Fancy Yellow Diamond Earrings Sell for $8m

A pair of fancy vivid orange-yellow diamond earrings sold for almost $8m at Christie’s Hong Kong.

They were the lead item in the Magnificent Jewels sale that raised just over $60m on 29 October.

The Oriental Sunrise earrings feature a pair of Type 1b oval mixed-cut diamonds – 12.20 carats (VVS2) and 11.96 carats (VS1) – surrounded by white shield and tapered baguette-cut diamonds, set in platinum and gold. The pre-sale estimate for the earrings was $6.4m to $10.3m.

Among other highlights was a necklace of 26 oval-shaped rubies (5.38 carat to 1.27 carat), some of them listed as “pigeon blood red” – with white pear and marquise-shaped diamonds, that sold for $6.4m.

A Cartier ring, set with a Type IIa 12.60-carat D-color, IF clarity round-cornered rectangular brilliant-cut Goloconda diamond, sold for $1.4m. The high estimate was $1.1m.

Source: IDEX

Record Gold Prices Hit Chow Tai Fook Sales

Chow Tai Fook (CTF), the jewelry chain with 7,500 stores across mainland China, posted a 21 per cent plunge in retail sales value (RSV) in the three months to 30 September, as gold prices hit an all-time high.

The Hong Kong-based company warned that interim profits for the half year to September could fall by 42 to 46 per cent.

Gold prices have broken multiple records in recent months and currently stand at just over $2,700 an ounce.

Central banks, particularly China’s, have been aggressively buying gold to diversify their reserves and reduce reliance on US dollars, thereby forcing the price up.

Before the gold surge CTF reported a record high revenue (up 18.5 per cent) and core operating profits for the year to 1 March (FY 2024).

Core operating profit for the year surged almost 29 per cent to US$1.58bn (HKD 12.2bn) with the company saying business had been boosted by post-Covid improvements in mobility and retail activity, especially tourism from mainland China to Hong Kong and Macau, which saw retail sales values rise by 32 per cent and 53 per cent respectively.

But in its latest quarterly update, CTF says: “Macro-economic externalities, particularly record gold prices, continued to weigh on consumer sentiment, a phenomenon observed across the industry”.

Same store sales across its franchised stores on mainland China fell by 24 per cent, and by 31 per cent at its outlets in Hong Kong and Macau.

Source: DCLA

Yellow Gold Is Hot, Diamonds Are Not At Hong Kong Jewelry Trade Show

The pulse of the jewelry industry and its relationship with the constantly changing world is reflected each year at Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong (JGWHK).

This year the annual jewelry trade show attracted more than 3,300 exhibitors, a 5% decline from 2023, according to Informa Markets, which owns and operates the fair. Although final buyer numbers aren’t available, walking the floors on the first four days, it’s easy to see that foot traffic was down as well. Still the show is expected to attract about 50,000 visitors.

Buyers in the Fine Design Pavilion of Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong

More important than the numbers themselves is what they represent. A major typhoon in the Shanghai area a few days before the show began meant many exhibitors and buyers from the area could not immediately make the trip to Hong Kong. Obviously, war in Ukraine and in Gaza has kept people in these regions from attending. After years of exponential growth, the U.S. jewelry market has softened, partly due to the upcoming presidential election. The China market has softened as well, reflecting the country’s overall economic challenges. These are the two largest markets in the world for jewelry. Then for the first time in memory, the fair coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival on September 18, which further reduced overall attendance, at least temporarily.

For a fair that has been held during trade wars, citywide political protests and a once-in-a-century typhoon, these distractions were mild by comparison. Through it all JGWHK remains, by far, the largest jewelry trade fair in the world, and for good reason.

Read full article: DCLA

Sotheby’s Hong Kong Watch Sale Sees Two World Records

Two timepieces set new auction records at the most recent Sotheby’s watch sale in Hong Kong, while nearly half of the lots sold above their high estimates.

A Patek Philippe Ref. 2526, the first self-winding wristwatch from collector J.B. Champion, brought in HKD 5.7 million ($729,977), within its estimated range, Sotheby’s said Monday. Meanwhile Cartier’s Paris Cloche, No. 1/1, fetched HKD 1.7 million ($210,882), more than four times its high estimate. Both set a record for the highest auction amount for the specific model, Sotheby’s noted.

In total, the April 7 Hong Kong Important Watches auction garnered HKD 126.3 million ($16.1 million). Over two-thirds of buyers were from China and the US, the auction house noted.

Meanwhile, the top lot of the auction, a Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 made in 1960, saw fierce bidding between participants in the room and on the phone. That piece, which sold within its estimated range, went for HKD 8 million ($1 million) after nearly 20 bids.

Source: DCLA