Editor’s Note
This article previews a major auction of historic and signed jewels, highlighting the market’s optimism. The results, including a $14 million pink diamond, exceeded expectations, signaling robust demand for exceptional pieces.
There was history on offer—a stone with ties to Marie Antoinette’s daughter, a carved emerald connected to Mughal emperors and English queens—and iconic examples of signed jewels—Van Cleef Mystery Set brooches, Cartier Art Deco, JAR—so the market was certainly optimistic about the Magnificent Jewels auction at Christie’s New York on June 17.
But then the results started coming in: $14 million for the Marie-Thérèse pink diamond; $11.3 million for the Blue Belle sapphire, the carved emerald necklace for $6.2 million, the ruby and diamond Van Cleef Mystery Set brooch for $1.5 million, almost three times more than its high estimate.
In the words of one jewelry world insider present. By the end, one hundred percent of the lots had been sold, and a record for highest total ever for a various owner jewelry auction at Christie’s America, had been achieved. How, amid economic and historical uncertainly, does something like this happen?
Rahul Kadakia, Christies International Head of Jewelry, points to several factors.
There had been talk even before the sale of jewelry’s legendary resilience. There was the Bain & Co 2024 report found jewelry “the most resilient core luxury category in 2024,” up 2 percent and $32.2 billion in sales, while other segments of the industry were down. Then, of course, there are the stories of jewels hidden during times of crisis or smuggled out of chaos sewn into slips and hidden in hairdos. The jewels at the sale, many with histories that spanned centuries and with tales of survival through conflict and conquest, certainly fit this narrative.
As one visitor to the preview noted.
