Duchess Roxburghe's ruby and diamond earrings, sold for more than 10 times their estimated price at Sotheby's, Geneva

Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The annual Sotheby‘s sale of “Magnificent Jewels” was an extraordinary event Tuesday evening 17 November in Geneva, reassuring investors that the jewelry market is alive and well, with sales close to the impressive CHF40 million of May 2009: CHF37 million, with sales spread across several lots. In May, one blue diamond alone sold for CHF10.4 million, accounting for over one-quarter of the auction value.

Several items were bought for sums dizzyingly higher than their estimates Tuesday night. Diamond rings in particular went for double their estimates, for the most part.

The November 2008 sale, at a point of great gloom over the global financial crisis, brought in CHF18 million and some of the top items were not sold because of bids that were too low for the sellers.

The top items Tuesday night included (from catalogue descriptions):

• very rare fancy blue diamond ring, CHF2.546 million
• very impressive fancy vivid yellow diamond ring, CHF3.162m
• (property of March, Duchess of Roxburghe) rare and highly important ruby and diamond necklace, late 19th century, CHF4.338m

The Duchess’s necklace was sold at more than four times its top estimated price of CHF1 million, as were ruby and diamond earrings that belonged to her, which went under the gavel for CHF1.482m.

One surprise disappointment was the failure of a rare green diamond, expected to be the top seller, to reach its bottom of the range estimate: it went for CHF3.106m, after expectations that it would fetch CHF3.300-5.450 million.

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