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AuctionsDec 11, 2020
43-Carat Kashmir Sapphire Tops Auction at $6 Million
Harry Winston bought the jewel at a Christie’s sale that saw numerous sapphires perform well.
This 43.10-carat Kashmir sapphire and diamond platinum bracelet became the top lot of the Christie’s NY Magnificent Jewels sale when Harry Winston purchased it for $6 million Tuesday.
New York—An extraordinary Kashmir sapphire came out on top in a recent jewelry auction.
The top lot of the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction held Dec. 8 in New York was a platinum bracelet featuring a 43.10-carat sapphire surrounded by 67.90 carats of D color, internally flawless diamonds. Purchased by none other than Harry Winston, the piece sold for $6 million.
There were a number of other notable sapphires sold in the jewelry auction.
This included a 21.73-carat cabochon Kashmir sapphire ring by Van Cleef & Arpels from 1917 that garnered $1.7 million, an Art Deco Cartier brooch featuring a 12.64-carat Kashmir sapphire and diamonds that went for $1.5 million, and a Burmese sapphire necklace weighing 80.86 carats that sold for $1.1 million.
These follow another sapphire that topped a jewelry auction at Bonhams this week—during the house’s New York Jewels sale on Dec. 7, a 17.21-carat Kashmir sapphire and diamond brooch from the collection of a prominent American family went for $1.1 million. It was estimated to sell for between $500,000 and $800,000.
Meanwhile, at Christie’s, there also was a pair of earrings featuring a 2.61-carat fancy intense purplish-pink pear modified brilliant-cut diamond and a 2.34-carat fancy intense pink pear modified brilliant-cut diamond with colorless diamond accents in platinum and rose gold that went for $2.1 million.
See: Additional Lots in Christie’s NY Magnificent Jewels Auction
This Belle Époque ring from Van Cleef & Arpels circa 1917, featuring a 21.73-carat sapphire and diamond accents in platinum, sold for $1.7 million at Christie’s New York’s recent Magnificent Jewels sale.
An Art Deco Cartier bracelet featuring a 12.64-carat sapphire and diamonds that garnered $1.5 million
The Du Pont padparadscha sapphire was acquired by the current owner’s great-grandmother while on holiday in Ceylon in 1937, according to Christie’s. The 24.58-carat cushion modified mixed-cut orangey-pink sapphire, set in a gold and platinum ring with diamonds, sold for $930,000 at Christie’s Tuesday.
The sale also saw a 102.61-carat cushion modified brilliant-cut unmounted diamond in the Y to Z color range sell for above its pre-sale estimate when it garnered $1.7 million, a pair of diamond drop earrings from Moussaieff fetch $942,000, and the Du Pont padparadscha—a 24.58-carat cushion modified mixed-cut sapphire—set in a ring with diamond accents, top its pre-sale high to garner $930,000 on Tuesday.
Magnificent Jewels totaled $44.6 million, selling 95 percent by value and 91 percent by volume after 10 hours of bidding.
For the full results, visit Christies.com.
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