Spring 2023 Auction Highlights
Following a lackluster start to the auction season in Hong Kong, all eyes were on the estate of late Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten in May, presented by Christie’s in Geneva. Leading up to the three-part auction, the collection made headlines due to the controversial source of Horten’s wealth. (Horten’s late husband reportedly made his fortune buying businesses from Jews forced to sell well below value in Nazi Germany.) Despite the controversy, the sale became the most lucrative jewelry auction in history, garnering $202.2 million and surpassing the 2011 auction of Elizabeth Taylor’s estate, which totaled $116 million. In accordance with her wishes, proceeds from Horten’s estate were donated to a foundation for medical research, child welfare, and access to the arts, while Christie’s pledged to donate part of its commission to Holocaust-related charities.
Also in Geneva, Sotheby’s rebounded from a disappointing fall 2022 auction season for colored diamonds (Winter 2022 GNI, pp. 524–526) with the sale of the Bulgari Laguna Blu (figure 1). Cut by Bulgari in the 1970s for a private collector, the 11.16 ct Fancy Vivid blue diamond made its auction debut, selling just above its estimate at $25.2 million after only four minutes of bidding. As the highest-priced gem Bulgari has ever sold, the VS1, type IIb diamond also holds GIA’s highest color grade for a blue diamond.
The season ended on a high note in June with the New York auctions. Leading Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale, the 126.76 ct Internally Flawless Light of Peace diamond (figure 2) was offered without a reserve. Selling within its presale estimate, the GIA-graded type IIa diamond garnered $13.6 million. The largest stone cut from a 435 ct rough unearthed in West Africa, the Light of Peace was once owned by the Zale family, who used the diamond to fund peace-supporting missions. To continue this legacy of goodwill, a portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
At Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auction, two gems smashed multiple records. The Estrela de Fura (figure 3), a 55.22 ct “pigeon’s blood” ruby, became both the largest and most expensive ruby ever to sell at auction, raking in $34.8 million. The gem was cut from a 101 ct rough mined in Mozambique in July 2022, which made headlines as the largest gem-quality ruby ever discovered. Remarkable not only for its unprecedented size, the Estrela de Fura’s florescence, clarity, and vivid red hue rival that of Burmese rubies. A portion of the proceeds from the sale will help establish the Fura Training Academy in Mozambique, encouraging access for locals to education and technical training in areas such as mining, engineering, carpentry, and agriculture.
Also selling for $34.8 million, the Eternal Pink (figure 4), a 10.57 ct Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid purplish pink diamond, fell just short of its estimate but still surpassed the previous record for a diamond of this color grade. The GIA-graded diamond, which was cut from a 23.78 ct rough from Botswana, set a new record price per carat at $3.3 million. Sales of the Eternal Pink and the Estrela de Fura helped Sotheby’s break two more records, becoming the first auction to sell two items for more than $30 million each and achieving the highest total ever for a jewelry auction at Sotheby’s New York. The overall sale brought in $95.9 million, topping the house’s previous record of $65.1 million from April 2015.
