Sotheby’s Geneva sale creates auction records

Sotheby’s Geneva Jewels and Noble Jewels sale clocked new world record for any jewellery sale. The sale realised $175,097,419, overtaking the previous record of $160.9m also set by Sotheby’s in the equivalent sale last year (May 2015).

Speaking after the sale, David Bennett, Worldwide Chairman of Sotheby’s International Jewellery Division, commented: “Exactly one year after having set the world record for a jewellery sale, Sotheby’s Geneva has raised the bar once again with a great sale and a great result for the Unique Pink. It is difficult to imagine a diamond that better illustrates the term Vivid Pink than this outstanding stone. The colour is simply astonishing and, for its size, it is in my experience truly unique. We set out to curate a sale that would speak to today's collectors and the response has been overwhelming - confirmation, if ever it were needed, that when you have the right material, demand is as deep as it's ever been. This was a sale that had the perfect mix of great gemstones and jewels, the vast majority of which were sourced from private collections.”

The sale was led by The Unique Pink, the largest pear-shaped fancy vivid pink diamond ever to come on auction. It sold for $31.6 million ((Price per carat: $2,052,094), a record for stones of its type.

In the sale, three lots sold over $10 million and six lots sold for over $5 million. Of the lots, 70 percent sold above high estimate. Online buying saw records being set – a new record for an online purchase in a live auction at Sotheby’s for an important pear -shaped fancy Blue and fancy Orangy Pink Diamond Earrings totalling $6 million. There was also a 41 percent increase in the number of lots sold online compared to the equivalent sale last year.

A new record was set for a jewel by Reza, from a noble collection, brooch featuring a 6.64-carat Fancy Intense Blue Diamond. The jewel achieved $13.7 million, surpassing the previous auction record set by Sotheby’s Geneva in May 2010. (LOT 405, estimate $10 – 14million. This auction also saw one of the highest levels of participation for any Jewellery sale at Sotheby’s - Participants came from 45 countries with 25 percent of the total number of participants being from Asia. An auction record for a fancy pink diamond was set by an Important Fancy Pink diamond pendant weighing 18.51 carats which sold for $9,773,672 ($528,021 per carat). A record price per carat for a fancy purplish pink diamond was set by an important Fancy Purplish Pink diamond ring weighing 8.20 carats. It sold for $3,696,098 ($450,744 per carat).