So there is a “Kardashian premium” after all.
The 20 ct. t.w. engagement ring Kim Kardashian received from former husband Kris Humphries fetched $749,000 at Christie’s New York on Oct. 15—above its $300,000 to $500,000 estimate, although below its $2 million reported value.
The buyer was not named.
The ring was listed as “property of a gentleman”—but reports indicated the ring was Kardashian’s infamous Lorraine Schwartz–designed jewel. The weekend before the auction, Humphries confirmed the ring was his.
The ring includes a 16.21 ct. rectangular-cut diamond (graded I VS1 by the GIA), flanked on either side by a trapeze-cut diamond, each weighing approximately 1.8 carats.
Auction expert Ettagale Blauer says there may have been a bit of a “Kardashian factor” because the ring exceeded its estimate by a substantial amount.
“Pure conjecture: it may have been bought to be re-cut, to get a higher color,” she adds.
Other highlights of the auction, which overall took in $46 million:
– An 8.77 ct. rectangular-cut fancy intense pink VVS1 diamond realized $6.3 million, or $721,200 per carat (estimate: $5.5 million–$6.5 million). The buyer was Moussaieff Jewelers.
– A 3.81 ct. rectangular-cut fancy vivid blue diamond realized $3.97 million, or $1.04 million per carat (estimate: $2.5 million–$3.5 million).
The auction sold 75 percent by lot, 84 percent by value.
“The sale was marked by picky buying,” Blauer says. “There were a fair number of lots that were sold under the low estimate, the first time I can remember that happening. Bottom line for the sale, however, is that it made $46 million, a solid total given that there were few blockbuster lots.”
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