Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sale propelled by top prices

Sotheby’s held its final jewelry auction of 2015 – its Magnificent Jewels on December 9th in New York. The sale was propelled by top prices for important diamonds, exceptional colored stones and historic designs. It garnered a total of $52.3 million total, raising the company’s annual worldwide sales of jewelry to $571 million.

The top lots included an exceptional Platinum, Kashmir Sapphire and Diamond Ring Set with a sugarloaf cabochon sapphire of 25.87 carats, and with no indications of heating. The piece went down the hammer for $5,122,000 ($197,990 per carat), an auction record price per carat for a sugarloaf cabochon Kashmir sapphire. Also, the Kashmir sapphire hails from three generations of one of America’s most prominent families: that of Thomas Fortune Ryan (1851-1928), who stands alongside J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller in the annals of American financial history. Other lots sold within the important diamonds and colored stones was a Magnificent Platinum and Diamond Ring Set with a square emerald-cut diamond weighing 38.27 carats, D color, VVS2 clarity and type IIA, which sold for $4,058,000 ($106,036 per carat).

The sale also offered historic jewels by iconic makers amongst which was a Magnificent and Historic Platinum and Diamond Necklace, Van Cleef & Arpels, 1939. The piece set with 217 carats of diamonds in a sunburst motif sold for $4,282,000. Queen Nazli (1894-1978), mother of Egypt’s King Farouk, commissioned this diamond necklace and a matching tiara for the wedding ceremony of her daughter, Princess Fawzia, in 1939. A large part of Nazli’s jewelry collection, including her Van Cleef & Arpels diamond necklace and tiara, was sold by Sotheby Parke Bernet in New York in November 1975. The present necklace has since remained in a private collection for 40 years, and was sold at the auction on December 9th for the benefit of a charitable foundation.

A Pair of White Gold, Chalcedony, Sapphire and Diamond ‘Couronne’ Cuff-Bracelets, Suzanne Belperron Sold for $526,000 and a Platinum, White Gold, Chalcedony, Sapphire and Diamond ‘Flower-Head’ Necklace, Suzanne Belperron sold for $430,000 (estimate $350/550,000).

Among the vintage Bulgari from the Bergreen estate collection was a Platinum, Fancy Colored Diamond and Diamond Brooch, Bulgari, 1964 which sold for $1,750,000 million. The sale offered an extensive collection of jewels from the estate of philanthropist and arts patron Adele G. Bergreen, featuring a strong selection of Bulgari’s most celebrated designs of the 1960s and ‘70s. All 43 jewels on offer from the estate were sold, totaling $3.3 million – more than double their $1.5 million high estimate.