large diamond auctions

Diamonds Propel Christie's NYC Jewelry Sale to Decade High

found at Bloomberg. April 12, 2006 By Katya Kazakina

April 12, 2006 (Bloomberg) -- Prices for large diamonds and rare jewels soared at Christie's International in New York yesterday amid aggressive bidding by dealers in the crowded room and collectors on phones from Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

The top lot -- a clear, flawless 50.53-carat diamond ring -- fetched $4.22 million and went to a private Asian buyer. (The presale high estimate for the pear-shaped stone set in platinum was $3.5 million.) The two-person bidding was brief and took place on the phone, between the buyer and an anonymous Middle Eastern dealer.

The auction's tally of $39.07 million marked the strongest performance in a decade (and 23 percent growth since last year) for the ``Magnificent Jewels'' sale, which takes place twice a year in both New York and Geneva.

The result beat the presale high estimate of $30 million by 30 percent and was only $2 million shy of the record set in 1996 at Christie's, which is owned by French billionaire Francois Pinault.

``The market is very strong,'' said Francois Curiel, chairman of Christie's Europe and the auction house's international director of jewelry. ``Diamonds prices were 15 to 20 percent higher than the estimates.''

Kroc's 42 Carats

All sales include a surcharge, which varies from 12 percent to 20 percent of the hammer price. Ninety-two percent of the 333 lots sold.

Six large diamonds -- clear and yellow, pink and blue -- plus three diamond-anchored pieces occupied the top nine spots of the sale.

A clear, pear-shaped diamond of about the same shape and size (50.67 carats) as the top lot, but not internally flawless, was the second most-expensive item at $2.59 million.

A Harry Winston necklace featuring an intense 42.13- carat yellow diamond once worn by the late philanthropist Joan Kroc -- who gave more than $200 million to National Public Radio -- sold for $2.03 million, up from the presale high estimate of $1.5 million.

The winning bid came from Jean de Foucaud, a Paris- based dealer who flew in for the sale and bought the necklace on behalf of an international businessman -- whom he declined to identify except as a European ``prince of oil'' and a ``very rich and generous man.''

`Flashy Stones'

Rare pieces by famous designers such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Bulgari ignited exuberant bidding. A rectangular-cut, diamond line-necklace by Cartier sold for $979,200, up from its presale high estimate of $650,000.

A matching bracelet sold for $531,200, beating the presale high estimate of $350,000.

``It's perfect for Russia,'' said buyer Mark Emanuel, a Manhattan dealer and co-owner of European Art & Antiques. ``It's got flashy stones. It's Cartier. Russians are into big names.''

Two ensembles by the reclusive, Bronx-born and Paris- based Joel Arthur Rosenthal -- known as JAR -- sold for much more than their estimates.

``Now JAR has joined the pantheon, even though he's not mass-produced,'' Emanuel said.

A quirky, differing pair of diamond-and-pearl ear pendants -- in one a large pearl is surrounded by pave diamonds, in the other a diamond sits among a myriad of pearls -- sold for $340,800, up from presale high estimate of $200,000.

Sunny Ear Clips

JAR's ``soleil'' ear clips, made to resemble the sun with pave-set diamond rays, an old-European cut diamond nucleus and a shimmer of rubies and colored diamonds, sold for $168,000. The set was assigned a high estimate of $60,000.

``It's a piece of art,'' Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry for Christie's America, said during the sale's preview last week. ``It's a masterful display of stone.''

JAR's work rarely comes up for public viewing. At ``The Jewels of JAR, Paris'' exhibition at the Gilbert Collection in London in 2002, the designer had visitors navigate darkened rooms with flashlights.

His pieces are custom-made for fashion-oriented, high- profile clients such as Marie-Josee Kravis and the late Nan Kempner, as well as celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Ellen Barkin.

Katya Kazakina in New York

Christies diamond auctions in Dubai 

Dubai has been called a capitalist dream on steroids. Indoor ski mountains in the middle of the desert. The world's only (self-proclaimed) seven-star hotel, where one night in the Royal suite costs $13,600. An archipelago of man-made private islands designed to look like a map of the World from outer space. (Rod Stewart is rumored to have bought Britain for $33m).

In January 2008 Christie's holds its first diamond jewels and watches auction in Dubai