RAPAPORT...
Sotheby's Geneva sold the most important emerald and diamond tiara to have appeared at auction in more than 30 years for CHF 11,282,500 / $12,736,927, the highest price ever achieved for a tiara at auction. Six bidders competed for the magnificent and extremely rare emerald and diamond tiara, circa 1900, which was formerly in the collection of Princess Katharina Henckel von Donnersmarck. The price it fetched also represented an auction record for a piece of emerald jewellery.
The total for the entire sale of Magnificent and Noble Jewels was CHF 78,944,900/$89,121,687.
Commenting on the May 17th sale, David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby's jewellery department for Europe and the Middle East, said: "Sotheby's was honored to be able to offer perhaps the grandest piece of jewelry to come to sale in over 30 years and the market responded with enthusiasm. This evening's results, across the board -- in Noble Jewels, diamonds, coloured gemstones, and pieces signed by the world's greatest jewelers -- show the extraordinary appetite among connoisseurs for rarity, quality and provenance."
International Jewellers Leviev outbid four underbidders to purchase a superb fancy intense pink diamond, weighing 10.99 carats, for CHF 9,602,500 / $10,840,358, the third highest price for a pink diamond (the ninth highest price for a diamond at auction). Pink diamonds have been prized for their rarity and spectacular beauty ever since they were first discovered in the mines of India centuries ago. This superb stone, mounted as a ring, has been graded "fancy intense pink", natural color and VS1 clarity by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). It has been further assessed to be part of a very rare subgroup of diamonds known as type IIa and comprising less than 2 percent of all of the world's gem diamonds.
The total Sotheby's achieved for Noble Jewels, including the tiara, was CHF 19,618,300 / $22,147,295. Among other highlights of the Noble Jewels section were jewels from the collection of the Excelentísima Sra. Condesa vda. de Romanones, a Grande de España who was recruited to become an OSS agent in Madrid during World War II before marrying Don Luis de Figueroa y Perez de Guzmán el Bueno, Count of Quintanilla in 1947.
From the Countess of Romanones collection was an emerald and diamond demi-parure from the 1960s, which was competed for by six bidders and sold for CHF 362,500 / $409,230, a ruby and diamond necklace/brooch combination from the 1970s, which sold for CHF 170,500 / $192,479 and a pair of ruby and diamond pendent earrings, 1950s, which sold for CHF 17,500 / $19,756.
Testament to the Countess' close relationship to the Duke and the Duchess of Windsor was an important "Cadenas" diamond bracelet/watch, gifted to the Countess by the Duchess herself. Dating circa 1936, this exquisite piece signed Van Cleef & Arpels, which sold for five times the high estimate to fetch CHF 362,500 / $409,230.
Among a group of exceptional white diamonds which are D color were signed pieces, including an attractive diamond ring by Graff, set with a cushion-shaped brilliant-cut internally flawless diamond weighing 16.53 carats, which sold for CHF 2,546,500 / $2,874,769 and a diamond ring by M. Gerard, featuring a marquise-shaped diamond weighing 15.76 carats, which was competed for by five bidders and sold for CHF 1,314,500 / $1,483,952.
The offering of colored stones was led by an exceptionally large assortment of Kashmir sapphires, the finest sapphires in the world, including a sapphire and diamond ring, set with an octagonal step-cut sapphire weighing 8.74 carats and dating from circa 1930, which sold for CHF 410,500 / $463,418; an attractive sapphire and diamond brooch designed as stylised floral spray, competed for by five bidders and sold for more than three times the estimate to bring CHF 1,426,500/$1,610,390, and a pair of sapphire and diamond pendent ear clips, suspending a cushion-sapphire weighing 7.30 and 7.07 carats respectively, which sold for CHF 1,082,500 / $1,222,045.
Completing this selection of colored gemstones were two impressive Burmese rubies: The first - a spectacular 30.20 carat cushion-shaped ruby, mounted as a ring - sold for CHF 3,778,500 / $4,265,586; the second -- a 29.40 carat oval ruby mounted as a ring by Cartier - sold for CHF 1,314,500 / $1,483,952.
A superb emerald and diamond ring, set with an octagonal step-cut Colombian emerald weighing 12.03 carats, which has been described by the SSEF laboratory as "a very exceptional treasure," sold for CHF 554,500 / $625,981.
Among the period jewels was a masterpiece of Art Deco jewelry, a fine diamond bracelet created by Boucheron circa 1925, which sold for CHF 554,500 / $625,981. Among the other great signatures in the sale was a stunning pair of gem-set and diamond ear clips by JAR, which sold for CHF 338,500 / $382,136.
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Los secretos de las joyas que subasta Sotheby'sby PublimetroMEX401 views
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