By David Brough
GENEVA – The Geneva Jewels Auction: One, in which an exquisite fancy intense pink diamond sold for a hammer price of 10 million Swiss francs, has brought Phillips to the top table of magnificent jewels sales.
The success of the sale, led by former Sotheby’s specialist Benoit Repellin, brings Phillips into closer competition with Christie’s and Sotheby’s who have led the magnificent jewels segment of the market for many years, staging ultra high end sales in Geneva in May and November.
Jewellery Outlook Editor David Brough interviewing Benoit Repellin, Phillips’ global head of jewellery, straight after the Geneva Jewels Auction: One sale
The 20.19-carat fancy intense pink diamond attracted strong bidding and sold comfortably within its 10-15 million Swiss francs estimate.
In the sale, staged in a closely guarded marquis in the exclusive La Reserve Geneve Hotel on the edge of Geneva, rare unheated sapphires and exquisite signed items by maisons such as Van Cleef & Arpels, outperformed, underlining a wider trend in the so-called magnificent jewels market.
Bidding was vibrant across the board in the sale, with the first lot, a Bulgari gold demi-parure, “Monete”, more than tripling its low estimate.
The Phillips sale precedes the Christie’s sale in Geneva on November 7, 2023, which will offer the superb 17.61-carat Bleu Royal, an internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond, as their top lot.
Sotheby’s will offer an outstanding 93.94-carat Paraiba tourmaline set in a necklace as a star lot in their magnificent jewels sale on November 8, 2023.
(Disclaimer: Any opinion expressed in this article is solely that of the author and should not be construed as investment advice.)
