‘The Ratnaraj’ ruby fetches US$10m at HK auction

A ring with a 10.05-carat rare Burmese ruby centre gem, known as the “Ratnaraj,” fetched HK$78 million (US$10 million) at Christie’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels Autumn sales in November.

The sale, which realised a total of HK$611 million (US$79 million), attracted 149 buyers from 23 countries across four continents, according to the auction house, adding that 35 percent of lots exceeded their high estimates.

The Ratnaraj set the third-highest price per carat of US$1,017,557 for a ruby.

According to Christie’s, the ruby was aptly named “Ratnaraj,” which means “king of precious stones” in ancient Sanskrit, for the stone’s significant size, fiery redness and flawless crystal structure.

Another top-performing lot was a ring adorned with a marquise-cut fancy vivid blue diamond of approximately 4.29 carats, flanked by triangular-shaped diamonds, mounted in platinum by Moussaieff. The piece sold for HK$91.2 million (around US$11.8 million).

Vickie Sek, deputy chairman Asia and director of Christie’s Asia Jewellery department, commented, “Once again at Christie’s Hong Kong, Asian collectors and members of the trade showed great confidence for rare and important gemstones, led by US$2.7 million per carat achieved for the Moussaieff blue diamond ring. The sale room was packed all day long with spirited bidding for colourless diamonds, coloured gemstones and important jadeite jewellery.”

Another highlight of the sale is an important jadeite and diamond necklace, which fetched HK$26.3 million (around US$3.4 million). The piece, designed as a two-strand necklace, is composed of 98 graduated jadeite beads, measuring approximately 9.0mm to 12.6mm.

Also a star of the sale was a set of jadeite and diamond jewellery, which includes a necklace, set with 15 oval jadeite cabochons, a ring and a pair of earrings, which was snapped up for HK$24.06 million (around US$3.11 million).

News Source : jewellerynewsasia.com