Christie’s 2007 jewelry sales up

Dominated by diamonds, jewellery sales at Christie’s totalled close to $400 million in 2007, an increase of 11% over 2006 ($355 million), which was already up by 27% over a then record 2005 ($279 million).

These results, the highest ever achieved by any auction house, confirm Christie’s position of world market leader for jewellery auctions. 2007 market share compared to its principal competitor: 57%, or 54% taking into consideration all major international auctioneers. For the 14th year in a row, Christie’s maintains pole position in the category.

This year saw many milestones in the jewellery auction market! The magical barrier of $100,000 per carat was regularly broken for top colourless diamonds, while coloured diamonds often sold for over $1million per carat. These figures were unheard-of as little as five years ago. This mini-revolution took place in a booming market, fed by the participation of new collectors from Russia, China and the Middle-East, and others bidding for the first time through the internet. There was also a major geographical re-alignment, as Hong Kong established itself firmly alongside Geneva and New York as a key international sale centre for exceptional jewels, commented François Curiel, Christie’s Chairman of Jewellery.

Natural pearls, diamonds, both coloured and colourless, Kashmir sapphires and contemporary jewels were the stars of 2007, breaking records on a scale that seasoned collectors could never imagine.

Christie’s has been investing heavily, with exhibitions and auctions in Dubai, China, Russia and the Ukraine, as well as new technology. A parallel development has been the strong increase in private sales.

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