The most expensive jewellery sold in Hong Kong last year – online sales by auction houses Christie’s, Phillips and Bonhams were booming despite the pandemic
Despite rescheduled sale dates and the lack of physical presence from overseas buyers, live jewellery auctions continued to show resilience throughout 2020, with strong sales recorded in Hong Kong.
While auction houses boosted their online sale platforms with much enhanced digital infrastructure and an increased variety of items on offer, competitive bidding for highly coveted items continued to generate excitement at live auctions and record prices were realised as a result. The absolute top lots sold at live jewellery auctions held in Hong Kong, ranging from premium-quality natural fancy coloured diamonds to jadeite designs, also reflect the diversity of tastes and preferences among the international clientele in the market.
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The highest-priced item at a Hong Kong live auction in 2020 was a ring with a 12.11-carat fancy intense blue internally flawless diamond, flanked by white diamonds. Fifteen minutes of spirited bidding by live and telephone bidders at the in-person Christie’s “Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels” July auction pushed the hammer price of this piece to HK$122.38 million (US$15.8 million), with a per-carat price of US$1.31 million.
Collectors from 14 countries and five continents around the world bid enthusiastically, said Vickie Sek, chairman of jewellery for the Asia Pacific at Christie’s Hong Kong, after the auction: “The top lot, a 12-carat fancy intense blue diamond ring, was contested for by many collectors and achieved a superb US$15.9 million. This exceptional result reflects the robust global demand in the market and continues our leadership in offering the finest coloured diamonds at auction.”
Given the continuing global demand for first-rate fancy-coloured diamonds, Christie’s Hong Kong will offer The Sakura, a 15.81-carat fancy vivid purple pink internally flawless diamond set in ring with two white diamonds at its “Magnificent Jewels” live auction in May 2021. The spectacular gem (estimated to fetch up to HK$300 million, or US$38 million) is described by the auction house as “the largest purple pink flawless diamond ever appearing for sale at auction”.
A close second in price at live Hong Kong auctions in 2020 was a 102.39-carat D-colour flawless oval diamond, which fetched HK$121.56 million (US$15.6 million) in an unprecedented single-lot live auction organised by Sotheby’s Hong Kong in October 2020. The stone, renamed Maiko Star by its new owner, a private collector in Japan, had been offered without reserve. This had been the first time at auction for a lot of this importance and inherent value, thus attracting enormous interest and frenzied bids, taking it quickly from HK$1 million to well over HK$100 million, according to Wenhao Yu, deputy chairman of Jewellery Asia at Sotheby’s Hong Kong.
Top-end jadeite designs continue to appeal to discerning collectors, particularly Chinese. At Poly Auction Hong Kong’s “Magnificent Jewels, Watches and Handbags Sale” in July, the star lot was a jadeite beads, ruby and diamond necklace, that sold for HK$23.6 million (US$3 million). This rare necklace consists of 41 jadeite beads in evenly intense green with high translucency, and diameter measuring from 11.5mm to 13.15mm around. The jadeite necklace, which measures 54.3cm in length, features an 18-carat gold clasp set with rubies and white diamonds.
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Sze Sze, head of the Jewels and Prestige Collections department at Poly Auction Hong Kong, said: “The consignment strategy of this sale was focused on the more valuable and treasurable collections, many of which are from private collections. Under the impact of the global pandemic, each of our three categories had successful sales of high-priced items. This reflects collectors’ confidence in the jewellery market and a fervent pursuit for high-quality prestige collections.”
A rather bold strategy implemented by Phillips led to the considerable success and strong prices at its “Jewels & Jadeite Auction” in Hong Kong in November. The auction house opted to put on offer the designs by lesser-known up-and-coming high-end jewellery designers. Auction houses usually promote budding designers to provide more diversity amid strong market demand. Most would rely on established brand names during market downturn. At this sale, the top lot was Chinese designer Feng J’s Les Jardins de Giverny necklace, which features detachable parts that can be worn as a bracelet and ring. The piece fetched HK$20.21 million (US$2.6 million).
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The designer drew her inspiration from Claude Monet’s namesake garden in Paris. The centrepiece of this versatile necklace is a 19-carat fancy light pink diamond. Feng J has applied her signature Floating Set technique that obscures the metal settings of the double rose-cut coloured sapphires, aquamarine, spinel, tanzanite and tsavorite garnet.
At Bonhams “Hong Kong Jewels and Jadeite” sale in November, the star lot was New York-based brand Carvin French’s fancy-coloured diamond ear clips, which sold for HK$4 million. Each 18-carat gold clip is mounted with a radiant-cut fancy intense yellow diamond, weighing 10.22 and 10.98 carats respectively, with other yellow brilliant-cut diamonds.
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- Despite less sales and an absence of physical buyers, the city’s jewellery market was kept afloat by eager online bidders logging in from all over the world
- Christie’s Hong Kong sold a 12-carat fancy blue diamond for US$15.8 million after just 15 minutes of frenzied bidding