Sotheby's Hong Kong received a record price for a fancy vivid blue diamond sold at auction this week as its Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale. The auction closed with a total of $65.4 million (HKD 510.2 million) and was 78.6 percent sold by lot and 65.6 percent sold by value.
The top lot was a 6.01-carat, fancy vivid blue diamond ring, which sold to an unnamed buyer for $10.1 million (HKD 79.06 million), or $1.68 million per carat, which was within the pre-sale estimate.
A 30.31-carat, D, internally flawless diamond ring sold to an Asian private for $5.5 million (HKD 43.2 million), or $182,811 per carat, and a 4.19-carat, VVS1, orange diamond ring went to another Asian private for $2.96 million (HKD 23.06 million), or $705,587 per carat). Sotheby’s reported that this was a record price achieved for a fancy vivid orange diamond.
''Buyers for the top 10 lots came from five different countries, showing the international participation in this important market,'' noted Quek Chin-Yeow, the deputy chairman and head of jewelry of Sotheby’s Asia. He added that 13 lots sold for more than $1.2 million.
-Rapaport
