Bonhams & Goodman reported record sales at its end of year auction of Fine Jewellery held on Monday 8 December. Over 600 people attended the pre-sale viewing and 250 customers registered to bid on the 500 lots of valuable gems and jewellery.
‘Bidding on items from around $5,000 – $30,000 was extraordinary’, said Isabelle Quinn, Head of Jewellery, Sydney, at Bonhams & Goodman. ‘I would say it was unprecedented. What surprised us most of all was that bidders were not just buying one Christmas present, they were buying 5 or 6 items, some for presents but more often with investment in mind.’
Auctioneer Tim Goodman said, ‘There is clearly a lot of cash around at the moment. Whether or not buyers are just bored with having it in the bank or they are taking advantage of the weak Australian dollar is hard to tell.’
Jewellery is traded internationally in US dollars and is selling for much the same in Australia at auction as it was before the dollar came crashing down, meaning that local buyers may be receiving a 20-25% advantage.
Whatever the case, the auction made a total of $2,056,000, the highest result for a Bonhams & Goodman’s jewellery auction and the highest total for any jewellery auction in Australia. Highlights from the sale included Lot 178, an exceptional pair of fine Natural Fancy Intense Yellow diamond earrings, which sold for $198,000, and the cover lot, the extremely rare Argyle pink diamond and Australian South Sea pearl Luna Rose earrings by Kailis, which sold for $342,000. Lot 64, a pair of Bvlgari diamond earrings, almost quadrupled their pre-sale estimate selling for $11,500 against an estimate of $3,000 – 5000.
For more information visit www.bonhamsandgoodman.com.au/
Illustrated
The extremely rare Argyle pink diamond and Australian South Sea pearl Luna Rose earrings by Kailis
Sold for $342,000.