In an auction filled with rare offerings from across the world of luxury, one lot shined the brightest.
Christie’s New York Luxury Week brought in a whopping US$70.3 million (HK$548.5 million), led by the US$13.3 million (HK$103.8 million) Eden Rose diamond. That stone—a 10.2-carat fancy intense pink, internally flawless diamond—outperformed its presale estimates to become the top diamond of the spring auction season globally.
In all, last week’s sales, which spanned jewels, watches, wine, and handbags, achieved 137 per cent of the combined lots’ presale low estimates. Collectors from all over the globe placed bids, and 52 per cent of all winning bids came via the auction house’s online forum. Plus, 44 per cent of buyers were new to Christie’s, showing how luxury goods are becoming even more coveted.
Image courtesy of Christie’s
While the Eden Rose ring was far and away the star of the show, other jewels shined as well: In fact, six separate pieces sold for more than US$1 million (HK$7.8 million) each, including an 84-carat yellow diamond pendant that hammered down for US$2.2 million (HK$17.1 million) and a 2.3-carat blue diamond ring that fetched US$2.1 million (HK$16.3 million).
The other luxury categories similarly saw high price tags for their assorted lots. During the Important Watches auction, a Richard Mille Limited Edition RM56-02 AO Tourbillon Sapphire achieved an eye-popping US$3.1 million (HK$24.1 million), making it the most expensive watch ever sold by Christie’s and the third most valuable Richard Mille in the world. And seven purses sold for more than US$100,000 (HK$780,365) during the Handbags Online sale. Coming out on top was a black crocodile Hermès Birkin bag that doubled its low estimate to sell for US$214,200 (HK$1.6 million).
Image courtesy of Christie’s
And in the world of wine, the Fine and Rare Wines Online sale set six new world records. The two top lots were a dozen bottles of Petrus 1982 and a dozen bottles of Petrus 1989, both of which hammered down for US$43,750 (HK$341,410). Also of note is the fact that oenophiles are becoming younger and younger: Millennials made up 30 per cent of all buyers in the auction. (New data out of Bank of America just showed that Millennials and their Gen Z counterparts are more interested than other generations in collecting luxury goods like wine. This certainly seems to prove that point.)
With more jewel, handbag, and wine auctions to come from Christie’s this year, we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled—and our paddles handy—to see what other records may fall in 2024.
