Sotheby’s proclaims a record on May 13 and Christie’s, in the same city, Geneva, the following day claims its own: The Blue Winston, a 13.22-carat fancy diamond, was sold at the Magnificent Jewels auction for 23.8 million dollars (17.3 million euros). A figure that is equivalent to 1.79 thousand dollars per carat. It was bought by Harry Winston, one of the American jewelry giants. It is no coincidence that Harry Winston, the American jeweler who gave his name to the current precious stones company, was nicknamed The King of Diamonds. Nayla Hayek, the CEO of the New York company, is satisfied: “In January 2013 we purchased Harry Winston and since then my ambition has been to acquire the most desirable and unique gems. When Christie’s announced the largest and most flawless vivid blue fancy I had to buy it. Today, I am proud to own the most beautiful blue diamond in the world.”
The rest of the sale also went well: in total it made 154 million dollars (112 million euros), with an average sales rate of 85% per lot and 94% in value: the highest total ever for a jewelry sale. Christie’s highlights four world records: lot 245, a 76.51-carat pink diamond, sold for 10 million dollars, the top for a fancy of that type. Lot 180, a 5.50-carat blue-green diamond, sold for 8.6 million, and lot 224, two 21.41-carat alexandrite gems for 1.3 million, also set a record. Lot 186, a 49.04-carat pink sapphire, sold for 2 million. They were not the only high points of the auction. “The Cartier Devant, Corsage Brooch, achieved an astonishing $17.5 million, up 660% from $2.65 million sold at Christie’s in Geneva in 1991,” said Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Jewelry at Christie’s. “The jewelry market continues to remain extremely buoyant.”
