Pink and Blue Hearts Score Big for Sotheby's

RAPAPORT... Two fancy-colored, heart-shaped diamonds led the Magnificent Jewels sale at Sotheby's in Hong Kong, fetching a combined $18.7 million.The first, a 5.04-carat, fancy-vivid-blue, type IIb diamond, flanked by white diamonds, brought in $10.6 million, or $2.1 million per carat, beating its $9.7 million upper estimate. The 4.49-carat, fancy-vivid-pink, internally flawless diamond ring, also bracketed by white diamonds, garnered $8.1 million, or $1.8 million per carat, just under its $8.8 million high valuation."Today's results are a clear indication that the appetite for top-quality jewels in Asia remains undiminished," Wenhao Yu, deputy chairman of jewelry for Sotheby's Asia, said last week. "The hottest color diamonds in the most romantic of cuts and settings proved irresistible, with the pair of fancy-vivid pink and blue rings taking top billing as the stars of the show."In total, the July 10 auction raked in $56.5 million, with Sotheby's selling 80% of goods on offer.Also popular was an imperial jadeite, ruby and diamond necklace, composed of 37 beads, which went for $10.4 million, just edging out its high estimate. The piece is the largest jadeite bead necklace to receive a special certificate from G? 1/4 belin Gem Lab for its imperial jade quality, Sotheby's noted.Another notable item was a pair of diamond pendant earrings, which garnered $2.3 million, just over its high estimate. One earring featured a fancy-black diamond suspending a pear brilliant-cut, 12.72-carat, D-color, flawless diamond, and the second contained a fancy-white diamond and a pear brilliant-cut, 12.46-carat, D-color, flawless diamond pendant.Meanwhile, an antique diamond and enamel bracelet by Garrard & Co., which was a gift to Princess Margaret on her 21st birthday, sold for more than three times its $64,500 high estimate, bringing in $209,674 at the auction."For a couple of years now, young and established collectors in the region have shown a growing interest in jewels with a royal connection and steeped in European history, and this was confirmed today, as they faced fierce competition from bidders around the world for Princess Margaret's 21st birthday bracelet," Yu added.Image: The blue and pink heart-shaped diamond rings. (Sotheby's)