December 10, 2014: Sotheby’s auction of Jewels & Objects of Vertu from the Collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon concluded with a stunning total of $45 million – more than double its high estimate. Collectors eagerly vied for pieces evocative of Mrs. Mellon’s celebrated style, driving 85.1 per cent of all sold lots to achieve prices above their high estimates.
Mrs. Mellon’s Magnificent and Rare Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond sold for a staggering $32,645,000 ($3,348,205 per carat) – a new world auction record total price for any blue diamond and a new world auction record for price-per-carat for any diamond. The 9.75 carat, pear-shaped diamond was eagerly sought after by seven bidders who competed for 20 minutes for the extraordinary stone, ultimately selling to a Hong Kong private collector who named the stone The Zoe Diamond.
An exquisite gold and diamond Rivière by Cartier circa 1948, set with 29 old European-cut diamonds weighing approximately 111.00 carats and completed with a clasp set with a round fancy deep yellow diamond weighing 4.20 carats, rose to $2,797,00, nearly double its $1.5 million high estimate
The auction closed with an impressive selection of 35 objets by Jean Schlumberger – a close friend of the Mellons – that together brought $678,000, more than doubling their overall high estimate.
