Mills Jewelers Notebook
May 19th, 2014
Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva last week crowned new record-holders in numerous categories, including blue diamonds, pink diamonds, blue-green diamonds, pink sapphires and color-change alexandrites.

christierecords1

The biggest news of the day was the sale of The Blue, a 13.22-carat flawless fancy vivid blue diamond, for $23.8 million, or $1,799,953 per carat. Billed as the largest of its kind to be offered at auction, the pear-shaped diamond’s hammer price was the highest ever paid per carat for a vivid blue diamond.

The Blue was purchased by Harry Winston and was renamed The Winston Blue.

christierecords4

Breaking an auction record for the highest price ever paid for a light pink diamond was the centerpiece of a magnificent necklace by Leviev, which fetched $10.2 million. The necklace is highlighted by a 76.51-carat light pink cut-cornered square-cut diamond, which is surrounded by a mosaic of yellow diamonds and suspended from a line of fancy-cut diamonds mounted in platinum and gold. The necklace had been estimated to sell in the range of $7.1 million to $10.2 million.

christierecords5

The Ocean Dream, a fancy vivid blue-green triangular-cut diamond, attained a new record for a blue-green diamond when it sold for $8.8 million. The 5.5-carat Ocean Dream is the largest of its type ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America.

christierecords2

Diamonds weren’t the only gems making news at Christie’s. A spectacular 49.04-carat pink sapphire sold for nearly 10 times its high estimate and established a new auction record for pink sapphires when the gavel went down at $2.01 million. The cushion-shaped sapphire is accented with diamonds in a eye-catching ring.

christierecords3

An unmounted color-change alexandrite surprised auction officials when it sold for $1.49 million, more than twice the pre-sale estimate. The 21.41-carat gemstone, which changes from green to purple depending on the light source, set a new auction record for alexandrites.

The auction itself was a record-breaking event, with total sales of $154.1 million, surpassing the tally of $137.2 million achieved at the Christie’s auction of actress Elizabeth Taylor’s jewels in December 2013.