Spring Jewelry Sales Were In Full Bloom
SPRING JEWELRY AUCTIONS REVEAL CURRENT TRENDS
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This year was particularly intriguing as we saw many collections from prominent individuals go up for sale, including the Dodo Hamilton Collection at Freeman’s, which included a 16.56 carat emerald-cut diamond, which sold for $802,000. Another lot of note is the Farnese blue diamond, which was given to Elizabeth Farnese (daughter of the Duke of Parma) as a wedding gift in 1715. This diamond was passed down through royal families all throughout Europe. Sotheby’s sold the diamond in their Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction for $6.7 million, which exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $3.6 million – $5.2 million. Christie’s New York had an auction on June 12th where many pieces from the Rockefeller collection were sold, including 2 bracelets by Jean Schlumberger that both more than tripled their estimates.
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In addition to the blue diamonds outlined above, it is also a good time to sell:
- Art Deco Cartier – Christie’s sold an Art Deco diamond bracelet (lot 94) by Cartier for $118,750 (estimate: $60,000-80,000) in their Magnificent Jewels sale on June 12th.
- Quintessential Van Cleef & Arpels brooches – Christie’s sold a gold, diamond and ruby ‘Love Birds’ brooch by VCA (lot 76) for $47,500 (estimate: $12,000-$18,000) in their Magnificent Jewels sale on June 12th.
- High Quality White Diamonds – In the Sotheby’s and Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sales, we saw many D color, Flawless or Internally Flawless diamonds sell for within or above estimates. For example, Sotheby’s Geneva sold a 51.71 carat (lot 373) round brilliant-cut diamond that is D color and Flawless for CHF 9,260,000 (estimate: CHF 7,870,000-9,100,000). In the exact same sale, an oval diamond that weighs 50.39 carats (lot 350) that is D color and Flawless sold for CHF 8,131,000 (estimate: CHF 6,960,000-7,680,000).
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In the same sale (lot 163), a ‘mystery-set’ (method of setting stones for which the house is known) sold for $162,500 (estimate: $70,000-100,000).
Doyle in New York, also sold a VCA gold, black enamel and sapphire ‘dog’ brooch (lot 286) for $16,250 (estimate: $2,000-3,000).
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The Spring jewelry sales are showing that it is still a great time to sell your signed pieces and standout stones.
– Lauren Peck, National Tangible Asset Manager, GG