Each of the 115 items Christie’s offered at its Geneva jewelry sale on Wednesday found buyers, including a blue-diamond ring that smashed its upper estimate to fetch CHF 10.6 million ($12.7 million).
The Boucheron piece, which bears an emerald-cut, 6.24-carat, fancy-deep-blue diamond, white diamonds and rubies, was the top lot at the May 14 Magnificent Jewels sale. It not only set an auction record for price per carat for a gem of its hue, at $2 million per carat, but it also surged past its CHF 6.5 million ($7.7 million) upper estimate. The ring saw over five minutes of competitive bidding before Moussaieff Jewellers scooped it up, Christie’s said Thursday.
The sale also featured a private collection of 21 jewels from designer JAR, which brought in a combined CHF 5.9 million ($7.1 million). In total, the auction garnered CHF 60.5 million ($72.4 million), with 77% of lots selling above their high estimates, including eight of the top 10. Participants hailed from 45 countries, with 46% from Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), 26% from the US, and 20% from Asia.
Here are the rest of the top 10 lots:
Main image: The 6.24-carat blue diamond ring. (Christie’s)
