Early March Phillips announced its new venue for Geneva watches and jewellery auctions. From this spring onwards, these sales, exhibitions and previews will be held at Hotel President Geneva. The second live jewellery auction of Phillips was organised on 13 May 2024, achieving CHF 23.6 Million.
Yesterday the Geneva Jewels Auction: Two at Phillips held at new venue of the auction house in town achieved CHF 23,645,995 / $26,079,168 / €24,208,770, led by an exceptional Fancy Vivid Pink Diamond ring (6.21 ct, oval shape, VS1 Clarity, Type IIa, excellent polish and symmetry), sold for CHF 10,869,500 431; as well as ‘The Argyle Phoenix’ (brilliant cut, 1.56 ct, sold for CHF 3,811,000, a World Record for a Fancy Red Diamond sold at auction. ‘The Amazon Queen’, an impressive 280.84 ct emerald was sold for CHF 2,782,500.
Pink and red diamonds are among the rarest coloured diamonds – the now-closed Argyle mine in Australia has been the source of 90% of the coloured gemstones. About less than 1% of the Argyle mine’s output are actually pink diamonds, red ones are even less. (You can find a short overview about coloured diamonds here.)
Benoît Repellin, Phillips’ Worldwide Head of Jewellery, said ‘We are thrilled with the result of CHF 23.6 million achieved today, building on the success of Phillips’ first Jewels sale in Geneva last November. ‘The Geneva Jewels Auction: TWO’ showcased outstanding pieces, notably the Exceptional Fancy Vivid Pink diamond ring, fetching CHF 10.8 million, marking it the star lot of the season across Geneva auction houses. ‘The Argyle Phoenix’, the largest known round brilliant Fancy Red diamond, achieved both an auction record for a red diamond and a record price per carat for a red diamond, selling to Mr Laurence Graff. Another standout was ‘The Amazon Queen’ an outstanding emerald weighing 280.84 carats, which sparked a 30-minute bidding war, ultimately selling for CHF 2.7 million. Notable jewels from esteemed houses like Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Harry Winston, alongside exquisite coloured diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds, also achieved impressive results. We are truly proud of today’s achievements and extremely grateful to all the collectors who continue to put their trust in us and to the dedicated bidders who participated— particularly those who journeyed to join us at our new venue in the Hotel President. We eagerly await our next Jewels auction in New York on 12 June, where we are excited to carry this momentum forward.’
Complementing the live auction, Phillips organised the ‘Symbols, Colour and Form’, a captivating selling exhibition of jewels from contemporary visionaries Alix Dumas and DYNE was open for viewing from 8 to 13 May. Alix Dumas founded Maison Alix Dumas in 2020 in France, while Sarah Ysabel Narici founded DYNE in New York in 2021.
Source: press release. Photo credits: Phillips. Loupiosity.com
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