Gazette Drouot - C apencheres

THE MAGAZINE AUCTION RESULTS
Diamonds, A girl's best friend
In their precise abruptness, numbers can be irksome at
times, like in this New York sale on 16 October at Christie's.
The total reached $49,99M, just below the fateful
bar of fifty million, of which the principal lot - a
pendant necklace set with a 50,52 ct pear-shaped
diamond (D, IF)- was sold for $9.49M, a little under ten
million. However, the figures do have something reassuring
about them: the lots offered were knocked
down at 87% in number and 93% in value. Thus the
sale was a clear-cut success and, as per usual, showcased
diamonds, including some coloured. Indeed,
only a two-strand pearl necklace managed to pull itself
up into the list of the most expensive lots, selling for
$3.66M; and what magnificent pearls they are! All of a
similar water and of diameters measuring 6.50 to
12.25mm, they form a “skin” of delicate lustre and are
attached to a 3 ct Golconda diamond clasp signed
92 GAZETTE DROUOT INTERNATIONAL I N° 19
Cartier. It is truly an exceptional necklace. For the rest,
diamonds took the lion’s share, starting with this sumptuous
pair of earrings, flaunting two pear-shaped
diamonds- one yellow (52,78 cts, SI1) and the other
colourless (50,31 cts, K, SI1)-, auctioned off for $4.67M
in accordance with its (generous) low estimation. On
the other hand, a ring bearing a pink pear-shaped
diamond (10,52 cts, SI1, type IIa), signed Galt, who was
a prestigious jeweller from Washington, found a buyer
for $2.21M, doubling the estimate put in place. All of
the highest bids recorded during the sale concerned
diamonds or jewellery mainly decorated with
diamonds. The words “a girl’s best friend” sung by
Marilyn Monroe therefore remain unassailable: does
this not say that its beauty and small quantity create a
safe haven, forever reassuring even in a period of
economic difficulty? X. N.