3.5ct. Blue Diamond Sets Record at Sotheby's

RAPAPORT... Sotheby's garnered $34 million across three salesthat made up its New York spring auctions, with a rare fancyintense blue diamond ring standing out as the highlight of the event. The combined auctions were 83.3% sold by lot. The cut-cornered, rectangular, step-cut 3.47-carat stone (pictured) seta price-per-carat world record for a blue diamond, selling for $1.9 million percarat at the Magnificent Jewels Auction, Sotheby's said Friday. The $6.7million final price nearly tripled Sotheby's pre-sale estimate of between $2million and $2.5 million. Other top sellers were a 72.96-carat diamond bracelet, whichsold for $1.4 million, and a 13.70-carat Tiffany & Co. diamond ring, which yielded$1.2 million, beating its estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. Among the lotsthat failed to sell were a 7.01-carat fancy intense pink diamond ring, estimatedat $4.2 million to $5.2 million, and a 7.37-carat emerald-cut fancy intenseorangey-pink diamond ring, evaluated at $3 million to $5 million.  The magnificent Jewels sale totaled $26.2 million. Sotheby's also brought in a total of $2.8 million at the Jeweler'sEye auction of Fred Leighton's personal collection, which included his jewelry, furniture and accessories. The event saw $1.6 million in jewelry sales, which featured emerald and ruby pieces. The Fine Jewels sale totaled $5.8 million, and included a 52.89-carat sapphire anddiamond ring by Cartier that fetched $6.2 million, the highest price ever achieved at a Sotheby's New York Fine Jewels sale, the auction house said.  "It's very encouraging to see the response to jewelryoffered across all price points, which attracted a broad international group ofbuyers," said Kendall Reed, head of Sotheby's fine jewels in New York.