Christie's unmounted flawless 62.3 carat diamond sold for CHF8.01 million (click on image to view larger)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Forget the girl’s best friend, diamonds that investors love are dazzling the jewelry world this week. Christie’s big November precious gems and jewelry sale in Geneva Wednesday 18 November ended on a high note, with the sale of a 62.3 carat diamond going for CHF8.01 million at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues.
Overall, the sale brought in CHF32.28m, another strong sign that the market has recovered, after Sotheby’s sold CHF37 million in jewels Monday. The buyer was Aleks Paul of Essex Global Trading in New York, a dealer who also walked off with two other lots of diamonds worth more than CHF5m.
And down the street at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel the Antiquorum sale of fine watches set a record price for watches sold in 2009: CHF5.12m for the Patek Philippe Yellow Gold Calibre 89, one of only four in the world, each unique.
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):
