Auctions

Sotheby’s to Resume Live Jewelry Auctions in Early June

AuctionsApr 27, 2020

Sotheby’s to Resume Live Jewelry Auctions in Early June

The auction house will start with the Magnificent Jewels and Fine Jewels sales in New York on June 9.

202000427_Blue-diamond.jpg
This 3.67-carat fancy intense blue diamond ring could sell for as much as $3.5 million in Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sale in New York June 9. The live auction will be its first since the COVID-19 pandemic caused it to reschedule its flagship spring sales.

New York—Sotheby’s has released a new schedule of jewelry auctions for the next few months, including dates for when it will restart live, in-person sales.

It kicks off with a single-lot online auction of a diamond, enamel and gem-set Cartier Tutti Frutti bracelet from the 1930s.

The bracelet is part of a private American collection and is estimated to sell for between $600,000 and $800,000. Bidding is open through Tuesday (April 28).

Several online jewelry auctions will follow:
--Geneva Fine Jewels (April 30 to May 7);
--Italian Glamour: Jewels by Bulgari and Marina B (May 6 to 12);
--Hong Kong Fine Jewels (May 12 to 20);
--Paris Fine Jewels (May 20 to 27); and
--London Fine Jewels (May 28 to June 4).

In early June, Sotheby’s will resume live auctions, starting in New York with the Magnificent Jewels sale, rescheduled from April, and the Fine Jewels sale, both slated for June 9.

The Magnificent Jewels auction will include a 3.67-carat fancy intense blue diamond ring estimated to sell for as much as $3.5 million, and a Cartier Kashmir sapphire and diamond bracelet from the 1960s estimated to go for $750,000 to $1 million.

Following the New York sale will be the 278-lot Paris Joaillerie auction on June 10.

Highlights include the 1930s gold and diamond “Barbare” necklace by Suzanne Belperron seen below, estimated to go for about $87,000 to $151,000, and 25 pieces from Parisian jeweler Mellerio created during the late 1900s.




On June 30, Sotheby’s Geneva will hold its Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels auction.

The flagship sale will feature several big diamonds and gemstones, like “The Sunrise Diamond,” a 100.52-carat fancy intense yellow diamond estimated to sell for as much as $5 million, as well as signed pieces from the top jewelry houses.

Rounding out the spring and summer sale season will be the Sotheby’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels auction on July 10, which will include several jadeite and colored diamond lots as well as iconic signed pieces.

Like so many other businesses, Sotheby’s pushed back the dates of its live sales this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic and held others online.

Those sales “set new benchmarks” for online jewelry auctions, the auction house said.

Its London Fine Jewels Online sale from March 31 to April 7 set a record for an online jewelry sale when it netted $3.7 million, and the auction house set record

sell-through rates for online jewelry sales when its Hong Kong Fine Jewels sale was 100 percent sold and its New York Jewels Online sale from March 17 to 25 was 97 percent sold.
Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.

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