Gemstone auction records

Christie’s and Sotheby’s, auction houses specialising in the sale of precious stones and jewellery with precious stones, announced a turnover of USD 1.2 billion (CZK 30 billion, compared to the price of the Blanka tunnel in Prague, which was CZK 42 billion). Francois Curiel, director of Christie’s Asian branch, commented on the situation. “There is currently a huge demand for rarities and super-rare pieces in top quality, but these pieces also reflect extremely high prices.

A few interesting facts of 2015:

Diamond 12,03 ct, color Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond. It was sold by Sotheby’s Geneva on November 19, 2015 for $48 million. This makes this the most expensive gemstone sold at auction. Interestingly, the price per carat was $4,000,000/ct. The new owner is Joseph Lau, a gemstone dealer from Hong Kong. He named the diamond Blue Moon Josephine in honor of his daughter. The same buyer had purchased a 16.08 ct Fancy vivid pink diamond a day earlier. The colour and quality of both diamonds were judged according to GIA criteria.

Diamond 12,03 ct, color Fancy Vivid Blue, price 48 mil USD.

On November 18th, Christie’s sold a 50.48 ct diamond in F quality and D colour (this quality is the highest possible, and the weight of the stone is extremely high in relation to the quality). This diamond was cut into a pear shape. The price of this stone was 7.840.000 USD, i.e. 155.264 USD/cct.

On the first of December 2018, a 15.08 ct ruby was sold at Christie’s in Hong Kong. The stone, which originated in Burma, was named Crimson Flame. It was auctioned for USD 18 million.

A 15.08 ct large ruby, sold for $18 million.

Christie’s sold a D/VVS2 quality diamond for just $4,300,000. This 31.34 ct diamond was once owned by heiress Florence Gould. The interesting thing about this stone is that experts have estimated that the price of the stone at the event will be between 5 – 8 million USD!!

In the same auction, a cushion cut diamond in D/VS1 quality was sold. This diamond was type IIa and was auctioned for $4,000,000.

Another interesting stone was a 103,66 ct large diamond in L/VS2 quality. This diamond was sold for 3.750.000 USD.

The big surprise was a 23.98 ct large blue sapphire from Burma, This piece sold for $1,500,000, exactly double the estimated sale price.

On December 5, sapphire earrings (7.92 ct and 7.96 ct) were sold in London for $2,300,000. This price also is double the original estimate.