At the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction in New York, the top lot for the sale was the ‘Victory Diamond’, a D color rectangular-cut diamond ring of 31.34 carats, which realized $4,309,000 or $137,492 per carat. Other top prices were achieved for a D colour cushion-cut diamond ring of 43.79 carats-$4,029,000. Another was a diamond pendant necklace of 103.66 carats, which went for $3,749,000. Then, a D colour rectangular-cut diamond ring of 28.28 carats also sold for $3,413,000. 

The renowned auction house has reported impressive prices for large white diamonds and colored gemstones, which further supports the collecting trends seen all season in Geneva, Hong Kong and in New York. A large D color diamond of 28.28 carats set a new house record for any jewel sold to an online bidder. Strong prices were also achieved for signed iconic pieces by Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany & Co. and Schlumberger, among others. 

 In the meanwhile, the collection of the late New York socialite Carroll Petrie was 90 per cent sold by lot, and inspired late-evening bidding wars in our saleroom for her most-coveted necklaces, including a unique Tony Duquette design from the royal Collection of the Duchess of Windsor. In total, 11 lots realized over $1 million, and four fetched over $3 million.