Posts by shah

At least eight plant and animal motif jewelry lots appeared at Christie's Jewels : The Geneva Sale held on May 13, 2009. These lots are 4, 8, 24, 25, 107, 114, 117, 120.
Lot 4 - A Turquoise, Diamond and Gold Tortoise Brooch, by Cartier. Price achieved - US$5,118. Estimated range - US$5,432 - $8,147.
Lot 8- An Emerald and Diamond Flower Bracelet - Price achieved - US$18,198. Pre-sale estimate - US$13,579 - $18,106.
Lot 24 - An Agate Cat Figure, by Faberge - Price realized - US$34,121. Pre-sale estimate - US$4,526 - $6,337.
Lot 25 - A Nephrite, Enamel and Gold Parasol Handle - Price realized - US$3,640. Pre-sale estimate - US$2,263 - $3,621.
Lot 107 - An Ebony, Sapphire And Diamond "Blackamoor" Brooch, by Codagnato - Price realized - US$18,198. Presale estimate -US$9,053 - $13,579.
Lot 114 - A Pair of Exquisite Ruby and Diamond Ear Clips, by Van Cleef & Arpels - Price achieved - US$65,968. Pre-sale estimate - US$22,632 - $27,158.
Lot 117 - An Elegant Mystery Set Sapphire And Diamond "Deux Feuilles" Brooch, by Van Cleef & Arpels. Price realized - US$111,918. Pre-sale estimate - US$45,264 - $72,422.
Lot 120 - A Charming Mystery Set Ruby And Diamond Pavot Brooch by Van Cleef & Arpels - Price achieved - US$133,756. Estimated range - US$81,475 - $108,633.

Two significant Sri Lanka sapphire lots appeared at Christie's New York, Magnificent Jewels Sale, held on October 16, 2007. These are Lot 165 and Lot 273.
Lot 165 is titled - An Important Sapphire And Diamond Ring and sold for US$241,000 within the presale estimate of US$200,000 - 300,000. The ring made of platinum was set with a 28.28-carat, cushion-cut, Ceylon blue sapphire with pave-set diamond shoulders. An AGTA lab report stated that the probable geographic origin of the sapphire is Sri Lanka, with no indication of heating. The ppc-value of the sapphire works out to US$8,522

Lot 273 titled - An Impressive Sapphire And Diamond Ring, by Bulgari - was sold for US$337,000 within the presale estimate of US$300,000 - 500,000 and slightly above the lower estimate.
The platinum ring designed by Bulgari was set with a 71.54-carat, cushion-cut, Ceylon sapphire with a pave-set diamond shoulders. An AGTA lab report stated that probable geographic origin of the stone is Sri Lanka, with no indications of heating.
A second lab report by AGL certified the country-of-origin of the stone as Ceylon, with no indications of heating. The ppc-value of this sapphire works out to US$4,710.

Sotheby's New York, April 29, 2014 Magnificent Jewels Sale set the current world record for price-per-carat of US$180,731 for a Kashmir sapphire, when a 28.18-carat, square emerald-cut Kashmir sapphire mounted on a platinum ring by Oscar Heyman & Bros. sold for US$5,093,000. This was already highlighted by gemlite on June 12, 2014. Three other Kashmir sapphire lots also appeared at these auctions and made a significant impact. They are Lots 383, 393 and 406.
Lot 383 was a Sapphire and Diamond Ring designed by Tiffany & Co around year 1900. The centerpiece of this ring was a 12.71-carat, cushion-shaped mixed-cut Kashmir sapphire mounted on 18k gold and framed by Old European-cut diamonds weighing approximately 2.00 carats. Two lab reports by AGL and GGL certified the Kashmir origin of the stone with no indications of heat enhancement. The Lot sold for US$785,000 which was three times the lower estimate of US$ 250,000 and 2.25 times the upper estimate of US$350,000.

Lot 393 that sold for US$106,250 (ppc-value US$23,455) was a Sapphire and Diamond Ring, set with a 4.53-carat, oval-shaped Kashmir sapphire as centerpiece mounted on platinum, with baguette and single-cut diamonds on the shoulders and hoop of the ring. The lot sold within the pre-sale estimate of US$90,000-120,000 and was accompanied by GGL and AGL reports certifying the Kashmir origin of the sapphire without any heat enhancement.

Lot 406 - A Sapphire and Diamond Platinum Ring was set with a 5.45carat, oval-shaped Kashmir sapphire and single-cut diamonds on its shoulders, and sold within the pre-sale estimate of US$200,000-300,000 for US$293,000 working out to ppc-value of US$53,761. Three lab reports by AGL, SSEF and GGL certified the Kashmir origin of the blue sapphire without any heat enhancement.

Eureka !!! The 17.16-carat, oval-cut Ceylon pink sapphire appears again at a Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels Sale six months later in April 2008, not at Hong Kong but New York; this time in an entirely different ring setting. In the previous setting the oval-cut pink sapphire was flanked by clusters of pear-shaped and baguette-cut diamonds, but in the new setting the sapphire was mounted alone as the centerpiece, with several round brilliant-cut diamonds mounted on the hoop of the ring. Another significant difference observed this time was in the pre-sale estimate of the ring. At the Hong Kong auctions the pre-sale estimate placed on the ring was US$ 141,779 - 167,557. However, at the New York auctions, perhaps due to the fact the ring remained unsold at Hong Kong, a significantly lower estimate of US$ 100,000 - 120,000 was placed on the ring. Despite the lower, conservative estimate the ring performed beyond all expectations at New York, realizing its correct market value of US$ 193,000, which is not far from the US$ 170,000 estimated by Lareef.

A stunning oval-shaped 16.80-carat alexandrite set as the centerpiece of an exquisitely designed flower ring by Wallace Chan, appeared at Christie's Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Sale, held on November 28, 2007. The floral ring is designed to display the alexandrite's two stunning colors to their best effect, by the harmonius arrangement of pear-shaped, rose-cut diamonds and cabochon-cut pink tourmalines, like the petals of a flower, mounted in 18k pink gold and titanium. The lot was accompanied by a Gem Research Swiss Lab report certifying the natural origin of the alexandrite and its prominent color change from green in daylight to purplish-red in incandescent light. The report however did not specify the country-of-origin of the alexandrite. Despite this, the flower ring made a significant impact by selling for USD 434,842 within the pre-sale estimate of USD 360,000 - 450,000. The PPC value of this alexandrite works out to USD 25,883.

An impressive signed jewel by Cartier - A Pair of Pink Sapphire, Blue Sapphire and Diamond Brooches - designed circa 1950, appeared at Sotheby's Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Sale, held on April 7, 2014. Each brooch is set with a row of graduated cabochon-cut blue sapphires, with a total weight of 8.00 carats, bordered on either side by cushion-cut and oval-cut Ceylon pink sapphires,with a total weight of 100 carats, and the terminals set with brilliant-cut diamonds, with a total weight of 4.00 carats. The jewels are mounted in platinum and yellow gold. A lab report accompanying the lot, certified that the 100 carats of pink sapphires are natural Ceylon pink sapphires with no indications of heating.
A pre-sale estimate of USD 116,000-141,000 was placed on the Cartier jewel, which sold for USD 144,000