Blue Diamond Tops Christie's New York

RAPAPORT... A 3.09-carat blue diamond smashed its pre-sale estimate atChristie's Magnificent Jewels auction in New York last week. Therectangular-cut, fancy intense blue diamond ring, surrounded by taperedbaguette-cut diamonds on either side, sold for $5.4 million. Its originalestimate was $2 million to $3 million. A similar 3.47-carat ring sold atSotheby's New York Magnificent Jewels auction the previous week, garnering $6.7million, well above the $2 million to $2.5 million original estimated price. Other top lots at the Christie's sale included an8.42-carat, rare fancy intense pink, potentially internally flawless diamondring, which sold for $5 million. A Cartier twin-stone ring, featuring a2.42-carat, fancy vivid blue diamond and a 2.85-carat, fancy intense pinkstone, fetched $4.5 million, and a similar twin-stone ring with a white, D-color stone and a fancy vividblue diamond went for $3.5 million. Signed period and modern jewels by Boucheron, Cartier, DavidWebb, and Van Cleef & Arpels were also popular, and an oval-cut,22.76-carat diamond "thread" ring from designer JAR sold for $2.8 million. Overall, 88% of lots sold for a total of $45.7 million.Christie's next auction is the Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction, which willtake place on May 16.