CARTIER
See also : Jewels II Blue diamond White diamond African diamonds Jade Qianlong India Islam Spain III Ancient Spain French time pieces British Royals
Chronology : 1570-1599 1620-1629 1912 1925 1933 1972
Chronology : 1570-1599 1620-1629 1912 1925 1933 1972
1912 Serti Muguet by Cartier
2014 SOLD for CHF 16M including premium by Christie's
2019 SOLD for $ 10.6M including premium
PRE 2019 SALE DISCUSSION
At the turn of the 20th century, Paris is the capital of luxury. Located in rue de la Paix, the Cartier brand develops its expertise in jewelry and watchmaking and organizes a network of subcontractors including Henri Picq. One of its main innovations is the use of platinum for the high end.
France does not produce diamonds. The Cartier brothers visit India. The Maharajas choose the most beautiful gems in their collections for Cartier to assemble magnificent jewels matching their taste. This practice inspires some exotic designs later offered to all customers.
This well managed international reputation includes Southern Africa. Solomon Barnato Joel, who made a fortune with his family in the gold and diamond mines, ships four beautiful diamonds for making a jewel.
Cartier assembles a brooch in platinum and white gold for use as a devant de corsage, whose 9.2 cm high pendant aligns the four diamonds. The pendant is surrounded by four hanging sprigs of lily of the valley whose flowers are small diamonds set on platinum, a specialty of Picq. This jewel dated 1912 was later expanded by a necklace with a similar 'serti muguet'.
The four main diamonds were certified by the GIA in 2013. The largest is a pear-shaped of 34.08 carats in E color. The best is an oval-shaped type IIa D color of 23.55 carats with a VVS2 clarity potentially Internally Flawless.
This brooch was sold for CHF 16M including premium by Christie's on May 14, 2014 over a lower estimate of CHF 6.5M. It is estimated $ 10M for sale by Christie's in New York on June 19, lot 277.
At the turn of the 20th century, Paris is the capital of luxury. Located in rue de la Paix, the Cartier brand develops its expertise in jewelry and watchmaking and organizes a network of subcontractors including Henri Picq. One of its main innovations is the use of platinum for the high end.
France does not produce diamonds. The Cartier brothers visit India. The Maharajas choose the most beautiful gems in their collections for Cartier to assemble magnificent jewels matching their taste. This practice inspires some exotic designs later offered to all customers.
This well managed international reputation includes Southern Africa. Solomon Barnato Joel, who made a fortune with his family in the gold and diamond mines, ships four beautiful diamonds for making a jewel.
Cartier assembles a brooch in platinum and white gold for use as a devant de corsage, whose 9.2 cm high pendant aligns the four diamonds. The pendant is surrounded by four hanging sprigs of lily of the valley whose flowers are small diamonds set on platinum, a specialty of Picq. This jewel dated 1912 was later expanded by a necklace with a similar 'serti muguet'.
The four main diamonds were certified by the GIA in 2013. The largest is a pear-shaped of 34.08 carats in E color. The best is an oval-shaped type IIa D color of 23.55 carats with a VVS2 clarity potentially Internally Flawless.
This brooch was sold for CHF 16M including premium by Christie's on May 14, 2014 over a lower estimate of CHF 6.5M. It is estimated $ 10M for sale by Christie's in New York on June 19, lot 277.
1924 All Colors by Cartier
2015 SOLD for $ 2.6M including premium
On April 21 in New York, Sotheby's sells two important creations by Cartier. The new and bold Art Déco style perfectly matched the ambitions of the brand of the Rue de la Paix. The globalization of stylized motifs and the mingled use of the colors of gemstones generated a unique style of jewelry whose refinement was perfect for its time.
The lot 364, estimated $ 1.8M, is a pendant-necklace made in 1924 on a design by Charles Jacqueau, creative director of Cartier jewelry since 1911. The Asian origin of the finest stones is highlighted by the floral motifs in Mughal style on the three elements of the pendant, a sapphire linking two emeralds. The necklace is made of sapphires and lapis lazuli.
This jewel was made for the baronne de Rothschild, acclaimed as one of the best dressed women in the inter-war Paris. Considered as a masterpiece, it has often been described and photographed.
In 1925, a new theme is introduced by Cartier at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs. A tight vegetable pattern in rubies, emeralds and diamonds is assembled on the whole length of a bracelet or a necklace. The tutti frutti wording that so perfectly describes this new jewelry will however not be introduced before 1970. Perfectly original and recognizable, the tutti frutti is one of the greatest achievements of Cartier.
The lot 356, estimated $ 1.3M, is a tutti frutti bracelet made around 1928. The diamonds form a branched rod to which red fruits and green leaves seem to be hooked. The jewel is embellished with black enamel.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM :
Mughal inspired necklace : $ 2.6M.
Tutti frutti bracelet : $ 1.63M
The lot 364, estimated $ 1.8M, is a pendant-necklace made in 1924 on a design by Charles Jacqueau, creative director of Cartier jewelry since 1911. The Asian origin of the finest stones is highlighted by the floral motifs in Mughal style on the three elements of the pendant, a sapphire linking two emeralds. The necklace is made of sapphires and lapis lazuli.
This jewel was made for the baronne de Rothschild, acclaimed as one of the best dressed women in the inter-war Paris. Considered as a masterpiece, it has often been described and photographed.
In 1925, a new theme is introduced by Cartier at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs. A tight vegetable pattern in rubies, emeralds and diamonds is assembled on the whole length of a bracelet or a necklace. The tutti frutti wording that so perfectly describes this new jewelry will however not be introduced before 1970. Perfectly original and recognizable, the tutti frutti is one of the greatest achievements of Cartier.
The lot 356, estimated $ 1.3M, is a tutti frutti bracelet made around 1928. The diamonds form a branched rod to which red fruits and green leaves seem to be hooked. The jewel is embellished with black enamel.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM :
Mughal inspired necklace : $ 2.6M.
Tutti frutti bracelet : $ 1.63M
1925 Mughal Emeralds
2019 SOLD for $ 1.8M including premium
The Mughal emperors managed an incomparable collection of precious stones which they had assembled in magnificent jewels.
For Islam, green is the color of Paradise. The emerald is imported from Colombia through Goa. Around 1610 CE a British traveler estimates at more than 500,000 carats the weight of unmounted emeralds waiting at Agra in the imperial vaults. Emerald carving is a Mughal specialty with two main themes, the Qur'anic inscription and the floral motif. It is used as an amulet.
Known as the Mogul Mughal, an emerald weighing 217.80 carats inscribed with a prayer and dated 1107 AH, during the reign of Aurangzeb, was sold for £ 1.54M including premium by Christie's on September 27, 2001. The reverse is engraved with leaves and flowers.
Christie's auction in New York on June 19 includes several examples of carved emeralds.
The best of these gems in terms of purity, color and saturation weighs 84.63 carats. It is decorated with a radiant vegetal motif amidst two concentric polylobed figures. It is estimated $ 3M, lot 283.
Lot 388, estimated $ 1.5M, was the central piece of the Collier Bérénice exhibited in 1925 by Cartier at the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs. Unsold, the necklace has been dismantled. The emerald named the Taj Mahal by Cartier was later assembled in a brooch by this jeweler. It was sold for $ 800K including premium by Christie's on October 21, 2009. It is hexagonal with a floral ornament and weighs 141.13 carats.
Lot 340, estimated $ 500K, was inscribed in the name of Shah Jahan in the 1620s before his accession to the throne. This cabochon emerald weighs 30.60 carats.
The Mughals also engraved diamonds. On December 13, 2011 in the auction of Elizabeth Taylor's collection, Christie's sold for $ 8.8M including premium over a lower estimate of $ 300K a necklace assembled by Cartier in 1972 for the 40th birthday of the actress. It is centered on a heart-shaped diamond inscribed in 1037 AH (1627-1628 CE) in the name of Shah Jahan's favorite wife for whom this emperor will later build the most sumptuous mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.
RESULTS :
Lot 388 (Cartier 1925) SOLD for $ 1.8M including premium
Lot 340 SOLD for $ 560K including premium
Lot 283 unsold
For Islam, green is the color of Paradise. The emerald is imported from Colombia through Goa. Around 1610 CE a British traveler estimates at more than 500,000 carats the weight of unmounted emeralds waiting at Agra in the imperial vaults. Emerald carving is a Mughal specialty with two main themes, the Qur'anic inscription and the floral motif. It is used as an amulet.
Known as the Mogul Mughal, an emerald weighing 217.80 carats inscribed with a prayer and dated 1107 AH, during the reign of Aurangzeb, was sold for £ 1.54M including premium by Christie's on September 27, 2001. The reverse is engraved with leaves and flowers.
Christie's auction in New York on June 19 includes several examples of carved emeralds.
The best of these gems in terms of purity, color and saturation weighs 84.63 carats. It is decorated with a radiant vegetal motif amidst two concentric polylobed figures. It is estimated $ 3M, lot 283.
Lot 388, estimated $ 1.5M, was the central piece of the Collier Bérénice exhibited in 1925 by Cartier at the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs. Unsold, the necklace has been dismantled. The emerald named the Taj Mahal by Cartier was later assembled in a brooch by this jeweler. It was sold for $ 800K including premium by Christie's on October 21, 2009. It is hexagonal with a floral ornament and weighs 141.13 carats.
Lot 340, estimated $ 500K, was inscribed in the name of Shah Jahan in the 1620s before his accession to the throne. This cabochon emerald weighs 30.60 carats.
The Mughals also engraved diamonds. On December 13, 2011 in the auction of Elizabeth Taylor's collection, Christie's sold for $ 8.8M including premium over a lower estimate of $ 300K a necklace assembled by Cartier in 1972 for the 40th birthday of the actress. It is centered on a heart-shaped diamond inscribed in 1037 AH (1627-1628 CE) in the name of Shah Jahan's favorite wife for whom this emperor will later build the most sumptuous mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.
RESULTS :
Lot 388 (Cartier 1925) SOLD for $ 1.8M including premium
Lot 340 SOLD for $ 560K including premium
Lot 283 unsold
1926 On the Desk of Anna Gould
2017 SOLD for € 1.12M including premium
For a rich foreigner or an aristocrat residing in Paris, it is of the highest chic to have a mansion avenue du Bois which will become avenue Foch in 1929. The Palais Rose built from 1896 to 1902 reaches a culmination of that luxury.
The Palais Rose was built with the best marbles on the model of the Grand Trianon by comte Boni de Castellane who furnished it in an unbelievable luxury. Castellane could spend without sparing : he had obtained the hand and dowry of Anna Gould whose father had accumulated in the railway industry one of the most colossal fortunes in America.
Castellane spends too much and divorce becomes inevitable. Anna Gould remains in the Palais Rose and becomes after her second marriage in 1908 duchesse de Talleyrand and princesse de Sagan.
On March 7 in Paris, Christie's sells furniture and objects from the Palais Rose, destroyed in 1969 on behalf of a real estate developer. Lot 19 estimated € 1M is a very opulent nécessaire de bureau (desk kit) commissioned by Anna Gould to Cartier in 1926.
The Société Cartier is one of the pioneers of the Art Déco style much fashionable in Paris after the specialized exhibition of 1925, promoting functional objects. Cartier also offers various themes of oriental fantasy increasingly enjoyed at that time by the wealthy clients.
Anna Gould's kit is depicting a Japanese pagoda in a garden, decorated with figures of dragons and Fo lions. Mixing coral, aventurine, rock crystal, agate and mother-of-pearl and colored in enamels and lacquers, it measures 28 x 24 x 12 cm overall and weighs 6.7 Kg.
Centered on a pendulette, this piece includes two inkwells and a pen holder without omitting a lighting made of two 110-volt bulbs. In 2017 Cartier added a dip pen in lapis lazuli, quartz, onyx and coral matching the nécessaire.
The Palais Rose was built with the best marbles on the model of the Grand Trianon by comte Boni de Castellane who furnished it in an unbelievable luxury. Castellane could spend without sparing : he had obtained the hand and dowry of Anna Gould whose father had accumulated in the railway industry one of the most colossal fortunes in America.
Castellane spends too much and divorce becomes inevitable. Anna Gould remains in the Palais Rose and becomes after her second marriage in 1908 duchesse de Talleyrand and princesse de Sagan.
On March 7 in Paris, Christie's sells furniture and objects from the Palais Rose, destroyed in 1969 on behalf of a real estate developer. Lot 19 estimated € 1M is a very opulent nécessaire de bureau (desk kit) commissioned by Anna Gould to Cartier in 1926.
The Société Cartier is one of the pioneers of the Art Déco style much fashionable in Paris after the specialized exhibition of 1925, promoting functional objects. Cartier also offers various themes of oriental fantasy increasingly enjoyed at that time by the wealthy clients.
Anna Gould's kit is depicting a Japanese pagoda in a garden, decorated with figures of dragons and Fo lions. Mixing coral, aventurine, rock crystal, agate and mother-of-pearl and colored in enamels and lacquers, it measures 28 x 24 x 12 cm overall and weighs 6.7 Kg.
Centered on a pendulette, this piece includes two inkwells and a pen holder without omitting a lighting made of two 110-volt bulbs. In 2017 Cartier added a dip pen in lapis lazuli, quartz, onyx and coral matching the nécessaire.
@christiesparis offre aujourd'hui aux #enchères les derniers témoignages de la collection de Boniface de #Castellane https://t.co/2RHwVwLgWY pic.twitter.com/SNkoo7vOV9
— AuctionLab (@byAuctionLab) March 7, 2017
Qing and 1933 - The Greatest Jadeite Necklace
2014 SOLD 214 MHK$ including premium
The greatest diamonds of Golconda and the most beautiful jade beads from China have a common feature : the history of the extraction of the stone is lost, but only very skilled artists were able to prepare them, a task that could last several years.
The Qing greatly encouraged the work of jade, and their seals in white or green jade are among the masterpieces of their time. The emerald green jadeite was also used in jewelry.
Despite the troubles in the China of the later Qing, the most important sets of jade beads were not mixed or separated. The main quality of a necklace is the homogeneity of its beads. Any change in color, transparency or texture is a lack of taste, and for that purpose the beads must have been carved from a single boulder.
The prestige of jade reached the Western world. A lot of 27 big jadeite beads, between 15.4 and 19.2 mm in diameter, is included in 1933 in the inventory of Cartier. It is mounted in the same year by Cartier as a necklace with a clasp in ruby and diamond, to be offered as a wedding gift to the wealthy Barbara Hutton by her father. As Christina Onassis later, Barbara Hutton had a difficult life. The husband's family kept the precious necklace.
Considered as the greatest jadeite necklace in existence, this jewel twice won the highest auction price in its category : HK $ 15.6 million in 1988 and HK $ 33M in 1994. It is estimated in excess of HK $ 100M, for sale bySotheby's in Hong Kong on April 7, lot 1847.
For comparison, a necklace of 35 jadeite beads 12.5 to 15 mm in diameter, also equipped with a clasp by Cartier, was sold for HK $ 43M including premium by Sotheby's on April 7, 2010.
POST SALE COMMENT
Pieces that are unique in their kind have no predictable price. The result, HK $ 214M including premium, rewards an extraordinary necklace.
The Qing greatly encouraged the work of jade, and their seals in white or green jade are among the masterpieces of their time. The emerald green jadeite was also used in jewelry.
Despite the troubles in the China of the later Qing, the most important sets of jade beads were not mixed or separated. The main quality of a necklace is the homogeneity of its beads. Any change in color, transparency or texture is a lack of taste, and for that purpose the beads must have been carved from a single boulder.
The prestige of jade reached the Western world. A lot of 27 big jadeite beads, between 15.4 and 19.2 mm in diameter, is included in 1933 in the inventory of Cartier. It is mounted in the same year by Cartier as a necklace with a clasp in ruby and diamond, to be offered as a wedding gift to the wealthy Barbara Hutton by her father. As Christina Onassis later, Barbara Hutton had a difficult life. The husband's family kept the precious necklace.
Considered as the greatest jadeite necklace in existence, this jewel twice won the highest auction price in its category : HK $ 15.6 million in 1988 and HK $ 33M in 1994. It is estimated in excess of HK $ 100M, for sale bySotheby's in Hong Kong on April 7, lot 1847.
For comparison, a necklace of 35 jadeite beads 12.5 to 15 mm in diameter, also equipped with a clasp by Cartier, was sold for HK $ 43M including premium by Sotheby's on April 7, 2010.
POST SALE COMMENT
Pieces that are unique in their kind have no predictable price. The result, HK $ 214M including premium, rewards an extraordinary necklace.
1940 Flamingo Brooch by Cartier
2010 SOLD for £ 1.7M including premium by Sotheby's
Discussed below.
1952 Cartier's Bestiary
2010 SOLD 4.5 M£ including premium
Jewelry is an austere art, in search of purity and perfection. Louis Cartier had the audacity and talent to ignore this statement. The jewelry created by his brand assembled quality gems to illustrate figurative themes, often floral or animal. It is not fancy but all refinement and good taste.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor especially appreciated for years the works created by Jeanne Toussaint, director of high jewelry at Cartier.
Two jewels that had participated in the fabulous sale of the Windsor jewels in April 1987 at Sotheby's in Geneva come back to the same auction house in London on November 30. Each one is estimated 1 million pounds.
The most ancient, purchased by the Duchess in 1940, is a very elegant flamingo brooch made of ruby, sapphire, emerald, citrine and diamonds. Designed in 1952, the other jewel is an original panther bracelet in onyx and diamonds. Both are illustrated in the article shared by Bloomberg.
The compositions of colored gems promoted by Cartier were not only figurative. Jeanne Toussaint had developed in the 1920s these tutti frutti bracelets that were the most original jewelry of that time.
POST SALE COMMENT
The remarkable panther bracelet, designed to undulate around the wrist, was sold £ 4.5 million including premium, far above its estimate.
The flamingo brooch also got a very good price: £ 1.7 million including premium.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor especially appreciated for years the works created by Jeanne Toussaint, director of high jewelry at Cartier.
Two jewels that had participated in the fabulous sale of the Windsor jewels in April 1987 at Sotheby's in Geneva come back to the same auction house in London on November 30. Each one is estimated 1 million pounds.
The most ancient, purchased by the Duchess in 1940, is a very elegant flamingo brooch made of ruby, sapphire, emerald, citrine and diamonds. Designed in 1952, the other jewel is an original panther bracelet in onyx and diamonds. Both are illustrated in the article shared by Bloomberg.
The compositions of colored gems promoted by Cartier were not only figurative. Jeanne Toussaint had developed in the 1920s these tutti frutti bracelets that were the most original jewelry of that time.
POST SALE COMMENT
The remarkable panther bracelet, designed to undulate around the wrist, was sold £ 4.5 million including premium, far above its estimate.
The flamingo brooch also got a very good price: £ 1.7 million including premium.
1582-1972 Peregrination of a Pearl
2011 SOLD 11.8 M$ including premium
A pearl made five hundred years ago by an anonymous mollusk in the Gulf of Panama got a fabulous destiny. Used in jewelry of all kinds to meet the changes of fashion, it demonstrates that not only diamonds are forever.
It entered in 1582 into the Spanish royal collection, where it was considered as the biggest pearl in the world. Pear-shaped, it was then weighing 223 grains.
Mary I of England, wife of Philip II of Spain, used it very elegantly as a pendant to a brooch. Philip IV of Spain preferred it as a hat pin. It went to France during the Spanish war of Joseph Bonaparte, and Napoleon III sold it to the English aristocracy.
This wandering pearl has been known for two centuries under the name La Peregrina. It lost twenty grains when it was reworked to improve the security of its setting.
Richard Burton bought it in 1969 at Sotheby's auction as a gift to Elizabeth Taylor.
It was mounted as pendant in a pearl necklace that did not please its new owners. Burton and Taylor then made designed by Cartier in 1972 the magnificent necklace of pearls, rubies and diamonds, where it is again hanging as pendant.
This necklace, estimated $ 2M, is for sale on December 13 in New York by Christie's., lot 12.
POST SALE COMMENT
This is a new successful step in the fabulous history of the pearl. Sold $ 11.8 million including premium, its necklace achieved the highest result in one of the best jewelry sales in auction history: total $ 116M including premium for only 80 lots.
It entered in 1582 into the Spanish royal collection, where it was considered as the biggest pearl in the world. Pear-shaped, it was then weighing 223 grains.
Mary I of England, wife of Philip II of Spain, used it very elegantly as a pendant to a brooch. Philip IV of Spain preferred it as a hat pin. It went to France during the Spanish war of Joseph Bonaparte, and Napoleon III sold it to the English aristocracy.
This wandering pearl has been known for two centuries under the name La Peregrina. It lost twenty grains when it was reworked to improve the security of its setting.
Richard Burton bought it in 1969 at Sotheby's auction as a gift to Elizabeth Taylor.
It was mounted as pendant in a pearl necklace that did not please its new owners. Burton and Taylor then made designed by Cartier in 1972 the magnificent necklace of pearls, rubies and diamonds, where it is again hanging as pendant.
This necklace, estimated $ 2M, is for sale on December 13 in New York by Christie's., lot 12.
POST SALE COMMENT
This is a new successful step in the fabulous history of the pearl. Sold $ 11.8 million including premium, its necklace achieved the highest result in one of the best jewelry sales in auction history: total $ 116M including premium for only 80 lots.
1627-1628 Indian inscribed diamond in a 1972 necklace assembly by Cartier
2011 SOLD for $ 8.8M including premium by Christie's
Link to catalogue.
(2010)-2016 Blue Diamonds are Eternal
2016 SOLD for CHF 17M including premium
Diamonds are eternal but their assembly within a jewel may change. The same gem can therefore be the star lot of two auctions a few years apart with a different surrounding.
The GIA report numbered 2125017707, dated 8 June 2010, applied to a Type IIb diamond weighing 8.01 carat, guaranteeing its natural, Fancy Vivid Blue color and VVS1 clarity.
This gem is close to the best, in the most prestigious color and a clarity which is second only to Internally Flawless. Fancy vivid blue diamonds rarely exceed that weight. It was sold for HK$ 100M including premium by Sotheby's on 3 April 2012.
I commented it as follows at that time :
"The emerald cut is the most prestigious for colored diamonds. It guarantees the natural qualities of the diamond and does not alter the color.
"Sotheby's sells an emerald cut fancy vivid blue mounted on a platinum ring between two small white diamonds. The press release indicates that this is the largest fancy vivid blue in emerald cut to appear at auction for many years."
Now identified as the Sky Blue Diamond, it is more accurately described as square cut which better stresses its great shape achievement, and assembled on a more exuberant Cartier ring set with brilliant cut and baguette diamonds.
It is estimated CHF 14.76M worth US $ 15M for sale by Sotheby's in Geneva on November 16, lot 337. Please watch the video shared by WSJ.
The GIA report numbered 2125017707, dated 8 June 2010, applied to a Type IIb diamond weighing 8.01 carat, guaranteeing its natural, Fancy Vivid Blue color and VVS1 clarity.
This gem is close to the best, in the most prestigious color and a clarity which is second only to Internally Flawless. Fancy vivid blue diamonds rarely exceed that weight. It was sold for HK$ 100M including premium by Sotheby's on 3 April 2012.
I commented it as follows at that time :
"The emerald cut is the most prestigious for colored diamonds. It guarantees the natural qualities of the diamond and does not alter the color.
"Sotheby's sells an emerald cut fancy vivid blue mounted on a platinum ring between two small white diamonds. The press release indicates that this is the largest fancy vivid blue in emerald cut to appear at auction for many years."
Now identified as the Sky Blue Diamond, it is more accurately described as square cut which better stresses its great shape achievement, and assembled on a more exuberant Cartier ring set with brilliant cut and baguette diamonds.
It is estimated CHF 14.76M worth US $ 15M for sale by Sotheby's in Geneva on November 16, lot 337. Please watch the video shared by WSJ.
Pigeon Blood from Burma
2015 SOLD for CHF 28M including premium
The color named 'pigeon blood', a vivid and saturated red, is the most prestigious for rubies. A gem in this variant can only come from Mogok in Burma (Myanmar). The cushion cut is perfect for them.
The Hope ruby from the Lily Safra collection was a pigeon blood weighing 32.08 carats mounted on a ring by Chaumet. It was sold for CHF 6.2 million including premium by Christie's on May 14, 2012.
The beauty of a ruby is also closely linked to its internal structure, and the price does not depend only on its weight. Considered as exceptional by Graff, the Graff ruby was sold for CHF 8.3 million including premium by Sotheby's on November 12, 2014, a great price for a stone which weighs only 8.62 carats. Its price per carat is almost competing with the best pink or blue diamonds.
Another pigeon blood wonder, exceptional in its shade and its weight, is for sale at Sotheby's in Geneva on May 12. The Sunrise ruby is weighing 25.59 carats. It was mounted on a ring between two diamonds by Cartier. It is estimated CHF 11.7 million corresponding to US $ 12M, lot 502.
The Hope ruby from the Lily Safra collection was a pigeon blood weighing 32.08 carats mounted on a ring by Chaumet. It was sold for CHF 6.2 million including premium by Christie's on May 14, 2012.
The beauty of a ruby is also closely linked to its internal structure, and the price does not depend only on its weight. Considered as exceptional by Graff, the Graff ruby was sold for CHF 8.3 million including premium by Sotheby's on November 12, 2014, a great price for a stone which weighs only 8.62 carats. Its price per carat is almost competing with the best pink or blue diamonds.
Another pigeon blood wonder, exceptional in its shade and its weight, is for sale at Sotheby's in Geneva on May 12. The Sunrise ruby is weighing 25.59 carats. It was mounted on a ring between two diamonds by Cartier. It is estimated CHF 11.7 million corresponding to US $ 12M, lot 502.
The most valuable ruby ever sold at auction: The Sunrise Ruby sells for US$ 30.3m in Geneva #SothebysJewels pic.twitter.com/s5ezt5Qah8
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) May 12, 2015
The Jade Necklace
2010 SOLD 43 MHK$ including premium
The sales of jewelry in Hong Kong are eagerly awaited by connoisseurs. They are finding therein some top diamonds, gemstones, pearls and jade.
Highly appreciated in the Far East, jade is able to compete with diamond. This mineral rock can be carved, which is not the case of the diamond which is cut. Jade is a generic term that applies to jadeite and nephrite.
On April 7, Sotheby's is selling as lot 1457 a necklace 53 cm long, assembled with 35 jadeite beads, selected for their homogeneous emerald green color and for their similar size, between 12.5 and 15 mm. This piece is equipped with a clasp in platinum and diamonds signed by Cartier.
Such a collecting of jade beads from natural origin is a technical feat. In support of the estimated HK $ 38 million, the press release indicates that the jadeite is revered as a symbol of virtue and immortality.
POST SALE COMMENT
Yes! The jade can generate an interest equal to that of diamond in top jewelry sales.
Three lots in a similar range of estimates were proposed in this auction. A pear shaped vivid blue diamond weighing 5.16 carat has been sold HK $ 50 million. A necklace with 107 carats of white diamonds was sold HK $ 52 million.
And the jade necklace was sold HK $ 43 million, around its low estimate.
These prices include premium.
Highly appreciated in the Far East, jade is able to compete with diamond. This mineral rock can be carved, which is not the case of the diamond which is cut. Jade is a generic term that applies to jadeite and nephrite.
On April 7, Sotheby's is selling as lot 1457 a necklace 53 cm long, assembled with 35 jadeite beads, selected for their homogeneous emerald green color and for their similar size, between 12.5 and 15 mm. This piece is equipped with a clasp in platinum and diamonds signed by Cartier.
Such a collecting of jade beads from natural origin is a technical feat. In support of the estimated HK $ 38 million, the press release indicates that the jadeite is revered as a symbol of virtue and immortality.
POST SALE COMMENT
Yes! The jade can generate an interest equal to that of diamond in top jewelry sales.
Three lots in a similar range of estimates were proposed in this auction. A pear shaped vivid blue diamond weighing 5.16 carat has been sold HK $ 50 million. A necklace with 107 carats of white diamonds was sold HK $ 52 million.
And the jade necklace was sold HK $ 43 million, around its low estimate.
These prices include premium.
