By Thomas Mulier
Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Sotheby’s set a record for a matching group of ruby jewelry with its sale of 19th-century ruby and diamond earrings and a necklace owned by Mary, the Duchess of Roxburghe.
The two lots were sold in Geneva yesterday for a combined price of 5.8 million Swiss francs ($5.8 million), five times the high estimate, to two Asian buyers, the auction house said in a statement on its Web site. Sotheby’s raised a total 37 million francs in the auction of jewelry, within its estimated range of 30.6 million francs to 45 million francs.
Buyers set two world records for price per carat of green diamonds and intense blue diamonds, Sotheby’s said. A 2.52-carat vivid green diamond ring sold for 3.1 million francs and a 3.17- caret intense blue diamond ring sold for 2.5 million francs.
While some unique gems are catching buyers’ interest, Sotheby’s failed to sell a 5.96-carat pear-shaped vivid blue diamond that it previously said might set a record for the price per carat paid for any diamond.
The Rapaport Diamond Trade Index fell about 19 percent in the year through October.
The current record price per carat for any diamond was set by Sotheby’s $9.5 million sale of the 7.03-carat Star of Josephine diamond in Geneva in May.
Christie’s International today is auctioning off a 62.3- carat flawless D-color pear-shaped diamond in Geneva. Christie’s expects to raise a total of 22 million francs to 30.2 million francs in the jewelry auction.
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