The auction market had a great week, with Sotheby’s fetching record prices for a ruby and pink diamond at its June 9 Magnificent Jewels sale in New York City.
The 55.22 ct. Estrela de Fura, the largest gem-quality ruby ever to come to auction, sold for $34.8 million to a private Middle Eastern collector—topping its $30 million estimate and setting a world auction record for any colored gemstone.
The Estrela de Fura, which translates to “Star of Fura,” was cut from a 101 ct. ruby. The original stone was unearthed at Fura Gems’ ruby mine in Montepuez, Mozambique, in July 2022.
“It’s difficult to express the range of emotions I felt when I first laid eyes on the Estrela de Fura, but to put it simply, I was entranced,” said Quig Bruning, head of Sotheby’s Jewels, Americas & Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, in a statement. “With its unprecedented size, piercing color, and rare degree of optical transparency and clarity, it truly deserved the record-breaking price today, as it now joins the ranks of the world’s most legendary gemstones.
Sotheby’s also received $34.8 million for the 10.57 ct. cushion-cut internally flawless Eternal Pink, which it called the “most significant pink” to ever come to market. Though slightly below its $35 million estimate, the price is a world auction record for a purplish-pink diamond, along with a new record price per carat ($3.3 million).
The overall sale fetched $95.9 million, which is the highest total ever for a jewelry auction at Sotheby’s New York, eclipsing the prior record of $65.1 million, set in April 2015.
Earlier this week, on June 7, Christie’s sold the 126.76 ct. D-color internally flawless Light of Peace for $13.6 million, at its Magnificent Jewels sale in New York City. It also took in $11.5 million for its sale of jewels from the collection of presidential granddaughter Anne Eisenhower.
Top: Auctioneer Quig Bruning at the podium (photos courtesy of Sotheby’s)
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