Editor’s Note
Sotheby’s latest High Jewelry auction in New York achieved a robust $31.4 million, driven by strong demand for colored diamonds and signed pieces. The sale’s 95% sell-through rate set a new benchmark for the house’s multi-owner jewelry auctions in the city.
New York—Sotheby’s recent High Jewelry sale in New York raked in $31.4 million as bidders vied for big and fancy colored diamonds, colored gemstones, and signed jewelry from private collections.
With 95 percent of lots sold, the sale marked the highest sell-through rate for a various-owner jewelry auction at Sotheby’s New York, said the auction house.
The top lot was a 35.01-carat emerald-cut diamond ring by Graff, which sold for $3.2 million after a three-minute bidding battle, said Sotheby’s, above its estimate of $2 million to $3 million.
said Quig Bruning, head of Sotheby’s Jewels, Americas and EMEA.
The ring was part of the “Joie de Vivre: Journey in Jewels” private collection up for sale, which achieved a total of $4.9 million, within its $3.3 million to $5.2 million estimate.
The jewels were gifts from a husband to his wife throughout their 60-plus-year marriage, said the auction house.
Though a big diamond stole the show, the colored gemstones garnered top dollar as well.
A Colombian emerald and diamond ring by JAR, set with an 8.62-carat emerald, sold for $1.6 million, more than twice the high end of its $500,000 to $700,000 estimate.
A “superb” Kashmir rectangular step-cut sapphire from the 1930s weighing 7.50 carats sold for $1.4 million, above its pre-sale estimate of $500,000 to $700,000.
said Bruning.
Several colored diamonds also commanded high prices, including a 2.02-carat fancy vivid blue diamond that sold to an online bidder for $1.8 million, beyond the high end of its $1.4 million to $1.5 million estimate.
A ring set with a 5.02-carat oval-shaped fancy pink diamond sold within its estimate, achieving $1.5 million.
A 0.47-carat oval-shaped fancy red diamond sold for $177,800, well below its $500,000 to $700,000 estimate, while a set of seven fancy red, purplish red and purple-red diamonds sold for $292,100, within its $250,000 to $450,000 estimate.
Another collection offered at the sale was four pieces from the estate of Emily Vanderbilt Wade, daughter of William Henry Vanderbilt III, former governor of Rhode Island, and great-granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt.
The pieces sold for a combined $2.2 million, the high end of its pre-sale estimate.
The top lot within that collection and the No. 2 lot overall by sale price was a Marcus & Co. necklace, circa 1915, set with a 9.60-carat Burmese ruby. It sold for $1.8 million, within its pre-sale estimate of $1 million to $2 million.
Vanderbilt Wade’s collection also included a Cartier Art Deco diamond bracelet, a René Lalique pendant, and a tassel sautoir.
said Bruning.
As for the signed jewelry, a selection of six jewels by Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co. sold for a combined $406,400, above its estimate of $200,000 to $315,000.
The star of the group was an enamel and diamond bracelet in an “unusual” shade of turquoise blue, which sold for $107,950, well above its pre-sale estimate of $30,000 to $50,000.
There were also four Art Nouveau jewels by René Lalique from a collection in Chicago, including a peridot, glass, and diamond “Le Vol de la Pierre” (“The Theft of the Stone”) brooch that sold for $279,400, more than five times its high estimate.
Two “rare” Suzanne Belperron pieces, including a gold, emerald, and ruby ring and a gold and diamond necklace, sold well above their estimates.
There was also a collection of 18 jewels by Harry Winston, which sold for a combined $2.6 million, above its estimate of $985,000 to $1.5 million.
The top lot of the group was a 12.59-carat oval-shaped diamond.