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Coco Chanel mentioned once that « hard times arose an instinctive desire for authenticity ». Following this wise thought, people are increasingly willing to make tangible investments like fine arts or jewelry. According to various sources, the number of the wealthy people is increasing – there are more than 12 mln millionaires and roughly 2,000 billionaires.

These lucky individuals want to possess the most beautiful and the rarest. As well, instead of investing only in financial markets or real estate, they enjoy owning something tangible, like fine arts or unique jewelry along with wine and vintage cars.

Thus, 2014 was a stellar year for jewelry. Not by chance, 2014 was dubbed « the most expensive year » because a number of « the most expensive » items were sold – for example, the most expensive timepiece, ever auctioned and sold, was Patek Philippe Super Complication pocket watch. It was sold for $24 million.

What is the most coveted jewelry sold at the biggest auctions like the Christie’s and Sotheby’s? Colored diamonds, large colorless diamonds, jewelry having renowned provenance and signed, created by the most famous jewelry houses, like Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier or Bulgari).

For instance, at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, a 8.41-carat Fancy Vivid Pink diamond was sold for nearly $17.8 million; this set a new world auction record for this type of diamonds. It is not by chance, however, that this diamond has fetched such an unimaginable price – pink diamonds are one of the rarest gems in the world. 90% of them come from the Argyle mine in Australia that is supposed to be closed in 2020. Which means that supply is very limited.

Moreover, pink diamonds are usually tiny, less than 20 points, with low clarity and pale color. According to Sotheby’s, “only 0.1% of the twenty million carats of rough produced annually is pink, and a whole year’s worth of production of these pink treasures over half a carat would fit in the palm of your hand ».

As well, natural pearls and some colored gems like large rubies and sapphires were sold at a record price.

In the case with colored gems, their provenance played an extremely important role – the rubies from Burma and the sapphires from Kashmir are considered the cream of the crop. For instance, a famous Burmese ruby called the « Graff Ruby » (8.62 carats) was sold for $8.6 million Sotheby’s Geneva, setting a new world record for a ruby, and the price per carat as well: $997,727 per carat. Its color is called « pigeon-blood », the top and the most coveted color for rubies meaning pure red with a hint of blue.

What is sold at Christie’s and Sotheby’s is a reflection of the current tendency of the rich to invest in tangible assets like rare jewelry. As is seen from these examples, there is a good reason why such astronomic prices were paid for the jewelry at these famous auctions – this jewelry is exceptional and unique.

Next time, we will discuss why colored diamonds are so expensive.

If you have any questions – ask Olga Shevchenko.

Olga Shevchenko, FGA

Certified Gemmologist, EGM Certified Gems and Jewelry Appraiser

Jewelry Olga (Designer Pearl Jewelry, Vintage Jewelry and Accessories)
2122 Rue Crescent, La Maison Ishi
info@pearljewelryexpert.com
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