‘The Geneva Jewels Auction: Three’ – Phillips presents jewellery and remarkable gemstones for sale for the third time on 11 November 2024 at the Hotel President Geneva.
UPDATE – 12 November: Phillips concluded ‘The Geneva Jewels Auction: THREE’ on 11 November at the company’s recently launched saleroom at the Hotel President, Geneva. The auction saw competitive bidding on the phones, in the room and online, achieving a total of CHF 12,083,580, with 77% of the 112 lots sold.
This March Phillips announced a significant shift in venue for its watch and jewellery auctions in Geneva. After nearly a decade of holding sales at La Réserve Genève Hotel, Phillips embraces a growing auction calendar and expanding audience by relocating to the prestigious Hotel President Geneva. After a highlight tour in Taipei, Paris, Singapore and New York, the pieces are in Geneva on preview between 6 – 11 November, at Hotel President. The auction is taking place on 11 November 2024 3pm CET.
Yesterday Benoît Repellin (Worldwide Head of Jewellery, Senior Director, Auctioneer) gave us an expert guide at the preview. He joined Phillips in 2022 as Head of Jewellery, Europe and was appointed Worldwide Head of Jewellery last year. He is not only a seasoned auctioneer and GIA graduate gemologist but also studied history and art history – giving him a depth of knowledge and diverse expertise about the world of jewellery and gemstones.
Diamonds and precious stones
The sale includes amazing diamonds and precious stones: a Burmese ruby and diamond ring, featuring a 17.97-carat ruby; a 3.24-carat fancy vivid blue diamond ring; a 40.54-carat fancy intense yellow diamond ring; a Cartier emerald and diamond ring, showcasing a 14.65-carat Colombian emerald; and ‘The Red Miracle’, a 1.21-carat fancy red diamond.
Before proceeding to some of my favourite fancy coloured diamond lots, let’s recap on diamond colours in general.
Diamond is the hardest known natural mineral. It is typically about 99.95 percent carbon. The other 0.05 percent can include one or more trace elements, some of these can influence its colour or crystal shape. With regards to ‘white diamonds’ the colour is more like the ‘lack of colour’. The white colour grading scale at GIA (the Gemological Institute of America) goes from D-to-Z, where D-F is colourless, G-J is near colourless, K-M faint colour, N-Z light colour. Most of the natural diamonds fit into the colours of D-Z. However there are stones with blue, brown, pink, deep yellow or even a green hue. These are called fancy-colour diamonds and they have to be measured and examined in a different way.
Contained elements can be nitrogen or boron, acquired naturally during the course of formation (in some cases elements can be added as the result of treatment or synthesis in a laboratory, but this is a different story). Depending on this element, we can divide diamonds into two main categories: Type I which contains some nitrogen impurities and Type II which doesn’t.
Type I breaks down into two further groups: Ia and Ib. In Type Ia diamonds the nitrogen atoms are in groups, these stones are colourless or yellow. The vast majority of natural diamonds belong to this group. The nitrogen atoms in the Type Ib diamonds are spread, isolated and the colours are orange, yellow or brown making up about less than 0.1% of the diamonds.
Type II diamonds have no measurable nitrogen impurities. They have two further subcategories: Type IIa and IIb. Type IIa diamonds make up 1–2% of all natural diamonds. These diamonds usually have very good clarity and many of them are colourless or have a nice yellow, orange, pink, red, or blue colour. Type IIa diamonds constitute a great percentage of the Australian production. Many large and famous diamonds, e.g. Cullinan and Koh-i-Noor, are Type IIa.
Type IIb are very rare (about 0.1%) and it contains boron, which is responsible for most diamonds that are blue or greyish blue in colour (like the 31.06-carat Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond or the 45.52-carat Hope). This type is known to conduct electricity.
Lot 410 – Fancy Intense Pink 5.09-carat diamond ring
Estimate: CHF1,870,000 – 2,970,000
As I used to work in a diamond boutique in Sydney which was specialised in pink diamonds coming from the now-closed Australian Argyle pink diamond mine – these stones are close to my heart. Pink diamonds are found in only a few locations worldwide (India, South Africa, Canada, Brazil and Russia). The Argyle mine was known as the most significant source of rare pink and even rarer red diamonds (producing over 90% of the world’s supply). The Argyle system used to assess the diamond colours based on the hue (dominant colour), the tone (the amount of lightness or darkness in the stone – the range extends to light to dark) and saturation (strength or intensity of hue).
According to the GIA, the pink colour of these stones range from Fancy Deep Pink, Fancy Vivid Pink, Fancy Intense Pink, Fancy Pink, and Fancy Light Pink to Faint Pink. The more vivid a colour is, the more it is worth considering all other factors are the same.
The Lot 410 is a beautiful pear-shaped Fancy Intense Pink 5.09-carat diamond ring (the diamond probably from South Africa), accompanied by a GIA report stating the diamond’s colour, carat, cut and clarity. The source of the pink colour is still debated in the gemological world. As Phillips points out, in most of the cases the colour comes from a distortion in the stone’s crystal structure, which causes our eyes to perceive the colour pink and not from trace elements, such as the above mentioned nitrogen and boron.
Lot 395 – Fancy Dark Grey-Blue diamond ring
Estimate: CHF680,000 – 850,000
This lot is set with an elegant, cut-cornered rectangular-cut fancy dark grey-blue diamond weighing 3.88 carats, between trapeze-shaped diamond shoulders. The GIA report confirms its Fancy Dark Grey-Blue natural Colour, VS1 Clarity, and excellent polish. (There is also an other blue diamond in the auction, a very different, fancy vivid blue, weighing 3.24 carats, Type IIb – see the classification above).
Lot 413 – ‘The Red Miracle’ diamond ring
Estimate: CHF420,000 – 680,000
Following the success of the Geneva Jewels Auction: Two in May 2024, where ‘The Argyle Phoenix,’ a rare fancy red diamond ring, sold for CHF 3,811,000 set a new record price-per-carat for a fancy red diamond at auction, Phillips now presents another red gemstone the ‘The Red Miracle’. It is an exceptionally rare, 1.21-carat fancy red diamond.
Red diamonds are very rare (‘red’ is reserved for diamonds with a strong colour saturation and a medium to dark tone) and weighing more than 1 carat are exceedingly rare. This ring is accompanied by GIA report, stating that the colour of diamond is Fancy Red.
The ring is centred with a cut-cornered rectangular-cut fancy red diamond weighing 1.21 carats, highlighted with heart-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds and circular-cut pink sapphires.
Jewellery
The auction covers important eras in jewellery history with very interesting jewel selection. It includes intricate pieces from the 19th century, signature Art Deco jewels, daring creations from the 1960s, bold and eclectic jewellery from the 1980s and 1990s.
Lot 406 – Monture Cartier, Citrine, turquoise and diamond necklace, circa 1960
Estimate: CHF85,000 – 130,000
At the Maison, the 1960s was the era of the Cartier Crash watch (created in 1967 under Jean-Jacques Cartier in London); the Cartier Love bracelet, (from 1969 by Italian jewellery designer Aldo Cipullo for Cartier) and flamboyant creations, like a snake necklace paved with 2,473 diamonds for the Mexican actress, María Félix.
The extravagant necklace in the auction comes from the same decade and features five step-cut citrines suspended from a gold cord, accented with cabochon turquoise and brilliant-cut diamonds. The central citrine is surrounded by gold grain de café motifs. The grain de café motif first appeared in the Maison’s repertoire in 1938 under legendary Creative Director Jeanne Toussaint. It became an icon of jewellery in the 1950s, when it was adopted by Grace Kelly, later Princess Grace of Monaco. The piece is a signed Monture Cartier, French maker’s mark for Cartier.
The lot was once owned by French stage and film actress Marie Bell.
Lot 397 – Van Cleef & Arpels, pair of emerald and diamond ear clips
Estimate: CHF340,000 – 500,000
A statement choice for sure, this fabulous Van Cleef & Arpels ear clips are set with vivid green, cabochon cut Colombian emeralds weighing 19.08 and 18.92 carats respectively. The gems are surrounded by marquise-shaped diamonds, each measuring approximately 40 x 32mm.
The pieces are signed Van Cleef & Arpels, numbered, case stamped Van Cleef & Arpels and accompanied by Gübelin report stating the emeralds’ weight, origin, condition and measurements.
Lot 365 – Marsh & Co. Coral and diamond bracelet, circa 1935
Estimate: CHF10,000 – 15,000
Japonisme is a French term – probably coined by the French critic Philippe Burty – that refers to the popularity and influence of Japanese art in the Western world. Japanese aesthetic, craftsmanship, motifs from Japanese woodblock prints or other art pieces and the concept of elevation of everyday objects into art very much influenced the European Art Deco and Art Nouveau movements in the 1920s and 1930s.
This signed Marsh coral and diamond bracelet (circa 1935) is a great example both in the design and in colours – it has an openwork design with each little panel depicting a Japanese landscape in blackened steel, embellished with polished coral and circular-cut diamond accents.
Marsh & Co, formerly known as G.T. Marsh & Co., was founded in 1876 in San Francisco, by Australian-born George Turner Marsh. He spent a significant time in Japan which later proved to be one of the most formative experiences in his work too. He later opened an Asian Art gallery in the United States and in the 1930s his company began producing jewellery. As Phillips summarises – ‘Unique in their approach and distinctive in their style, the designs incorporated industrial metals to enhance traditional Asian motifs, resulting in a captivating amalgam of modernity and exoticism. Rarely signed, the jewels were easily recognisable, notably for their fusion of blackened steel with materials such as coral, jade, and pearl, which echoed Marsh’s ideals surrounding exploration and innovation.’
Photo credits: Phillips. Loupiosity.com
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