces hail from “blue-chip” maisons and feature exceptionally rare, certified gemstones – assets increasingly viewed by collectors as tangible investments, driving both demand and pricing.
Sotheby’s Hong Kong kicked off the autumn auction season with its High Jewelry sale in September, achieving a total of HK$223.75 million (US$1.74 million). With an 86 per cent sell-through rate and over 700 registered paddles, the event marked the highest such figures for its high jewellery sales since 2022.
Private collections performed exceptionally well, as collectors increasingly seek designs that reflect personal style. Notably, The Aria of Jewels: The Collection of a Distinguished Lady was 100 per cent sold, realising HK$41.69 million – more than double its presale low estimate of HK$19.12 million. Among the stand-out pieces was a Cartier seed pearl, coloured stone and diamond Panthère Divine sautoir, which sold for HK$3.56 million.
The top lot at the Sotheby’s auction was a ring featuring a cushion-shaped blue sapphire weighing 12.56 carats, flanked by trapeze-shaped diamonds and mounted in platinum, which fetched HK$18.68 million. The second highest price was for a ring set with a 5.07-carat cut-cornered rectangular mixed-cut fancy pink diamond, flanked by half-moon-shaped diamonds and accented by brilliant-cut diamonds, selling for HK$11.36 million. A jadeite and diamond demi-parure also impressed, selling for HK$4.45 million, more than seven times its estimate.
Positive sentiment continued at Phillips’ Hong Kong Jewels Auction in late September. The auction totalled HK$42.23 million, with 71 per cent of the 95 lots sold. Nearly half of the lots benefited from Phillips’ Buyer’s Premium structure, which rewards early participation with lower rates for competitive bidding.
