Sotheby’s April Sale of Jewelry collects more than $25 million
By Kristelle Devieux

The common cliché has April being filled with gloomy days and typical pre-spring showers. The month is spent looking forward to brighter days and the May flowers that are sure to follow. This year, April offered plenty to look forward to of its own, thanks to Sotheby’s April Sale of Jewelry, held on April 25th. The two-day auction brought in an astounding $25.3 million.

Not only did this auction include the second highest price ever paid for an emerald at auction, with an 18.54 carat emerald and diamond ring by Van Cleef & Arpels selling for $1.88 million (a price double its high estimate!), it also was for a good cause. Sotheby’s was delighted that most of its jewelry collections sold over their estimates, and that roughly a third of the $25.3 million sold was to benefit charity.

The aforementioned emerald ring came from the Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation jewelry that featured gemstones of outstanding quality as well as the stylish pieces from Van Cleef & Arpels. It is no wonder that every single piece of the Singer Foundation’s collection was auctioned off, collecting a little more than $4.9 million. Proceeds from this collection will benefit the Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation that supports a variety of medical research and civic causes.

A strong sell benefiting a charitable organization was the Diamond Pendant Necklace by Alexandre Reza, which is made up as a flexible collar of baguettes supporting a beautiful pear-shaped diamond, weighing a total of 48.91 carats. It fetched a price of $1.55 million, despite its high estimate of $1 million.

A third charitable foundation featured property from the Erich and Della Koenig Foundation, including an important Emerald and Diamond Ring of classic Colombian origin by Harry Winston, set with an emerald-cut emerald weighing 29.63 carats. This ring was estimated at $220,000, but collected more than double that, bringing in $492,000.

The jewelry sale was also adorned with mesmerizing colored diamonds and traditional gemstones that ignited strong bids exceeding their estimated price. Of the colored diamonds, a notable piece was a 74.95 carat Fancy Intense Yellow Diamond Pendant Necklace sold for $2 million.