Christie's said that 346 items had found new owners on Tuesday evening for a total sum of 147.2 million Swiss francs, exceeding the late actress Elizabeth Taylor's collection which netted $116 million three years ago.
Many of the jewels on the block in Geneva were from the
large estate of a late Saudi collector, experts said.
The cushion-shaped sapphire, weighing 392.52 carats and
suspended on a diamond tassel pendant, soared to double its pre-sale estimate
at the auction, where private collectors and professional traders from the
Middle East bid heavily.
"We are extremely proud that the Blue Belle of Asia
established a new world record for any sapphire sold at auction," Rahul
Kadakia, International Head of Christie's Jewelry Department, said in a
statement on Wednesday.
"The private collector, seated in the room, is now the
new owner of the most valuable sapphire in the world," he added, without
identifying the buyer.
It was not immediately clear if the sapphire had belonged to
the late Saudi collector. His gem box did include several items made by
Swiss-based jeweler Jahan, experts said.
London luxury jeweler Laurence Graff, known as the
"King of Diamonds", bought a pair of Bulgari fancy vivid blue and
fancy vivid pink diamond ear pendants for 15.5 million Swiss francs, Christie's
said.
A gold bangle bracelet by Paris-based American jeweler Joel
Arthur Rosenthal, known as JAR, sold for 3.52 million Swiss francs, well above
a pre-sale estimate of up to 290,000 francs.
The bracelet, known as the "Parrot Tulip", and
designed as a gold flower studded with diamonds and green garnets, set the
second highest price for a creation by JAR, Christie's said.
"These prices are a sign that money is available for
exceptional things, within limits that are no longer limits," Eric
Valdieu, a Geneva-based jewelry dealer formerly of Christie's, told Reuters
after attending the sale.
"As easy as it is to explain that Graff paid the market
price for ... the pair of diamond earrings, it is hard to explain 3.5 million
for the gold bracelet by JAR. It remains inexplicable," Valdieu said.
The Geneva auction has taken place twice-yearly since 1969.
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