A pink-diamond ring by Graff was the top seller at Christie’s London last week, beating its high estimate to achieve GBP 630,000 ($801,496).
The piece, featuring a cut-cornered square modified brilliant-cut, 1.09-carat, fancy-vivid-purplish-pink, VS2-clarity diamond, had been expected to fetch up to GBP 500,000 ($636,108) at the Jewels Online: The London Edit sale. It was one of several colored diamonds that made up the top five, Christie’s said.
Other pieces that performed well included a cushion-cut, 10.78-carat Kashmir sapphire on a ring from circa 1920, which sold within estimates at GBP 403,200 ($513,135). An unmounted, cut-cornered square modified brilliant-cut, 1.45-carat, fancy-intense-pink, SI2 diamond from the Argyle mine in Australia brought in GBP 352,800 ($448,994), more than double its GBP 150,000 ($190,899) upper price tag.
Another unmounted diamond, this one a cushion brilliant-cut, 1.04-carat, fancy-intense blue of VVS1 clarity, garnered GBP 302,400 ($384,852), beating its GBP 250,000 ($318,164) high estimate.
Meanwhile, a pair of drop-shaped natural-pearl and diamond earrings that belonged to Lady Rozelle Raynes — daughter of the sixth Earl Manvers — more than quadrupled their GBP 60,000 ($76,359) upper price tag to fetch GBP 252,000 ($320,710). A necklace featuring three rows of natural pearls and two cultured pearls, with a diamond and emerald clasp, sold for GBP 201,600 ($256,568) — nearly three times its GBP 70,000 ($89,086) high estimate.
In total, Christie’s garnered GBP 5.2 million ($6.7 million) from the sale — which ran from May 24 to June 5 — with 90% of items on offer finding buyers, the auction house reported.
Image: The pink diamond ring. (Christie’s)
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