Jewelers who misinterpret the state of the jewelry market risk employing the wrong retail strategy, cautions columnist Sherry Smith.
This 10-Carat Pink Diamond Just Sold for Nearly $20M
It was the main attraction at the Oct. 7 Sotheby’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale.

Hong Kong—Sotheby’s Hong Kong’s fall jewelry auction, which took place this week, saw the sale of some spectacular jewels, including a special pink diamond.
The Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale totaled $300.8 million HKD, or $38.3 million.
Accounting for over half of that total was a rare and exquisite fancy vivid purplish pink diamond and white diamond ring, pictured above. The 10.65-carat Type IIa pink fell between its $19.1 to $25.5 million pre-sale estimate, garnering $19.9 million.
The auction was noteworthy for its array of works by contemporary Chinese high jeweler Anna Hu, who designed for the occasion.
The “Silk Road Music” collection featured nods to Chinese history and music (Hu was a cellist before she became a designer) illustrated with a variety of impressive gemstones, not the least of which was the 100-carat fancy intense yellow diamond at the center of “The Dunhuang Pipa Necklace” pictured above.
The necklace, expected to sell for between $5 million as $6.3 million, earned $5.8 million at the sale.
Hu’s jadeite “Cello” brooch (above), accented with yellow, white and pink diamonds, also sold within its estimated pre-sale range of $280,000 and $350,000, going for $279,000.
The designer’s above “Blue Magpie” brooch—featuring a conch pearl, sapphires and diamonds and estimated to sell for between $190,000 and $225,000—earned $255,000, while the “Ellington” earrings, below, made of the same materials sold for $279,000, just shy of their $280,000 to $350,000 pre-sale estimate.
Lastly, Hu’s ruby and diamond “Apassionata” ring, seen below, earned $104,000, just over its $80,000 to $100,000 estimate.
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