As part of its year-end figures announcement, Christie’s is pleased to report a record-breaking result for global jewelry sales in 2013, with US$678.3 million (£432 million) – the highest annual result ever achieved for jewelry in the auction house.
The tally represents an 18% increase (20% in £) over Christie’s 2012 total, and beats its previous highest annual jewelry record of US$600 million, set in 2011, which included The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor – the most valuable sale of jewelry in auction history. Upon executing the sale of The Winston Legacy in May and The Orange in November, Christie’s Geneva led the company’s jewelry sales with US$228.4 million total.
Each one of Christie’s major sales regions orchestrated auctions of some of the most significant diamonds in the global auction market, holding six of the year’s top ten jewels sold at auction in 2013. Over one hundred twenty jewels sold in excess of US$1 million, fourteen lots sold above US$5 million, and five above US$10 million. Colored and colorless diamonds, natural pearls, distinguished private collections, and three successful online-only jewelry auctions all contributed to this tremendous leap in Christie’s results. With many new buyers in Europe, the U.S., and Asia actively participating at a high level, competition has become more intense than ever for rare jewels and gems of only the highest quality.
François Curiel, International Head of Jewelry and President of Christie’s Asia, notes: “In 1994, Christie’s worldwide jewelry sales totaled US$190 million, with Geneva, London, and New York as our most important centers, where top-quality gemstones traded at US$80,000 per carat. In November 2013, at Christie’s Geneva, we sold THE ORANGE for a world record price of US$35.5 million and US$2.4 million per carat and achieved US$125.3 million in one sale. Last year, the prices achieved and the records set soared above all previous records and raised the jewelry auction market to an entirely new level. The top ten jewels sold at Christie’s demonstrate jewelry as art – gemstones of such quality they will perhaps only be seen once in a lifetime.”
