Sotheby’s has hosted the biggest jewelry auction in history, setting a new record of more than $175 million in Geneva.
The Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale achieved a total of $175,097,419, beating the previous record total of $160.9 million set by Sotheby’s in Geneva last year.
“We set out to curate a sale that would speak to today’s collectors and the response has been overwhelming – confirmation, if ever it were needed, that when you have the right material, demand is as deep as it’s ever been,” said David Bennett, Worldwide Chairman of Sotheby’s International Jewellery Division.
“This was a sale that had the perfect mix of great gemstones and jewels, the vast majority of which were sourced from private collections.”
Leading the treasures on offer was the ‘Unique Pink’ highly rare Fancy Vivid Pink diamond weighing 15.38 carats which sold for $31,561,200 ($2,052,094 per carat).
“Sotheby’s Geneva has raised the bar once again with a great sale and a great result for the Unique Pink,” said Bennett. “It is difficult to imagine a diamond that better illustrates the term Vivid Pink than this outstanding stone. The colour is simply astonishing and, for its size, it is in my experience truly unique.”
The stone was one of three lots to exceed the $10 million mark, followed by a 6.64-carat Fancy Intense Blue diamond which sold for $13,672,493, a new auction record for a jewel by Reza, and an Internally Flawless 7.32-carat Fancy Vivid Blue diamond which sold for $17.1 million.
A further three lots passed the $5 million mark, including a pair of Important Pear-Shaped Fancy Blue and Fancy Orangy Pink Diamond Earrings which sold for $6million, setting a new record price for an item purchased online at Sotheby’s during a live auction.
The sale marked a new trend for Sotheby’s jewelry sales, with a notable 41% increase in lots sold online during the auction compared to the same sale in 2015.
There were also new records achieved by a Fancy Pink diamond pendant weighing 18.51 carats, which set a record for any Fancy Pink Diamond when it sold for $9,773,672; and a Fancy Purplish Pink diamond ring weighing 8.20 carats, which sold for $3,696,098.
