Dealers Buy Top Diamonds at Sotheby’s February Sale

Sotheby’s latest Important Jewels auction may not have been the most spectacular or largest, but some items still sold above estimated prices. A private collector bought the top selling item, a ring set with a 20.35 carat emerald-cut diamond.

The $230,500 hammer price for the diamond was within the $200,000 -250,000 the auction house estimate, and averaged $11,326.78 per carat.

Of the 393 offered lots, 250 sold, representing 67.6 percent by value of the total offer. The auction fetched a grand total of $5.12 million.

An 18.7 carat diamond ring estimated at $100,000 - 150,000 was sold to an American trader for $164,500, about $8,797 p/c. Another item purchased by a trader was a ring set with a marquis cut, 8.18 carat, G color, SI1 clarity diamond that sold for $116,500 ($14,242 p/c).

“We were very pleased with the results,” said Gary Schuler, senior vice president and director of Sotheby’s Jewelry Department in New York.

“We were particularly encouraged to see renewed interest in white diamonds from the trade, as evidenced by three of the top four white diamonds selling to American dealers.”