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Gem Records set at Christie's Hong Kong Auction

Hong Kong's fall sales have been great for records, for Christie's in particular. After several were broken at the art auction this week, the gem scene was ignited. A pink diamond no larger than a chickpea went for $10.8 million, according to Bloomberg News. The stone had the second-highest rating available (potentially flawless) and a weight of 5 carats. It shattered the per-carat record set back in May. Back then, Hong Kong property investor Joseph Lau picked up a 7.03-carat blue diamond at an auction in Geneva for $10.5 million.

The pink diamond was sent under the gavel by Graff Diamonds, a London-based jeweler. The stone was sold to a phone bidder who beat out Liu Yiqian and his wife, Wang Wei. But, those two have bought enough already, right?

Overall, the 255 lots sold (an 89 percent sell rate) brought in HK$372 million, with the action pushed forward by mainland Chinese, a growing trend in the auction world this year. Donald May, a ruby and sapphire dealer based in Hong Kong, attended the auction and told Bloomberg, "There's a lot of mainland Chinese buying; either they didn't know what the items are worth or they wanted them so badly that price didn't matter." He believes that prices were pushed way out of control.

There were other records set in Hong Kong, as well. A sapphire weighing 16.65 carats, set by Van Cleef & Arpels, brought in HK$18.6 million, also setting a per-carat record.

[Photo courtesy of Christie's]

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100 Years of Van Cleef & Arpels

by Matthew Collins (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

In 1906, a small jewelry store opened in the luxurious Place Vendome in Paris. Since then, Van Cleef & Arpels has been at the forefront of style and taste, providing their customers with some of the world's most glamorous jewels. Their centennial year has been quite a busy one with the redesign of the Fifth Avenue store in New York and some exciting pieces to celebrate their birthday. This year's couture collection is outstanding as usual and features some daring shapes and vibrant colors. Van Cleef & Arpels has seen many fads come and go, but they have held constant in their superb quality and eye for detail which will ensure another 100 years to come.

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Tags: jewels, jewlery, van cleef and arpels, vancleef, VanCleefAndArpels