Laurence GraffThe oval-shaped stone - about the size of a pistachio shell - fetched a price of 1.33 million dollars (£665,000) per carat, edging out a similar blue diamond that sold last year in Hong Kong for 1.32 million dollars (£660,000 million) per carat. The auction house identified the buyer as London jeweller Laurence Graff, who is known in the industry as the "King of Diamonds".
In total, 423 lots sold for 57.1 million dollars (£28.5 million) on Thursday night at Geneva's plush Beau Rivage hotel.
Jewels of "noble provenance" or those defined as "period pieces" performed particularly well, said David Bennett, Sotheby's chairman of jewellery for Europe and the Middle East.
A 64-piece collection of jewels belonging to Lily Marinho, a French beauty queen who married two of Brazil's most powerful men, sold for 11 million dollars (£5.5 million) - easily clearing high-end estimates of 8.5 million dollars (£4.2 million).
The top piece from the collection was a pair of pear-shaped diamond drops, which sold to an unnamed buyer for 2.9 million dollars (£1.4 million).
Mrs Marinho, 87, was married to Brazilian millionaire Horacio de Carvalho and then Roberto Marinho, who died five years ago after building the Globo media empire.
On Wednesday evening, rival auctioneers Christie's nearly matched the Sotheby's jewels sale, fetching 57 million dollars (£28.5 million) over 265 lots.
The star of the show was a 13.4-carat "fancy intense blue" diamond that sold for 8.9 million dollars (£4.4 million). Christie's said it was a record for a coloured diamond.
Among the five other pieces that topped two million US dollars (£1 million) was an emerald, diamond and natural pearl necklace that was bought for more than 5.6 million dollars (£2.8 million), well over the high-end estimate of 3.1 million dollars (£1.5 million).
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2008, All Rights Reserved.
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Christie's Geneva sets record fancy color price for 13.39ct, fancy blue VS1, diamond at USD$8.9 million ($633,023 per/ct.) with auction total record at $59 mil. (73% sold by lot) : Rapaport
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA (Reuters Life!) - A large blue diamond sold for 9.23 million Swiss francs ($8.78 million) at a jewellery auction marked by strong prices for both coloured and white diamonds, Christie's said.
The rectangular blue stone weighing 13.39 carats, set in a ring surrounded by tiny pink diamonds, was the top lot at its semi-annual jewellery sale in Geneva on Wednesday night.
In all, 265 of the 365 lots on offer found new homes, netting 59.2 million Swiss francs ($56.33 million), a record for a Christie's various-owner jewellery sale worldwide, it said in a statement issued overnight.
"The jewellery sale saw extremely strong prices for colourless and coloured diamonds. This was an ideal way to celebrate our 40th anniversary in Switzerland," said Eric Valdieu, head of its Swiss jewellery department.
Experts at Christie's and rival Sotheby's say collectors and traders remain hungry for unique items, especially coloured diamonds or historic gems, following world-record prices set for rare polished diamonds last year.
The blue diamond, which Christie's said was the largest blue diamond graded "fancy intense" in colour ever to be put on the block, had been estimated at $6 to $8 million. Its buyer, a private collector, chose to remain anonymous.
"It is truly exceptional to find a blue diamond of this intensity weighing more than 10 carats," Valdieu told reporters at a pre-sale briefing.
A flawless heart-shaped vivid yellow diamond weighing 21.4 carats, set on a diamond neck-chain, fetched nearly 3.3 million Swiss francs ($3.14 million), in line with its estimate.
An ornate necklace, set with large emeralds, diamonds and natural pearls, soared to 5.87 million Swiss francs ($5.59 million) while a matching brooch netted 4.6 million Swiss francs ($4.38 million). Both went to U.S. trade, Christie's said.
The two pieces were the property of an unidentified Middle East collector. "This gives you an idea of the treasures sleeping in the palaces of the Middle East," Valdieu said.
Sotheby's, which is holding three sales later on Thursday, is offering 63 lots from the gem box of Lily Marinho, widow of Brazilian media mogul Roberto Marinho and Horacio de Carvalho.
Now 87, the former Miss Paris is parting with a collection worth 5-8 million Swiss francs. It includes a pair of ear clips, each with a pear-shaped diamond weighing more than 11 carats.
"Lily likes large pieces -- it's Brazil. We expect a lot of interest from Latin America," said David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby's international jewellery department for Europe and the Middle East.
The priciest lots at Sotheby's separate "Magnificent Jewels" sale are a pink diamond ring and a blue diamond ring, each estimated at over 2 million Swiss francs.
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Controversial GIA Fluff Letter Revealed: Dealers Protest
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Diamond Imports
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Today in History 16th May 1968: Protests mount in France
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On May 16, 1968, after nearly two weeks of sporadic street fighting in Paris,students take over the Sorbonne University, demanding radical solutions to France's unemployment problem. Their example sets off strikes of students and workers throughout the country, and within a week the nation had virtually shut down. After failing to broker an end to the general strike,President Charles de Gaulle dissolved the National Assembly and called new elections. Although his party won reelection, continued discontent led to his resignation in 1969.
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