subject: Sotheby's strongest ever Hong Kong jewellery [print this page] In April, Sotheby's strongest ever Hong Kong jewellery sale saw the De Beers Millennium diamond sell for an incredible $6.4m to Moussaieff Jewellers of London. Elsewhere, also in April, Christie's auctioned the Emperor Maximilian Diamond for $1.76m - more than twice its original auction price since its first
market appearance, also at Christie's, in 1982. (It was outsold by the Riviere diamond necklace, sold for $6.7m, pictured above.) Although Fusion reports that an element of uncertainty has re-emerged with certain speculative rough diamond trading transactions taking place, it says that the underlying fundamentals for the investment diamond market remain strong with demand continuing to outstripping supply. With no major new diamond mine expected to come online within the next few years this demand-supply mismatch will continue to support steady upward price movements. There still remains upside potential for investment-grade diamond prices
to rise further during the second half of the year and recent price increases are in line with projected estimates of 15% for 2010.
Last Sunday (March 16) saw Skinner's auction of Fine Jewelry gross over $2.6m in total sales - nearly $1m over the pre-auction estimate.
Its success lead Skinner to announced that "Fine Jewelry remains as one of the strongest markets in the auction world" on its website.
The sale featured the hoards of two prominent collectors: Hope Goddard Iselin and Elizabeth Colt. Both did especially well and featured items from Cartier and Black, Starr and Frost.
The sale featured the hoards of two prominent collectors: Hope Goddard Iselin and Elizabeth Colt. Both did especially well and featured items from Cartier and Black, Starr and Frost.
