20-12-2019
On wrapping up its global jewellery sales over the last decade, Sotheby’s said it has seen “a complete transformation of the jewellery auction market” powered by the digital revolution and an expanding globalised audience which have contributed to the total sales of US$4.7 billion worldwide and a number of new records.
According to David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s international jewellery division, the auction house has connected with buyers from around the globe as never before while witnessing the revolution of online bidding and social media.
“This dynamic environment and global audience have led to unprecedented results for unforgettable diamonds and gemstones, starting the decade with the sensational Graff Pink and the reappearance of the Duchess of Windsor’s jewels in 2010, and culminating with the world record for the CTF Pink Star and breath-taking jewels from the personal collection of Queen Marie-Antoinette,” he said.
This year, 60 percent of the participants and 50 percent of the buyers placed bids online, up 74 percent and 88 percent respectively from 2010, said Sotheby’s. The percentage of lots sold online has recorded a growth of 900 percent in number terms, 137 percent in value over the same period.
In a bid to reach out to a broader and younger audience, Sotheby’s has stepped up its educational initiatives including the organisation of masterclasses, lectures and exhibitions worldwide. When it comes to social media presence, 25 percent of the best performing posts on Instagram were images of jewellery and diamonds, with an average of nearly 300,000 people reached.
The 10 most valuable jewellery ever sold at Sotheby’s were all auctioned during the last 10 years, with the ‘CTF Pink Star’ (photo 1), a 59.60-carat IF fancy vivid pink diamond was sold for US$71.2 million in Hong Kong in 2017, being the record for any jewel sold at auction. The 12.03-carat fancy intense blue diamond ‘Blue Moon of Josephine’ (photo 2) set the highest price-per-carat for a diamond or gemstone at US$4 million. ‘The Sunrise Ruby’ (photo 3), a 25.29-carat ‘pigeon’s blood’ ruby sold for US$30.3 million set the world record for any ruby. For colourless diamonds, six of the 10 white diamonds over 100 carats were sold at Sotheby’s, with five of them auctioned in the last decade. An oval 118.28-carat D flawless diamond (photo 4) realised US$ 30.1 million at a Hong Kong sale in 2013 set a world record at the time.
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