It wasn’t just watches that were setting auction records this week.
It was also a big week for colored stones, with the 8.62 ct. Graff ruby and 392 ct. Blue Belle of Asia sapphire setting world records for their gem categories.
First, on Nov. 11, the Blue Belle of Asia—a cushion-shape 392.52 ct. Ceylon sapphire—sold for $17.3 million ($44,063 per carat) at the Christie’s Geneva jewelry auction, a world-record price for a sapphire. The buyer was not named.
Courtesy Sotheby’s
The Blue Belle of Asia
Then, one day later, the famed 8.62 ct. Burmese Graff ruby sold for $8.6 million at the Sotheby’s Geneva auction, setting a record not just for a ruby but for a ruby price per carat. Making it more notable, the gem was acquired by its namesake, Laurence Graff.
Courtesy Christie’s
The Graff ruby
The Christie’s sale also set a world record for the highest-grossing jewelry auction ever, fetching 147.2 million CHF ($150 million). The auctioneer made the same claim about its May Geneva jewelry auction, though that set a record in dollars—it took in 138,963,250 CHF ($154.1 million).
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