Stones & Society
Auctions
Important jewelry sales, significant lots and record results, reported with precision.
Auctions
Two Tiaras and a Queen's Emeralds: Royal and Noble Jewels Return to Geneva
Sotheby's Royal and Noble Jewels sale in Geneva on 11 November is built on provenance: a Cartier black opal jewel made for a Duchess of Devonshire, a Mellerio tiara unaccounted for since 1957, and the emerald jewels of a Queen of Portugal.
Auctions
Signed Jewels Beat the Big Diamonds: Christie's New York Online Sale, Read Closely
Christie's Jewels Online in New York made $9.32 million from 266 lots between 6 and 15 October. A Graff ring led, the no reserve headline diamond fell short of its low estimate, and the sharpest bidding was reserved for Bulgari.
Auctions
November in Geneva: Christie's Bets the Month on a Single Collector
On 10 November, Christie's devotes a live sale and a simultaneous online auction to one collection: nearly 300 jewels, Art Deco cases and gold boxes assembled over four decades, expected to realize more than $25 million. A preview, plus a correction to the calendar.
Auctions
The Oppenheimer Blue: The $57.5 Million Vivid Blue
In May 2016 at Christie's Geneva, a 14.62-carat fancy vivid blue diamond sold for about US$57.5 million including premium. A decade on, it is still the benchmark for blue diamonds at auction.
Auctions
The Mellon Blue: $25.6 Million and the New Economics of Blue Diamonds
The highest-value jewellery lot sold at auction anywhere in 2025, and the first reappearance of a stone that set the world record for a blue diamond in 2014. The $7 million gap between those two prices is one of the sharpest documented corrections for a named blue diamond.
Auctions
A Royal Pink Diamond Triples Its Estimate: The Marie-Therese Pink at Christie's New York
A stone with documented French royal provenance, off the market since 1996, reset by the most secretive name in contemporary jewellery. The Marie-Therese Pink made nearly three times its high estimate and set two world records.