Big diamonds don't sell at Sotheby's

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Big diamonds don't sell at Sotheby's

November 20, 2008

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The famous Lesotho I diamond, an emerald-cut 71.73-carat stone cut by Harry Winston, failed to sell at Sotheby's "Magnificent Jewels" sale in Geneva on Nov. 19.

Geneva--The top three diamonds offered at a Sotheby's auction on Wednesday failed to sell, with potential buyers reluctant to part with their money due to the current global financial crisis.

While the "Magnificent Jewels" sale sold 60.6 percent by lot and realized a total of $18.4 million, no buyers stepped forward to purchase a 10.48-carat fancy deep-blue diamond, estimated at $6 million-$9 million; the famous 71.73-carat Lesotho I diamond, estimated at $3 million-$5 million; and a 1.92-carat rectangular-cut fancy red stone, estimated at $2.5 million-$3 million.

The Lesotho I was the largest stone cut from the Lesotho, a 601-carat rough diamond discovered in Africa in 1967. The stone was sold by Harry Winston himself and has remained in the buyer's private collection ever since. Wednesday marked the Lesotho I's auction debut.

Acknowledging that the top three lots failed to move, David Bennett, Sotheby's chairman of jewelry, Europe and the Middle East, said in a media release that the items offered on Wednesday were assembled in the wake of one of Sotheby's best sales ever last May, prior to the global financial turmoil.

"As we saw in this...sale, the diamond market is currently in a period of transition, and it will probably not be clear where it is headed until the end of the year," he said. "As in all markets in transition, potential buyers were reluctant to commit to purchase, which resulted in the three top diamond lots remaining unsold."

Bennett pointed out, however, that there was bidding activity on a number of lots and a bid on the blue diamond.

The top lot sold at the auction was an 8.02-carat fancy pink diamond ring, which a private buyer purchased for $1.3 million.

Other top lots included a natural-pearl, emerald and diamond necklace that realized $1.3 million, and an 11-carat, D-color Goconda-type diamond mounted in a ring by Jar, which a private European buyer purchased for $996,319, according to Sotheby's.

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