A 74.79-carat, pear-shaped diamond sold for more than $14.1 million at Sotheby’s New York Magnificent Jewels sale Wednesday, setting a new auction record for any white diamond sold in the Americas and surpassing its $12 million high estimate.
The unnamed gem is one of very few pear-shaped diamonds of D color over 50 carats to be auctioned in recent decades, Sotheby’s said.
“The truly exceptional 74.79 carat stone was a thrill to auction, and exemplifies the strength of the market for white diamonds over the last decade,” said Lisa Hubbard, chairman, North & South America, Sotheby’s International Jewelry Division. “It was acquired by the present owner in 2001 for $4.3 million, and today sold for a record $14.2 million.”
The Magnificent Jewels sale brought in nearly $53.5 million, marking a new record sum for a spring auction of jewelry at Sotheby’s New York, with more than 82.4 percent sold by lot.
A group of six jewels from the family of financier and railroad magnate Jay Gould sold for a combined $7.9 million, more than double its high estimate of $3 million. The group was led by an emerald and diamond brooch centered by a 22.48-carat Colombian emerald that sold for $2.9 million– nearly five times its high estimate of $600,000.
Cartier’s ‘Tutti-Frutti’ bracelet (circa 1930), made of platinum, carved rubies and emeralds, diamonds and pearls, which closed the sale, sold for $1.4 million, nearly three times its high estimate of $500,000.
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