Each of the 115 items Christie’s offered at its Geneva jewelry sale on Wednesday found buyers, including a blue-diamond ring that smashed its upper estimate to fetch CHF 10.6 million ($12.7 million).
The Boucheron piece, which bears an emerald-cut, 6.24-carat, fancy-deep-blue diamond, white diamonds and rubies, was the top lot at the May 14 Magnificent Jewels sale. It not only set an auction record for price per carat for a gem of its hue, at $2 million per carat, but it also surged past its CHF 6.5 million ($7.7 million) upper estimate. The ring saw over five minutes of competitive bidding before Moussaieff Jewellers scooped it up, Christie’s said Thursday.
The sale also featured a private collection of 21 jewels from designer JAR, which brought in a combined CHF 5.9 million ($7.1 million). In total, the auction garnered CHF 60.5 million ($72.4 million), with 77% of lots selling above their high estimates, including eight of the top 10. Participants hailed from 45 countries, with 46% from Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), 26% from the US, and 20% from Asia.
Here are the rest of the top 10 lots:
Graff designed and repurchased this oval-shaped, 3.68-carat, fancy-vivid-blue, VVS2-clarity diamond ring. It flew past its CHF 3.7 million ($4.4 million) upper price tag to fetch CHF 4.9 million ($5.8 million), or $1.6 million per carat. This ring, with a cushion-shaped, 10.17-carat, pigeon’s blood Burmese ruby, brought in $411,000 per carat for a total of CHF 3.5 million ($4.2 million), more than five times its CHF 650,000 ($773,920) high estimate. The top item from the JAR collection was this Apricot Blossom bangle, covered with round diamonds, reddish-orange and yellow enamel, blackened silver, yellow gold and bronze. It pulled in more than four times its CHF 550,000 ($654,523) top price to achieve CHF 2.4 million ($2.8 million). Another JAR piece is this necklace, which bears 16 old-cut and round diamonds. It raked in CHF 2.2 million ($2.6 million), more than triple its CHF 700,00 ($832,884) high presale price. A ring with a cushion-shaped, 13.80-carat Kashmir sapphire center stone and tapered baguette-cut diamonds more than doubled its CHF 800,000 ($952,044) upper estimate to sell for CHF 2.1 million ($2.5 million). Created in the 1950s, this bracelet has octagonal, rectangular and rhomboid-shaped Kashmir sapphires and single, baguette-cut, fancy-shaped and round diamonds. It nearly tripled its CHF 650,000 ($773,920) top price to bring in CHF 1.9 million ($2.3 million). This ring centers on a marquise brilliant-cut, 11.64-carat, fancy-light-blue, VS2-clarity diamond center stone with triangular-shaped diamond shoulders. It realized CHF 1.6 million ($1.9 million), within its estimated range. A necklace featuring eight emerald-cut, D-color diamonds ranging from 3.10 to 10.61 carats, as well as rectangular, pear-shaped and round diamonds, with a detachable central section that forms a bracelet and a detachable pendant, went for CHF 1.6 million ($1.9 million), just above its CHF 1.5 million ($1.8 million) high estimate. Christie’s sold this Reza ring, which has a pear modified brilliant-cut, 20.10-carat, D-color, VVS1-clarity center stone flanked by pear-shaped diamonds, for CHF 1.2 million ($1.4 million), meeting its presale expectations.
Main image: The 6.24-carat blue diamond ring. (Christie’s)
