Sotheby’s New York Auction Results In Lowest Sales In Ten Years

We already knew that the Sotheby’s auction in New York on April 17, 2019 will not bring in major news and headlines, except that now we have certainty. It is more calming and assuring when we know facts, even if these facts are not the best ones. Sotheby’s ended up with only $17,651,750 in total sales during this auction, which is the lowest in ten years. Only 2009 was lower at $11.1 million in total. The best year took place in 2015 when Sotheby’s closed its April New York auction with $65.1 million in sales. The average sales for the past 5 years was $33.5 million per year and it was $38.3 million on average for the last 10 years.

The 3.24 carat , Fancy Intense Blue Diamond, with VVS1 clarity, was sold for a total of $2.3 million after being valued between $2.5 million and $3 million. The final sale figure includes the commission to Sotheby’s.  The Fancy Intense Blue diamond ended up selling for $709,876 per carat; far from being a world record. The highest per carat sale price for the 3-5 carat, sub-category was $1.92 million per carat for the 3.47 carat Fancy Intense Blue Diamond that was sold exactly a year ago in the same auction. It had an I1 clarity, but that was because a major chip in the diamond affected the clarity. Let’s also remember that the only reason it got sold for $1.92 million per carat was due to the upgrade potential seen in the diamond at the viewing, and as reported a few weeks ago, it was re-polished into a 3.13 carat Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond back in August 2018. Most recently, it was further reviewed and got an Internally Flawless clarity up from the VVS1 it got back in August 2018. How can a diamond go from a VVS1 clarity into an Internally Flawless and still keep the same weight? in short, there is a possibility to polish thousandth of a carat and make improvement. This is a very precise work, and this is a perfect example.

The 2.21 carat, Fancy Brownish Reddish Orange diamond with an I1 clarity ended up selling for $118,750 or $53.7k per carat. It was sold at the estimate range of $100k to $150k but that is only due to the commission fees added for Sotheby’s.

The 1.76 carat, Fancy Intense Green Diamond did not meet the auction house estimates between $120k to $180k.

Let’s see what Sotheby’s has planned for the upcoming Geneva auction next month.