In an event Christie’s is terming “an auction to remember,” an anonymous buyer paid $7.7 million for the 32.01-carat D-flawless Annenberg Diamond on Wednesday, well surpassing the stone’s estimated sale price of $3 million to $5 million.
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The diamond, owned by philanthropist Leonore “Lee” Annenberg, who died in March at the age of 91, was mounted in a ring by Manhattan jeweler David Webb.
Its sale set a new, world-record auction price of $240,000 per carat for a colorless diamond, according to Christie’s.
Overall, Christie’s “Jewels: The New York Sale and the Annenberg Diamond” and “Rare Jewels and Objets d’Art: A Superb Collection” held on Wednesday in New York City, totaled $46.5 million and achieved a combined sell-through rate of 85 percent by lot and 94 percent by value.
In a press release, Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry at Christie’s New York, said the activity at the auction defied these recessionary times.
Source: nationaljewelernetwork.com
