Geneva auctions: Big sales and fails

If there’s one constant at the much-awaited diamonds’ auction in Geneva, it’s the stones that are always bigger and shinier than their predecessors. The autumn sales in Switzerland were on from November 11 till November 15, bringing cheer, and some disappointment. The eagerly anticipated Magnificent auctions, however, continue to boast of the most opulent and massive rocks going under the hammer.

The star of the auction was a flawless 163.41-carat emerald shape diamond which sold for £25.7 million. Image: Instagram @velvet_castle

This year belonged to the biggest diamond ever sold at auction – The Art of Grisogono. A flawless 163.41-carat clear diamond, it fetched £25.7 million at Christie’s on Tuesday evening, bought by an anonymous telephone bidder after two minutes of bidding. The diamond was cut from a rough 404-carat stone discovered in Angola last year – the biggest diamond ever found in that country, and the 27^th biggest rough white diamond ever discovered. It became the centrepiece of an asymmetric gem-studded necklace designed by Fawaz Gruosi, founder of De Grisogono, a Geneva-based jeweller. Made of 18 diamonds on one side and two rows of pear-shaped emeralds on the other, The Art of Grisogono took more than 1,700 hours and a team of 14 De Grisogono craftspeople to create. It is estimated to be about 40 per cent bigger than a diamond sold by Sotheby’s in 2013 for about US $31 million.

Despite its rarity and exceptional beauty, the diamond necklace sold for about £12 million less than expected. Image: Instagram @sebnembalkan

However, the sale disappointed experts who had estimated the flawless D coloured, IIA type piece at £37 million. For the uninitiated, D is the highest colour grade attributed to a diamond, indicating that the stone is completely colourless, and so, extremely rare. Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds, said he was disappointed that the diamond didn’t sell for a more dazzling price. Rahul Kodakia, auctioneer and head of Christie’s, international jewels division, added, however, that it marked “a new world-record price for a D coloured diamond at auction.”

The exquisite light pink diamond, Le Grand Mazarin, which went for £11,012,750. The historic 19.07-carat diamond belonged to numerous French kings and emperors, including Napolean. Image: Instagram @idelabruyere

Another highlight of the auction was the Le Grand Mazarin, a 19.07-carat light pink diamond of VS2 clarity that went under the hammer to an unidentified telephone bidder for £11,012,750. Named after Cardinal Mazarin, an Italian cardinal, diplomat, and a great art collector, the Le Grand Mazarin was once set in the crowns of numerous French kings and emperors, including Napoleon. Cardinal Mazarin bequeathed it, along with other diamonds, to the Sun King in his will. The diamond was originally dug out of the ancient mines of Golconda in south-central India and has been described as a “timeless symbol of beauty” by Christie’s. It has appeared at auction for the first time in 130 years. Featuring these and an array of coloured diamonds, the Christie’s sales totalled £81,105,073.

The Pink Raj – the world’s largest known fancy intense pink diamond expected to fetch between $20-30m, however failed to sell. Image: Instagram @inthebox.it

At Sotheby’s on Wednesday evening, there were more bloopers in wait. Despite being dubbed as the largest known diamond graded “fancy intense pink” for its rare colour, The Raj Pink failed to sell. The cushion-shape stone that weighs 37.30 carats was found in South Africa and has been mounted on a ring. It was estimated to sell at US $20-30 million. Even though bidding opened at $10.02 million, it could manage to climb to £10,695,921 ($14 m Swiss Francs) before stalling.

“The Pink Raj” was not an easy stone to sell”, said Eric Valdieu, a Geneva-based jewellery dealer, formerly of Christie’s. It’s lack of history is stated to be one of the reasons for its failure to find many takers. Tobias Kormind said he was worried for the top end of the diamond market.

Other major lots that failed to meet the secret reserve price set by their sellers included a pair of yellow diamonds that previously belonged to the German princely family of Von Donnersmarck. It reached £5,959,156 but failed to find a new owner. Only 303 of the 349 lots found new owners, quoted Sotheby’s. In total, the sale netted £59,491,177.

 

from 77 Diamonds http://ift.tt/2hCYeYq