A Christie’s fine jewels suction has achieved £4.2m, in a sale that “confirmed the strong interest for fine jewels”, the auction house has said.
The top lot of the sale was sapphire, diamond and ruby desk clock by Van Cleef and Arpels that hails from the personal collection of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
The piece sold for €310,000 (£278,000), almost eight times its presale estimate, after a bidding battle between five telephone bidders.
Other pieces included a sapphire and diamond ring by Verdura, which sold for €274,000 (£245,000), as well as an emeralds and diamonds necklace by Van Cleef and Arpels that sold to buyer on Christie’s Live for €81,250 (£72,812), doubling its presale estimate.
The personal collection of Paul Brandt, which included several Art Déco cigarette cases and four cufflinks, achieved a total of € 139,500 (£125,025).
A diamond ‘Deux Anneaux’ ring by Suzanne Belperron was also sold for €106,250 (£95,263) to a buyer on Christie’s Live, despite its presale estimate resting between €20,000 (£17,931) and €30,000 (£26,897).
Violaine d’Astorg and Mafalda Chenu, specialists of the sale, said: “We are thrilled with the great results achieved today.
“They prove that collectors are still eager to acquire beautiful pieces of jewelry such as the desk clock by Van Cleef & Arpels which sold €310,000 (£278,006) against a presale estimate of €40,000 (£35,871) and €80,000 (£71,743).”
They added: “We were also pleased to see international buyers coming from 30 countries. Amongst all the sold lots, 39% were bought on the internet and 43% on the telephone.
“These statistics demonstrate Christie’s international’s reach and how our digital advancement is essential.”
