World’s one of the oldest and now one of the largest and most famous auction house, Christie’s, carrying a reputation for luxury around the world, held its annual Magnificent Jewel Auction 2019 at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, Geneva on 12th November 2019. Known for its high profile sales each and every year, it had an auction line up from 9-12th November. The auction season at Geneva started with “only watches” on the 9th November, followed by rare watches display on 11th November, and fine & rare wines auction on 10th and 11th November. The magnificent jewelleries were held for the last and the final day of the Geneva Auctions.
The ‘only watch’ auction fetched a world record for the most expensive wristwatch ever, with a one-of-a-kind Patek Philippe watch selling for CHF 31 million (more than double of what was expected). It broke the record for a previous CHF 17.7 million worth Rolex watch from 2017. While the auction house expected a huge sale total out of the jewellery auction, it was however a bit subdued. The jewels featured 257 lots which included coloured diamonds, pearls, Blue Sapphires and Rubies. The sale total from the jewel auction was recorded to be CHF 55,263,250 which includes the buyer’s premium. Jewels from 20 lots however remained unsold.
The highest bid for the night was for a 7.03-carat blue diamond ring by prestigious London jewellery design house Moussaieff, which was sold for a whopping CHF 11,625,000, which was expected to fetch between 10 to 14 million CHF. Another coloured diamond that fetched a high price was a 32.49 carats, rare pink coloured diamond ring (lot no.176), sold for CHF 2,100,000. Another notable diamond was a flawless, 46.93 carat, D colour, diamond sold for CHF 3,135,000, which was expected to fetch around CHF 4,500,000.
Among a number of coloured and colourless diamonds, which were fetching the highest prices, was a striking Royal Blue Sapphire, D colour, 42.97 carats pendant by Cartier, surrounded by diamonds, which fetched CHF 2,100,000 (lot no.238). It could be deduced that the Blue Sapphires from Kashmir fetched much higher prices than the classic Ceylon Sapphires.
Other high bid jewels consisted of a sensational Burmese Sapphire, a pair of untreated Colombian Emerald earrings, each more than 7.5 carats, which was estimated to fetch over a million, was sold for CHF 880,000, a Burmese pigeon blood ruby ring of 3.88 carats and a necklace consisting of 119 natural saltwater pearls. Besides no oil emeralds from Colombia and Burmese Rubies, there were historic and vintage jewelleries. A Sarpech, worn to show your status in the Indian Society, a larger Sarpech signifies greater importance, was auctioned for CHF 150,000. In addition there were three Art Deco transformable brooches, from the year 1937. The brooches are made of 13.74 carats of old pear-shaped, cushion-shaped diamonds of 7.54 and 6.15 carats, and old and circular-cut diamonds all set in platinum and gold.
Christie’s partnered with the De Beers Group Institute of Diamonds to give a unique experience to the spectators of learning about the diamonds. The fact that the entire sale was for charity helped to raise the bidding prices by a bit.
By: Simran Sinha
