Auctions: In Geneva, Jewelry Tells a Story More Than Ever Before
Phillips, Sotheby's, and Christie's took turns last week to offer international collectors the rarest gems from the world of high jewelry. Beyond setting records, while color and signature continue to rule, royal, aristocratic, or even cinematic provenance is emerging as a decisive factor in the market for exceptionally high-end jewelry.
Christie's: The Grand Evening, Carried by The Ocean Dream The Magnificent Jewels sale at Christie's amassed a total of CHF 51,859,550, with 99% of the lots sold and 84% of them auctioned above their highest estimate. The showstopper of the sale was The Ocean Dream . This 5.50-carat fancy vivid blue-green diamond, cut in a triangular shape, was auctioned for more than CHF 13,500,000 after 20 minutes of competitive bidding between three collectors. Originating from a rough 11.70-carat diamond discovered in Central Africa in the 1990s, it is celebrated by the Smithsonian Institution as one of the eight rarest diamonds in the world, and to date, is the largest fancy vivid blue-green ever recorded by the Gemological Institute of America. It now holds the absolute world record for a diamond of this color. Furthermore, it achieved more than double its 2014 sale price during its previous appearance at Christie's. Besides this head-turning piece, the sale offered other exquisite moments. A two-strand pearl and diamond necklace soared to CHF 4,147,000 (more than four times its low estimate), confirming the market's appetite for natural pearls. In terms of gemstones, a Chaumet ring set with an impressive 22.28-carat Royal Blue Kashmir sapphire reached CHF 2,744,000. /public-objects/fc919620-76cb-4207-8e01-3fa15a848e51-12ec8d9f-8f13-49b5-899d-17052ac9e87b-Sans%20titre-1.webp Image sélectionnée /public-objects/3b129408-4252-4ee6-a622-03f95d100561-6f544eda-63ac-4fdb-8b6e-e54de9e32df8-Sans%20titre-1.webp Image sélectionnée In the realm of history, or more precisely, the provenance of jewelry, the sale also unveiled some beautiful surprises. An Art Deco Boucheron scarf-necklace in rubies, emeralds, onyx and diamonds, created for the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris in 1925, was auctioned for more than CHF 1,200,000. Three pieces from Cartier's bestiary also took center stage, all exceeding their estimates: a Flamingo brooch, echoing the model ordered in 1940 by the Duke of Windsor from Jeanne Toussaint for Wallis Simpson, originally crafted from stones taken from the Duchess's own jewelry, reached CHF 317,500. A Tutti Frutti clip-brooch from the 1930s, a testament to the meeting of Parisian Art Deco and Indian Moghul spirit, soared to over a million francs. Lastly, it's impossible to overlook the Cartier pearl and emerald sautoir ordered in 1925, the year of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby , and worn by Lois Chiles (Jordan Baker) in the namesake film by Jack Clayton in 1974. Theoni V. Aldredge, who won both an Oscar and a BAFTA for costume design for this film, had insisted on adorning the actresses with genuine Art Deco jewelry signed by Cartier. Auctioned for CHF 44,500, it underscores how cinematic provenance, and more broadly, the historical heritage attached to creations, invariably influences auctions. /public-objects/dc1c4cc2-2d18-4c81-bdc7-2faea5c6b9d6-e5e32aeb-b188-497a-9f80-de9b0f7b9401-1.webp Image sélectionnée /public-objects/28b4cf52-4496-4b4f-b2b9-1188d28b480a-32728cd2-2e35-4719-a241-247a98dcc7c1-2.webp Image sélectionnée /public-objects/efe98903-f184-4a27-9852-d2e9bcdf94b1-e843d233-8454-46ef-8bce-4cb67892d139-3.webp Image sélectionnée /public-objects/aac5139c-7b45-4755-a854-3e56ef5fa016-0285d3f5-1771-4942-ba3b-1c068bd3d32b-4.webp Image sélectionnée Sotheby's: A Top White Diamond Against a Backdrop of Private Collections The High Jewelry sale at Sotheby's Geneva totaled CHF 23,361,472, with 92.7% of the lots sold, over 60% of them above their high estimate, and a record turnout — more than five bidders per lot — from over 30 countries. Jessica Wyndham, the department's director, primarily recalls the "passion" of collectors for signed pieces and colored stones from this session. Indeed, passion seemed to have been ignited for the top lot, a pair of unmounted round diamonds of 18.38 carats each, one flawless, the other internally flawless. Sourced from the Jwaneng mine in Botswana, they are the result of an exclusive collaboration between Sotheby's and De Beers aimed at presenting a series of exceptional diamonds this season, sourced directly by the mining giant and offered as true works of art. The pair was awarded to an international private collector for CHF 2,536,000. As for colored stones, the sale delivered two particularly strong moments thanks to pieces of incredible rarity. First, a necklace of Colombian emeralds composed of 13 drops (from 11.38 to 57.82 carats) arranged around a central cabochon of 11.76 carats (for a total of 358.87 carats) from a royal collection, which went for CHF 1,920,000. The second marvel: the "Peacock of Ceylon", an unmounted cushion sapphire of over 100 carats, sold for CHF 1,548,800. /public-objects/736d97dc-5328-462a-88cd-f91fc4ff398b-86946593-d0d2-4f24-9588-872f22aad19a-1.webp Image sélectionnée /public-objects/e17402c2-afa8-4358-a2ea-42123cc6a017-50238d57-cb37-4db9-b074-e40a5472f5b0-2.webp Image sélectionnée /public-objects/a5c32a0d-da13-4a7e-9f63-4ffe8af71e50-2146ada5-f30c-4c9e-9f52-8486d62d3937-3.webp Image sélectionnée The uniqueness of Sotheby's this season lies in its expertise in curating private collections. Three sets punctuated last week's sale, together totaling nearly double their high estimate. The Property from a Distinguished Collector , a collection from a passionate Italian, opened with a Cartier brooch in ruby, emerald, and yellow sapphire that went for five times its high estimate. The Invernizzi collection featured a splendid 1976 Bulgari Serpenti watch-bracelet, one of the most beautiful examples ever presented at auction of this icon born in 1948 and popularized by Elizabeth Taylor on the set of the film Cleopatra , which fetched more than CHF 650,000. And the Property from an Important European Collector peaked with two anthology pieces: an Art Deco diamond bracelet attributed to Van Cleef & Arpels (1920s), which soared to CHF 486,400; and above all, a ruby and diamond tie necklace signed Lacloche Frères, which sold for CHF 627,200. Let's remember that this Parisian house, today somewhat forgotten by the general public but crowned Grand Prix of the 1925 Exhibition — a year that decidedly haunts this entire season — was, between 1892 and 1931, the equal of Cartier or Van Cleef & Arpels. /public-objects/48a9b7fc-24ff-4cf5-87d3-9546eae4abf8-c5680cf2-a4e0-4272-9f33-6496e50b631c-4.webp Image sélectionnée /public-objects/395b6a4a-3c3a-41d7-b7c4-e841793cc77d-65465a56-04f9-4e11-9fe0-4bc8d36861d8-5.webp Image sélectionnée Phillips: The 'Zip' Leading, Nobility as the Backdrop The Geneva Jewels Auction VI session at Phillips totaled CHF 5,469,471, with 86% of the lots sold and a particularly telling rate of 80% of signed pieces auctioned above their high estimate. The auction house, which is celebrating its 230th anniversary this year, inaugurated on this occasion a new "Collections & Provenance" section, 97% of which was sold and designed as the manifesto of the assumed strategy to make the narrative the primary argument for the sale. The top lot goes to a transformable "Zip" necklace-bracelet by Van Cleef & Arpels in coral, chrysoprase and diamonds dated 2012, reached a bid of CHF 619,200. The creation, the first version of which was delivered in 1950, is the culmination of a brilliant intuition: at the end of the 1930s, the Duchess of Windsor suggested to her friend Renée Puissant, then artistic director of Van Cleef & Arpels and daughter of one of the founders, the idea of a jewel inspired by the visible zippers that Elsa Schiaparelli dared to use in haute couture. It took more than 12 years and nearly 800 hours of work to translate this famous closure into high jewelry, with this zip that truly opens and transforms from necklace to bracelet. The dazzling surprise of the sale: a Chaumet pendant in rubies and diamonds (circa 1902), estimated between CHF 32,000 and CHF 48,000, soared to CHF 451,500, not far off 10 times its high estimate. Another Chaumet piece, a ring set with a Burmese ruby and diamonds dated 1904, went for CHF 141,900, confirming the hunt for Parisian creations from the very beginning of the 20th century. /public-objects/8a6288a4-4893-49d2-903f-1c54998ceb2a-9a2bffb2-9f17-4740-8961-b54a04762b3e-1.webp Image sélectionnée /public-objects/79599f84-70b1-4cda-a31d-ec2120eca212-28a83d6d-37c2-4100-97d9-f35c6ab44bad-2.webp Image sélectionnée /public-objects/ffad8c46-13b5-4392-96cf-03a57cedb584-e9c1c50e-6aa5-47ff-b837-940ab3b4f300-3.webp Image sélectionnée However, it is in the realm of provenance that Phillips has asserted its uniqueness. The Collections & Provenance section brought together jewelry and objects from the Vanderbilt family, including 18th-century silverware from their Newport residence, and a 1920s Cartier beauty set that belonged to Gladys Vanderbilt, Countess Széchenyi. Alongside these were jewelry and objects from the kings of Bavaria, including a gold, enamel and diamond pocket watch adorned with a miniature portrait of Louis II, given to Richard Wagner for the premiere of The Ring of the Nibelung in Bayreuth, in 1876, as well as a diamond brooch given to Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria by her brother Albrecht for her 17th birthday, which had previously appeared in the legendary Royal Jewels from the Bourbon Parma Family sale. /public-objects/ff34f2fb-e7dd-48c7-9fb0-475526b17de7-130e838c-7f5f-47d1-aeec-d7124ee8ede9-4.webp Image sélectionnée /public-objects/add38bb0-e921-46bf-8d84-392c6b94b863-1563c3af-7496-41ea-9558-d6b89bf264c8-5.webp Image sélectionnée /public-objects/87f0c3c1-28ed-4612-ad51-e93837fe16b6-19424727-6fa4-4606-bcda-8690c4bbb32d-6.webp Image sélectionnée In Geneva this spring, the most sought-after gems were those with a story to tell. This is good news for the jewelry lying dormant in the vaults of Europe's grand families, and a signal to the houses: memory is now worth as much as the carat!