Auctions

The top 10 lots from Sotheby’s most recent sale

AuctionsAug 11, 2016

The top 10 lots from Sotheby’s most recent sale

A platinum-topped gold and diamond necklace presented to writer and socialite Helen Hay on her wedding day topped Sotheby’s auction Tuesday. 


This platinum Cartier “Tutti Frutti” bracelet with diamonds set a record price for the style when it sold for $2.2 million at Sotheby’s New York.
New York--A platinum-topped gold and diamond necklace presented to writer and socialite Helen Hay on her wedding day topped Sotheby’s auction Tuesday.

Held in New York, Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sale totaled $44.2 million, raising its worldwide jewelry auction sales to $597.5 million so far this year--a new record high for the company in this category.

The auction was led by the platinum-topped gold and diamond necklace that Hay wore on the day she married businessman Payne Whitney--a society event that made headlines across the country, according to Sotheby’s. Featuring four diamonds ranging from F to H color, the necklace sold for $3.2 million.

In fact, all seven of the jewels offered during the sale that came from the estate of Helen Hay Whitney sold, totaling $4.8 million among them.

The remaining lots that fell in the top 10 on Tuesday also included a platinum and diamond ring that sold for $3 million and a platinum, colored stone, diamond and enamel “Tutti Frutti” Cartier bracelet from the estate of Evelyn Lauder. Sold to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the bracelet doubled its pre-sale estimate when it garnered $2.2 million.

Rounding out the top 10 lots were a fancy grayish blue diamond ring that sold for $1.4 million; a fancy intense purplish-pink diamond ring that garnered $1.2 million; and a pair of platinum and diamond Harry Winston earclips circa 1972 that went for $1.1 million.

A pair of platinum, emerald and diamond pendant-earclips that once belonged to the Grand Duchess Vladimir of Russia garnered $1.1 million, and a rare and important Egyptian revival platinum, diamond and colored stone bracelet by LaCloche Freres sold for $1 million. 

Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.

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