At left, the “Azure Blue,” a 31.62-carat fancy blue diamond, and at right, a 5.04-carat fancy vivid blue diamond. Both stones sold for more than $8 million at Christie’s jewelry auction held Tuesday in New York.
New York—The “Azure Blue,” a nearly 32-carat, pear-shaped fancy blue diamond, was the star of Christie’s jewelry auction that took place Tuesday in New York, selling for $8.4 million.
The second highest-grossing lot at the sale was another blue diamond, this one a 5.04-carat fancy vivid blue marquise brilliant-cut diamond, which achieved $8.1 million.
Both diamonds had a pre-sale estimate of $6.5 million to $8.5 million.
All told, Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction totaled $49.7 million with every lot sold and blue gemstones making a particularly strong showing.
In addition to the two blue diamonds topping $8 million, a 41.29-carat Sri Lankan sapphire and diamond ring sold for $2.3 million against a high-end estimate of $800,000 after “spirited bidding” from nine telephone bidders, multiple online bidders, and in-room bidders, Christie’s said.
A Graff ring featuring a 30-carat cushion mixed-cut Sri Lankan sapphire flanked by heart-shaped diamonds achieved $1.8 million, more than double its estimate.
A buyer paid $2.1 million for this 15.49-carat Kashmir sapphire platinum ring with pavé diamond accents at Christie’s New York jewelry auction. Its pre-sale estimate was $1.2-$1.8 million
Additionally, a 15.49-carat Kashmir sapphire mounted in a platinum ring (pictured above) with pavé diamond accents sold for $2.1 million.
Claibourne Poindexter, Christie’s head of jewelry for the Americas, said, “Achieving 100 percent sold is a powerful testament to the appetite of today’s collectors and to the exceptional, carefully curated assemblage presented in this sale.
“From rare blue diamonds to extraordinary sapphires and rubies, the strength of demand across categories—particularly colored stones—underscores the global enthusiasm for jewels of beauty, rarity, and provenance.”
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A handful of private collections also were featured in the sale.
From “The Joanna Carson Collection: A Legacy of Glamour and Giving” a sapphire and diamond ring sold for $508,000, blowing away its pre-sale estimate of $50,000 to $70,000.
Carson was a model, philanthropist, and Broadway producer who was married to “The Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
A pair of sapphire and diamond pendant earrings from the same collection garnered $457,200 against a low estimate of $100,000, and an emerald and diamond ring sold for $368,300 against a low estimate of $50,000.
These David Morris ruby and diamond earrings from the collection of Bridget Rooney Koch sold for $1.4 million, while this David Morris ruby and diamond necklace sold for $889,000.
A pair of David Morris ruby and diamond pendant earrings, one of three lots in “Exceptional Jewels from the Collection of Bridget Rooney Koch,” realized $1.4 million, doubling its low estimate.
Koch is the granddaughter of Art Rooney, legendary founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
From the “Property from the Collection of Irene Roosevelt Aitken,” a retro Van Cleef & Arpels diamond and gold bracelet was a highlight, selling above estimate for $317,500.
The bracelet once belonged to French-American opera singer Lily Pons.
A buyer paid more than $300,000 for this circa 1940 bombé style Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet with round and old-cut diamonds in yellow gold and platinum.
A curator and patron of the arts, Aitken was the wife of John Aspinwall Roosevelt, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s youngest son.
Following his death, she married recently widowed artist Russell Barnett Aitken. His late wife was the sculptor Annie Laurie Crawford, later Aitken, after whom the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s British Galleries are named.
Per Irene’s final wish, proceeds from the sale will benefit the Met, the Frick Collection, and the Morgan Library and Museum.
This Art Deco diamond bow brooch, which belonged to former federal prosecutor Gay Hugo-Martinez, sold for more than triple its low estimate.
From the collection of Gay Hugo-Martinez, a prominent former federal prosecutor and civic leader in Southern California, a bow brooch from the Art Deco era sold for $241,300, tripling its low estimate of $80,000.
The top lot from the collection of American philanthropist Lorinda Payson de Roulet was an antique natural pearl and diamond brooch, which sold for $1.2 million against an estimate of $500,000 to $700,000.
