Colored Gemstones, Signed Jewelry, Antique Jewels and Diamonds...Bidders Wanted It All At Bonhams' London Fine Jewelry Auction

from a Press Release by Bonham's

Colored Gemstones, Signed Jewelry, Antique Jewels

and Diamonds...Bidders Wanted It All 

At Bonhams' London Fine Jewelry Auction 

The sale achieved £5.16 million, with 87% lots sold by value and 109 lots going to new owners.

The Hope Spinel was the highlight of the sale, smashing its pre-sale estimate of £150,000-£200,000 as a result of competitive bidding on the phones. It sold for £962,500, achieving a new world record price of $30,000 per carat. This exceptional gem was bought by a private telephone bidder.

The second top lot of the auction was another icon: an Art Deco enamel, gem-set and diamond 'Tutti Frutti' bracelet by Cartier. Made in New York in 1929, the bracelet, with a highly articulated geometric strap and vine motifs, was sold for £458,500 to a telephone bidder.

The market for top quality, natural pearls continues to remain strong according to the September sale results. A circular natural pearl ring, measuring 16.71 x 10.94mm, and set between baguette-cut diamonds shoulders sold for four times its pre-sale estimate of £50,000 to £70,000, achieving £206,500.

Signed jewelry also performed extremely well with a rare diamond 'Torsade' bangle, by Suzanne Belperron, circa 1932, capturing the attention of bidders worldwide. The highly desirable collectors' piece was estimated at £40,000-£60,000, but after bidding from the saleroom, online and over the phones, the bangle sold for £164,500.

Other key lots included: 

• A sapphire and diamond ring, by Boucheron. The rectangular step-cut sapphire, weighing 7.54 carats, between tapered baguette and brilliant-cut diamond shoulders outstripped its pre-sale estimate of £40,000-£60,000 and sold for £110,500.

• A Belle Époque diamond single-stone ring, circa 1910. The old hexagonal-cut diamond, weighing 8.18 carats, had a pre-sale estimate of £30,000-£50,000 and sold for £80,500.



Jean Ghika, Bonhams Head of Jewelry for UK and Europe, says: "We had an exceptional sale with a number of very rare items that naturally attracted interest worldwide. Demand for colored gemstones, signed jewelry and period pieces continued to remain strong. The sale represented a great start to the jewelry auction season this autumn and winter."

"Period and art deco earrings were also strong performers at the auction according to Bonhams. Examples included a pair of Art Deco diamond pendent earrings, by Cartier, circa 1925, which sold for more than five times their pre-sale estimate of £20,000-£30,000, being successfully bought by a telephone bidder for £134,500. Further on in the sale, a pair of early 19th century girandole earrings, with a pre-sale estimate of £18,000-£20,000, achieved £86,500."

Jean Ghika of Bonhams says: "These two sets of earrings were wonderful examples of classic period earrings, beautifully designed and in their original condition. These factors make them highly desirable along with the fact that they are extremely wearable today."
Bonhams is now expecting the strong market to be reflected during its next two Fine Jewelry sales in New York on 13th October and Hong Kong on 30th November.

Bonhams sells more jewelry lots each year than any other international house and has more dedicated jewelry auctions annually.

CLICK HERE for the full results of September's Fine Jewelry Sale at Bonham's London

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....and on Instagram @bonhamsjewels

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street and Knightsbridge; and a further three in the UK regions and Scotland. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Connecticut in the USA; and Germany, France, Monaco, Hong Kong and Australia. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 60 specialist areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments go to www.bonhams.com

#JWLV - Colored Gems ROCK the LV Antique Jewelry & Watch Show

At the LVAntique Jewelry & Watch Show it is interesting to see which colored gems were prevalent in different time periods.  Today we are excited by all the amazing colors of Garnet and some of the really exciting newer African Gems like Tanzanite...but in Vintage and Antique Jewelry you can pretty be sure that a deep blue stone is a Sapphire!

The "tutti-frutti" style was made popular by Cartier but several designers enjoyed the theme!  Looking forward to many variations on the theme ;)

Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show - Yafa Signed Jewels Booth 1303

Thank you to the vendors and Publicity of LV Antique Jewelry & Watch Show for all of the great previews - much appreciated! 

White Diamond to Lead Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels April Auction

Sotheby’s to Offer Most Valuable White Diamond Ever to Appear In a New York Auction

LEADING SOTHEBY’S APRIL AUCTION OF

MAGNIFICENT JEWELS

Sotheby’s annual spring auction of Magnificent Jewels on 17 April 2013 will offer 400 lots, together estimated in excess of $35 million. The centerpiece of the sale is an exceptional pear-shaped diamond of nearly 75 carats, estimated at $9/12 million*, which marks the most important white diamond ever to appear at auction in the Americas. The stone is one of very few pear-shaped diamonds of D color over 50 carats to be offered in recent decades – its remarkable size and pure color position it in the company of named diamonds such as the Star of the Season, 100.10 carats, sold by Sotheby’s in 1995 for a then-record-breaking $16.5 million.

Lisa Hubbard, Chairman, North & South America, Sotheby’s International Jewelry Division, commented:
“This truly exceptional stone exemplifies the strength of the white diamond market over the last decade. It was acquired by the present owner in 2001 for $4.3 million, and today we have estimated it conservatively at $120,000 per carat. The stone has universal appeal, and we anticipate that it will draw attention from both the diamond industry and discerning private collectors alike.”

Lisa Hubbard continued: “Recognizing that the strength of the jewelry market at this moment lies in pieces that have emerged from private collections – most recently evidenced by the success of jewels owned by Mrs. Charles Wrightsman and Estée and Evelyn H. Lauder – we have curated the April auction to include a wealth of wonderful, fresh-to-the-market pieces, such as rare colored stones from the Gould family and iconic styles including Cartier’s ‘Tutti Frutti’ bracelet and panther brooch.”

Highlights from the sale will be on view in the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center from 3–7 April before returning to New York for exhibition on 13 April, alongside a selection of pieces from the upcoming Geneva auction of Magnificent Jewels & Noble Jewels.

FROM THE GOULD FAMILY COLLECTION

Six jewels from the family of financier and railroad magnate Jay Gould offer a glimpse into the past – a time when diamonds and fine colored stones were integral to fashion, society and one’s family legacy. Acquired in the first half of the 20th century, today it is a rare occasion to find a selection of important jewels at auction that have remained in the same distinguished family for decades.

ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM PROMINENT PRIVATE COLLECTIONS

Sotheby’s has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby’s became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby’s presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby’s BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids in real-time from anywhere in the world. Sotheby’s offers collectors the resources of Sotheby’s Financial Services, the world’s only full-service art financing company, as well as private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art department, as well as Sotheby’s Diamonds and Sotheby’s Wine. Sotheby’s has a global network of 90 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium and prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer’s premium.

Color Rules The Day As Sotheby's Posts 5th Sales Record!

Sotheby’s New York Jewelry department set its 5^th consecutive record sale result today, when its auction of Important Jewels achieved $16,489,625 against an estimate of $12.9/17.8 million. This marks the highest total for a fall sale of Important Jewels at Sotheby’s New York, exceeding last September’s auction result that was also a record at the time.

“We are very pleased with the results of today’s sale, which brought another record auction total for Sotheby’s Jewelry,” commented Lisa Hubbard, Chairman of Sotheby’s International Jewelry department. “And we are particularly thrilled by the extraordinary price achieved by our cover lot, the Cartier ‘Tutti Frutti’ bracelet that achieved $842,500 – nearly triple its pre-sale high estimate. Thirteen bidders chased after the piece, which had not been attributed to Cartier for some time until Sotheby’s rediscovered the faint signature of the legendary jeweler.”

Gary Schuler, Head of Sotheby’s Jewelry department in New York, added, “Today’s auction saw an incredible 99% of sold lots meet or exceed their pre-sale estimates. Diamond prices in the sale reflected a solid market that appeared void of speculation, and there were strong prices for colored stones as well, led by the purplish-pink sapphire brooch that brought $254,500 above a high estimate of $120,000.”

Top Item ReCap:

The results are pretty interesting - color was a huge trend as was anything that said David Webb!

View the results at:  http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/results.html

Sotheby's Important Jewels - September 20th!

Take a few minutes to flip through the catalog online at:   http://www.sothebys.com