Cartier necklace sells for £190k at North Yokshire auction
The necklace, signed and numbered by Cartier, was sold at Tennants Auctioneers in North Yorkshire on March 15.
The 8.62 carat diamond, which is presented as a necklace with a simple white claw setting, was found to have some colouration by Tennants’ jewellery specialist, Jessica Fall.
An ‘extremely rare’ pink diamond by Cartier (Image: Harry Middleton)
Following consultation with the Gemmological Institution of America (GIA), the gem was officially graded as very light pink with a clarity grading of VVS1, defined as ‘just below flawless: of high clarity’.
The diamond was put up for sale by a private vendor from North Yorkshire.
Ms Fall said: “Pink diamonds are officially defined as ‘exceptionally rare’; some estimates suggest as few as one in 10,000 gem-quality diamonds mined worldwide show any discernible colour.Faberge elephant (Image: Tennants)
“Of that small number, a similar percentage (approximately 0.01 per cent) have a pink tone.
“It has been a privilege to be able to handle a diamond of such rarity and beauty, and we were delighted to achieve such a fantastic result for our vendor.”
The diamond, which was sold by a private vendor from North Yorkshire, is presented as a necklace with a simple white claw setting by Cartier, which is detachable from a pendant mount, potentially allowing for varied use.Omega watch (Image: Tennants)
Strong prices were seen throughout the auction.
Some of the notable sales included a four row graduated cultured pearl necklace with a Victorian diamond clasp that sold for £35,000.
Another noteworthy sale was an early to mid-Victorian sapphire and diamond brooch, which went for £5,800.
An 18 carat gold star sapphire swivel ring was sold for £4,200.
Jewellery by leading makers also saw high demand.
A Van Cleef & Arpels Mother-of-Pearl Alhambra Necklace and Earring Suite was sold for £10,000, while a pair of diamond hoop earrings by Cartier secured £4,500.
A Cartier Diamond Panthère Pin was sold for £3,500.
In the silver section, the star of the show was a Fabergé gem-set silver-mounted sandstone match-holder in the form of an elephant, which sold for £10,000.
The watch section was led by a Jaeger LeCoultre Lady’s 18 Carat White Gold Diamond Set Reverso Watch, which sold for £5,000.
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A rare 1967 Omega Seamaster 300 was sold for £3,800, and a Rolex Oysterdate from 1956 secured £2,500.
Military wristwatches attracted keen interest, with a rare Omega Royal Air Force ‘Thin Arrow’ wristwatch issued in 1953 selling for £4,200, and a Hanhart Second World War German Luftwaffe Pilot’s wristwatch securing £3,500.
The sale realised a total hammer price of £604,869 for the 301 lots, and a 91 per cent sold rate.