Recently there was another jaw-dropping occasion that took place
at a Sothebys Auction House. The Sothebys Geneva sale of
Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels in accompaniment with various
jewels from individual owners all but sold at auction. A very
impressive 94% of the jewels sold and the total value achieved
reached $111,836,526, a new record that surpassed the previous
record of $105 Million from November of 2010.
One of our previous blog posts
detailed the Sothebys Auction House selling The Scream for a record
amount for a painting of close to $120 Million. Evidently, buyers
are openly looking to spend their money, be it for paintings, real
estate and jewelry it seems. This auction lasted two days and
accounted for some staggering figures. A total of twenty-four lots
of jewels sold for more than $1 Million.
The most expensive and far and away the most widely known piece
was The Beau Sancy, which earned $9,699,618 upon its sale. For the
34.98-carat double-cut, modified pear gem, pre-auction estimates
only had it selling for $2-$4 Million. It has been handed down
through over four-hundred years of generations of royals in France,
Prussia, England, The House of Orange, and was initially worn by
Marie de Medici in 1610 at her coronation as Queen Consort of Henri
IV. This valuable jewel only further aided the auction in breaking
the past total record from 2010 as mentioned above, truly making
this a memorable and groundbreaking occasion.
When looking to the Noble Jewels that sold, the most reputable
one had to of been that of the over ninety year-old The Murat Tiara
which garnered $3,872,875. Designed by Joseph Chaumet for the
purpose of the marriage bringing together Prince Alexandre Murat to
Yvonne Gillois, this jewel also out-performed experts by more than
doubling pre-sale low predictions. It seems as no surprise though
that such impressive results were being realized. The Murat Tiara,
as is understood, has one of the largest natural pearls ever to be
in existence on its tiara, with an astounding measurement of 303.37
grains.
As for the various private owners collections, the one from
Suzanne Belperron was one of the more successful ones, realizing a
$3,459,307 in earnings. It just goes to show that there are many
privately held jewels that have been passed down through
generations that have been vastly forgotten in the public realm.
However, it is exciting to know that with such positivity coming
out of the auction that the economy and willingness of the public
to spend is improving, and that in due time more of these jewels
with vast noble provenance will soon to come to auction.
More Information: Rapaport