RAPAPORT... When David Warren, Christie’s director of jewelry in the Middle East, and his team at the auction house put their October 29 Dubai Jewels and Watches sale together six weeks before the auction date, the world was a different place, financially. In the weeks leading up to the sale, “Oil went from $140 a barrel to $60 or $70,” Warren said after the sale.
“People felt less wealthy.” And that feeling carried over to the auction, which was only half sold. Eleven of the 187 lots in the catalog were withdrawn before the sale even started, including a 57.02-carat fancy intense yellow diamond, valued at $2 million to $2.5 million. That stone, combined with the withdrawal of ten other lots whose value totaled more than $3 million, took the wind out of the sails of this event before it began and lowered the presale estimate to $16 million from the initial $20 million to $25 million. In the end, the sale realized just $8.2 million.
The top lot, a pear-shaped D color, VVS2 diamond weighing 10.06 carats, fetched just $830,500* and was scooped up by a member of the U.S. trade. The stone was very nicely shaped and was considered potentially flawless. The presale estimate was $800,000 to $1,200,000.
The American trade accounted for 12 percent of the sale by value and 17 percent by lot, according to Warren.
Time SellsAlthough fewer than half of the jewelry lots on offer were sold, almost 95 percent of the 40 watch lots in the catalog found buyers. The top watch lot, a Franck Muller tourbillon valued at $200,000 to $300,000, was withdrawn. All but three of the remaining 40 lots found buyers, including the Breguet “Classique” skeleton model that exceeded its high estimate and sold for $86,500. “The watch market is very strong,” Warren says. “With most of the watches selling between $10,000 and $15,000, that’s throwaway money in this part of the world.”
These watches met one of the criteria of the Middle Eastern buyer: uniqueness. The buyers “like things to be one-off, unique,” according to Warren. “You can do it with watches that are limited editions, rare.” The second requirement of the Middle Eastern buyer is that jewelry be contemporary. This market has not yet developed a taste for period jewelry and views it as “secondhand,” and carrying bad karma. “They like modern and vintage,” Warren adds, “not 1980s. That’s considered secondhand.” But if the pieces are old enough, like 1920s pieces,they lose the bad karma. Any older than that, say Victorian era, is too old. It’s just considered fussy. This makes for a very narrow path for collecting pieces and is the reason why much of the jewelry in the sale was newly made.
This distaste for “used” jewelry arose once before for Christie’s, when the auction house was breaking into the Hong Kong market where, Warren says, the resistance to secondhand jewelry was much stronger. Still, the top piece of period jewelry sold in Dubai was an Art Deco emerald and diamond pendant by Cartier, circa 1921, that sold just under the high estimate at $242,500. Though the cushion-shaped emerald showed it had been enhanced by oiling, the Indian influence in the design made this an attractive lot. Ironically, however, it was bought by a European private.
A good part of the value of the sale came from a small, but fine, private European collection of diamond jewelry, most of it by Adler. The minimally set pieces included white and yellow diamonds in a variety of shapes. They accounted for six of the top ten lots. Among them was a crossover stone ring set with one white 4.88-carat pear shape and one fancy intense yellow diamond weighing 5.28 carats. The ring fetched $278,500, well under the low estimate, and was bought by a Middle Eastern private client.
Diamonds Sell WellDiamonds don’t suffer from the “secondhand” problem, Warren says, and comprised most of the top lots in the sale. The second highest price of $818,500 went to pear-shaped fancy yellow diamond ear pendants by Adler set with stones weighing 12.25 and 11.79 carats. The pair was estimated at just $450,000 to $550,000. A diamond line necklace, set with 67 round diamonds graduating in size, the largest weighing 6.12 carats, was sold for $398,500, within the presale estimate.
Included in the collection was an Adler necklace and matching earrings made entirely of heart-shaped diamonds. This lot was purchased by an Asian private for $374,500, also within the presale estimate. The largest stone weighed 4.27 carats. Although neither color nor clarity of these stones was anywhere near top ratings, amassing a collection of heart shapes is itself an accomplishment.
A remarkable and colorful bracelet by Lorenz Bäumer, featuring coral, diamond and various colored gemstone floral elements, was sold for $62,500, well under the $80,000 to $100,000 presale estimate printed in the catalog. In response to the worldwide financial crisis, Christie’s lowered estimates before the sale. However, there wasn’t enough time to market the pieces at these lower prices. This fabulous and colorful bracelet certainly met the criterion for uniqueness.
The Persian Gulf was once the pearl center of the world and buyers there have a taste for natural pearls. A curved, drop-shaped white pearl, set in a diamond cap and suspended from a diamond set chain, was sold for $86,500, just over the low estimate. A pair of round, undrilled pearls, nearly identical in weight and of a natural rosé color, was sold for $182,500, within the presale estimate.
An amusing lot comprising a watch and necklace that caught one buyer’s attention certainly fulfilled the “unique” requirement. The Happy Diamond pendant necklace and matching Happy Sport diamond wristwatch, both by Chopard, featured freely moving collet-set round pink and white diamonds and was sold for $40,000, double the high estimate.
A charming diamond-set chain, featuring a total of 259 diamonds ranging in color from light yellow and light brown through various tones of yellow and brown, with a total weight of 59.37 carats, was sold for $32,500, above the high estimate.
A pair of stunning emerald and diamond ear pendants was sold to the Middle Eastern trade for $362,500. Each of the pair featured a large pear-shaped emerald drop, set with a vertical row of round, collet-set diamonds, graduating in size. A row of 55 round diamonds, graduating in size, was sold for $314,500, above the high estimate. The necklace carried no certificates or grading information.
This sale, the fourth jewelry and watch auction to be held by Christie’s in Dubai, is part of the firm’s long-term commitment to the region. Warren sees the goal as one of developing the region, bringing in local clients and nurturing their desires. He noted that although many of the buyers of the top ten lots preferred to be anonymous, they were, in fact, Middle Eastern clients.
*All prices include buyer’s premium.
Auction ResultsTotal: $8,223,750
Lots offered: 176
Lots sold: 90
Sold by lot: 51 percent
Lots unsold: 86
Sold by value: 51 percent
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - November 2008. To subscribe click here.