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7.52-Carat Unheated Paraíba Tourmaline Sells for $1.3M at Sotheby’s
The top lot of the auction house’s Hong Kong jewelry sale was an Art Deco Mauboussin necklace with ruby beads, which sold for $2 million.
PHOTO This 7.52-carat unheated Brazilian Paraíba tourmaline sold for $1.3 million at Sotheby’s jewelry auction held this week in Hong Kong. The auction brought in more than $34 million in total.
PHOTO This Art Deco necklace by Mauboussin was the star of the sale, selling above estimate for $2 million.
Hong Kong—An unheated 7.52-carat Paraíba tourmaline was a standout at Sotheby’s recent high jewelry auction, which took place Thursday in Hong Kong.
The cushion-cut stone, which is of Brazilian origin, was set in an 18-karat white gold ring with diamonds on the band.
It sold within its estimate for HK$10.5 million, or approximately $1.3 million.
The exquisite blue gemstone is one of the “rarest, most extraordinary examples Sotheby’s has ever offered for auction,” Quig Bruning, Sotheby’s Head of Jewels for the Americas and EMEA, said in a video posted to Sotheby’s Instagram prior to the auction.
It was the fourth highest grossing lot of the sale.
The High Jewelry auction garnered $34.1 million in total.
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The cushion-cut stone, which is of Brazilian origin, was set in an 18-karat white gold ring with diamonds on the band.
It sold within its estimate for HK$10.5 million, or approximately $1.3 million.
The exquisite blue gemstone is one of the “rarest, most extraordinary examples Sotheby’s has ever offered for auction,” Quig Bruning, Sotheby’s Head of Jewels for the Americas and EMEA, said in a video posted to Sotheby’s Instagram prior to the auction.
It was the fourth highest grossing lot of the sale.
The High Jewelry auction garnered $34.1 million in total.
The top lot of the auction was an Art Deco necklace made in the 1930s by Mauboussin.
It is set with tumbled rubies and ruby beads, brilliant-cut diamonds, as well as old European cut, square, and baguette diamonds.
The necklace sold for HK$16 million ($2 million), topping its high estimate of HK$11 million ($1.4 million).
A pair of earrings featuring 5-carat pear-shaped Burmese rubies and rose-cut diamonds that sold for $1.6 million
Ruby jewels came in at No. 2 and No. 3 as well.
The first is a pair of 18-karat white gold earrings set with two pear-shaped Burmese rubies weighing 5.20 and 5.08 carats and rose-cut diamonds.
The other is a ring, made in platinum and 18-karat yellow gold, featuring a 5.06-carat oval-shaped Burmese ruby accented by pear-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds.
Both pieces garnered HK$12.8 million ($1.6 million), selling within their estimates.
Another highlight of the jewelry auction was a Van Cleef & Arpels “Caresse d’Eole” brooch (seen above) featuring mystery-set sapphires along with rose- and brilliant-cut diamonds as well as baguette and tapered baguette diamonds.
The brooch sold above estimate for HK$2.3 million ($293,250).
There was also a sizeable, matched pair of Paraíba-type tourmalines on offer.
The unmounted stones, known as “The Kat Florence Luminas,” weigh 71.24 carats and 72.84 carats.
The pair sold for HK$2 million ($255,000), below their pre-sale estimate of HK$3 million to HK$4 million ($382,500 to $637,500).
The brooch sold above estimate for HK$2.3 million ($293,250).
There was also a sizeable, matched pair of Paraíba-type tourmalines on offer.
The unmounted stones, known as “The Kat Florence Luminas,” weigh 71.24 carats and 72.84 carats.
The pair sold for HK$2 million ($255,000), below their pre-sale estimate of HK$3 million to HK$4 million ($382,500 to $637,500).
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