Gem News International Gems & Gemology, Winter 2023, Vol. 59, No. 4

Fall 2023 Auction Highlights

Erica Zaidman

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Figure 1. The “Infinite Blue,” an 11.28 ct Fancy Vivid blue diamond, sold for $25.3 million in Hong Kong. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
 
Figure 1. The “Infinite Blue,” an 11.28 ct Fancy Vivid blue diamond, sold for $25.3 million in Hong Kong. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

Following the controversial three-part sale of Heidi Horten’s jewels in the spring (Summer 2023 GNI, pp. 254–256), Christie’s announced the cancellation of the fourth sale ahead of the fall auction season. The late Austrian billionaire’s estate made headlines earlier in the year because of her husband’s connection to Nazi Germany, resulting in considerable backlash against Christie’s despite their pledge to donate part of commissions to Holocaust-related charities.

In early October, Sotheby’s kicked off the season with a single-lot sale of the 11.28 ct “Infinite Blue” (figure 1) in Hong Kong. Celebrating its 50th year in Asia, the auction house offered the Fancy Vivid blue type IIb diamond from the Cullinan mine in South Africa set in a ring with a pink diamond halo and colorless diamond side stones. With GIA’s highest color grade for a blue diamond, the ring sold for $25.3 million, just below the low end of its presale estimate.

Figure 2. Selling for $44 million, the 17.61 ct Internally Flawless “Bleu Royal” became the most expensive auction jewel of 2023. Courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. 2023.
 
Figure 2. Selling for $44 million, the 17.61 ct Internally Flawless “Bleu Royal” became the most expensive auction jewel of 2023. Courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. 2023.

Another blue diamond achieved better results in early November. The pear-shaped “Bleu Royal” (figure 2), a 17.61 ct Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid blue, was offered by Christie’s in Geneva as the largest diamond of its color to ever appear at auction. Set in a ring that also featured two pear-shaped colorless diamonds of approximately 3 ct each, the piece became the most expensive auction jewel of 2023. After seven minutes of bidding, the ring featuring the GIA-graded type IIb diamond sold for $44 million, near the higher end of its presale estimate.

Figure 3. A ring featuring the “Pink Supreme,” a 15.48 ct Internally Flawless Fancy Intense pink diamond, sold in Hong Kong for almost $11 million. Courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. 2023.
 
Figure 3. A ring featuring the “Pink Supreme,” a 15.48 ct Internally Flawless Fancy Intense pink diamond, sold in Hong Kong for almost $11 million. Courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. 2023.

The “Pink Supreme” (figure 3), a 15.48 ct Internally Flawless Fancy Intense pink diamond and the largest of its kind ever offered at auction, sold for $10.8 million at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale in Hong Kong on November 27. Set in a gold ring with pear-shaped and round colorless diamonds, the GIA-graded type IIa gem belonging to a private collector sold within its presale estimate.

In a season filled with plot twists, some highly advertised and anticipated pieces did not go under the hammer on auction day. The “Blue Lagoon,” a 93.94 ct blue Paraíba tourmaline and the top lot for Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels in Geneva, was withdrawn before the auction went live. In the final Magnificent Jewels auction of the season in New York, Christie’s promoted the “California Sunset” diamond earrings as their top lot. Featuring a stunning pair of Fancy Vivid orange-yellow diamonds weighing approximately 12 ct each, the earrings, estimated to fetch up to $12 million, were also a no-show.

Erica Zaidman is associate editor of Gems & Gemology at GIA in Carlsbad, California.