RAPAPORT... Buffeted by financial woes at every turn, Sotheby’s Hong Kong managed to sell half the 321 lots offered at its October 7 sale of Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite. The auction headliner was a 34.07-carat, cushion-shaped DIF diamond set in a ring that was bought by an Asian private customer for $5,781,773*, just under the low estimate. Quek Chin Yeow, deputy chairman and head of the jewelry department for Sotheby’s Asia, rightly called it “an extraordinary price in today’s market.”
The sale, which brought in just under $20 million, was heavy with fine diamonds and exquisite jewelry, goods that were gathered during the optimistic months preceding the event. Given the run of highly successful auctions held in Hong Kong over the past few seasons, Quek was justified in the stunning array of goods he offered to his clients, including the top lot that failed to sell, a 102.56-carat fancy vivid yellow diamond set in a brooch, detachable from an exquisite diamond necklace.
The diamond is described as the largest fancy vivid yellow ever offered at auction, with great saturation of color. Of the lot, Quek said, “We were honored to have handled such a magnificent piece and are looking to finding a new owner privately.” Given the estimate of $7.5 million to $9.5 million, a successful sale of that diamond brooch/necklace would have boosted the total for the auction by 50 percent.
The Best SellsThe Asian market continued to show interest in D flawless or internally flawless diamonds, with two important stones selling to private Southeast Asian customers. The first, a 10.08-carat, oval-shaped DIF diamond set in a ring, brought $1,671,435, just at the high estimate. Remarkably, the sale offered two diamonds weighing 8.88 carats. The number eight is considered extremely fortunate in China since the character for eight in Chinese writing equates to “fortune.” The first, a DIF pear shape, was sold for $1,325,301, a bit over the high estimate. The second 8.88-carat stone, a heart-shaped DIF diamond ring/brooch/pendant, proved irresistible and sold for $867,910.
Buying was selective, with some resistance at the highest level of the sale. However, Quek noted, “Significant prices have been paid and collectors continue to vie for works of high quality that represent good value.” He noted that the preview had been relatively positive. “But the developments in the financial markets in the past few days certainly affected interest. We saw resistance to estimates for higher-value lots, which may have seemed overly optimistic in the current climate.”
Notably, most of the buying was confined to “savvy Asian buyers…with less activity from the international trade than in past seasons.” Nevertheless, a member of the trade picked up a Jacob & Co. demi parure, comprising a necklace, ring and ear pendants, with a total diamond weight of 79.40 carats. The necklace — with 12 round diamonds weighing a total of 51.85 carats set within frames of small, yellow diamonds — along with the matching ring and ear pendants was sold for a total of $960,624, just over the low estimate.
Given that so many markets around the world were seeing the values of commodities plummeting, particularly the Russians, who have been increasingly active in recent auctions, the ability to sell even half of the lots could be considered a success. The jewels in this sale represented some of the finest achievements of the goldsmith’s art, as well as some magnificent jadeite pieces.
One exquisite lot, a 10.03-carat, pear-shaped diamond, D color, VVS2 clarity, was set within a frame of round diamonds weighing an additional 1.25 carats. The diamond was suspended from a black cord enhanced with a diamond-set link. The pendant was sold for $752,017, above the low estimate.
Take FlightThe entire sale took winged creatures as its motif, with butterflies — both bejeweled and natural — flitting throughout the catalog. In spite of this emphasis, the cover lot, a butterfly brooch by Carvin French, failed to sell. The piece was set throughout with yellow and pink diamonds, with three blue diamonds forming the body. It was estimated at $3.8 million to $4.6 million.
A straight-line diamond bracelet, set alternatively with pear-shaped, emerald cut and round diamonds, with a total diamond weight of 32.81 carats, was sold for $357,981, near the high estimate. No one would ever confuse this elegant piece with a tennis bracelet! The 19 diamonds, ranging in weight from 1.00 to 3.02 carats, were D to F color, with clarity grades from IF to SI2.
A simple 5.02-carat, pear-shaped diamond, D color, VVS1, attracted a winning bid from a Singaporean private client who paid $342,528 for the lot. The pear shape was unusually set at an angle to the ring shank, giving it a much more dramatic look than is typical for such a stone. Other DIF diamonds failed to find buyers, however, including a pear shape of 22.18 carats, estimated at $3.6 million to $4.1 million.
A true collector’s stone, a cat’s-eye chrysoberyl weighing 99.41 carats, set in a diamond brooch/pendant, was sold for $296,171. The enormous greenish brown cabochon stone featured a very pronounced chatoyancy, according to the Gübelin Gem Lab report, as well as “an exceptional degree of transparency.” The setting, a multirow frame of round and marquise-shaped diamonds weighing about 14 carats, was well designed to bring out the straight line of the chatoyancy.
Emerald green is undeniably “the” color in the Asianmarket. Not only do Chinese and other clients desire the finest green jadeite, they have also come to admire the purest-green emerald gemstones. A pair of pear-shaped emeralds, weighing 12.68 and 12.22 carats, each suspended from a trapeze-shaped diamond and a natural pearl, formed a pair of ear pendants. The Gübelin report indicated the stones were natural, of Colombian origin, but with “indications of minor clarity enhancement.” That did not stop them from selling for $288,445, slightly over the low estimate.
A pair of emerald green jadeite and diamond pendant ear clips, however, estimated to bring $580,000 to $709,000, failed to sell. The pair was set within elegant pavé-set frames suspended from pear-shaped diamonds. Similarly, an oval jadeite suspended from a straight-line diamond necklace failed to sell. The elegant piece was estimated to bring $1.41 million to $1.77 million.
*All prices include buyer’s premium.
Auction ResultsTotal: $19,967,141
Lots offered: 321
Lots sold: 159
Sold by lot: 49.5 percent
Lots unsold: 162
Sold by value: 32.8 percent
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - November 2008. To subscribe click here.