Sotheby’s Posts Third Consecutive Year of Record Jewelry Sales
February 01, 15
The top performing diamond of the year was The Zoe Diamond, which sold for $32.6 million ($3,348,205 per carat), a record not for any blue diamond and the highest auction price for any jewel in 2014. In addition, the sale achieved a record price per carat for any diamond sold at auction. Another top performing stone was the Graff Vivid Yellow, which sold for $16.3 million and hit the record auction price for a yellow diamond. The auction house said it saw unprecedented demand for quality gemstones, which it described as “insatiable” for top-quality sapphires, rubies and emeralds. Sotheby’s said demand is being driven by the burgeoning wealth of a new generation of buyers from China, Russia and the Middle East, combined with an international network of high net-worth clientele in pursuit of exceptionally rare gemstones as a wearable form of alternate investment. Top gemstone lots included the Graff Ruby, which sold for $8.6 million or $997,727 per carat – a record price both overall and per carat for a ruby, and a Kashmir sapphire that sold for a record-breaking $6 million.