Player shows the Luxury Spending feed. Open the episode for this date on your platform of choice.
This week's look at high-value spending across jewelry, gems, watches, and handbags: a $49.7M Christie's jewels result, fresh diamond-market data, a shifting De Beers ownership picture, new high-jewellery collections, a run of watch launches, and a packed week of watch and handbag auctions.
Good morning. It's Wednesday, June 10. I'm Sharon, and this is Luxury Spending from ALT/FNDATA, a weekly look at high-value spending across jewelry, gemstones, watches, and handbags.
This week we have a major jewels result at Christie's, fresh diamond-market data, a shifting picture at De Beers, new high-jewellery collections, a run of watch launches, and a busy week of watch and handbag auctions. Let's get into it.
We start with the headline result. Christie's Magnificent Jewels in New York totaled $49.7 million, and every lot found a buyer. The total reached 149% of the low estimate, about 50% above the low end of what Christie's had expected. Two blue diamonds each sold for more than $8 million, and the sale was led by a stone called The Azure Blue. Buyers came from across the map: 58% from the Americas, and 21% each from Asia-Pacific and Europe.
There was a standout single lot at Bonhams as well. A ruby necklace in New York carried a top estimate of $150,000 and sold for $2.2 million. That is roughly 14 times the high estimate.
Now to the diamond market, where prices firmed at both the high end and the low end this week.
At the high end, Alrosa reported record demand in May. Stones above 10.80 carats and fancy-color goods led its sales.
At the smaller end, prices are recovering. Asking prices for 0.30-carat diamonds rose 2.1% in May, according to the RapNet price index. So the market firmed at both the trophy-stone end and the more commercial end in the same month.
There is also movement on the ownership side of the industry. Anglo American is moving forward with the sale of its 85% stake in De Beers. Botswana, which is already a partner in the business, is now seeking support from the UAE and Oman to acquire a stake of its own.
Botswana's intentions were on display at JCK Las Vegas, where Debswana chief executive Andrew Maatla Motsomi made the country's case directly to the trade.
One regulatory note. Russia has announced new rules for lab-grown jewelry. The guidelines are aimed at improving transparency in how synthetic stones are labeled and described, part of a wider global push to draw a clearer line between mined and lab-grown.
To the jewellery houses, where there is news on both leadership and collections.
At Chanel, Marie-Laure Cérède has been named to lead the next era of jewellery design. She previously ran the studios of Cartier and Harry Winston, working across both jewellery and watchmaking.
Van Cleef & Arpels has unveiled a 180-piece high jewelry collection drawing on ancient Egypt, using the civilization's geometry, symbolism, and color as its starting point.
And the Hong Kong jeweller and sculptor Wallace Chan has opened two parallel exhibitions in Venice, at Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo and Santa Maria della Pietà, pairing his sculptures with the city's heritage.
On the product side, it was a busy week for watch launches.
The headliner is from MB&F. The independent has introduced the HM12 "The Guardian," a sci-fi horological machine that ships with a companion robot.
Blancpain, part of the Swatch Group, has added the Fifty Fathoms Tech to its permanent collection. It is a professional dive watch derived from the original Fifty Fathoms line.
A few more from the independents this week: the DUG Glashütte Purist Typ 1, the Yema Granvelle Renaissance, and the Kubo collection from the young Japanese microbrand Kiwame Tokyo.
The auction calendar for watches is full this week.
Bonhams holds its London Fine Watches sale tomorrow, June 11, a curated 60-lot sale. Leading it is a Patek Philippe reference 7000R, the brand's first contemporary mid-size minute repeater, estimated at £150,000 to £250,000. Also in the sale is an F.P. Journe Octa Calendrier in platinum, estimated at £100,000 to £150,000. There are two Rolex COMEX dive watches from a former COMEX diver, with the Submariner estimated at £60,000 to £80,000. And there is a platinum Audemars Piguet minute-repeating jump hour, one of about 257 made, estimated at £40,000 to £60,000.
Then on Friday, June 12, Christie's holds Important Watches in New York. Several lots are notable for their provenance. They include Andy Warhol's Patek Philippe Calatrava, an ultra-rare Patek Philippe reference 3448G known as the "Red Dot," and two Tiffany-signed Patek Calatravas with "Golden Rule" dials that were made for President Lyndon B. Johnson. Christie's has not yet published estimates.
And handbags. Christie's opens an online Hermès sale in Paris on Friday, June 12, running through June 24. It features nearly 300 handbags, with a focus on the Jean-Paul Gaultier era at Hermès, and 130 lots are offered with no reserve. The top lot is a Faubourg Sellier Birkin 20 from 2021 with palladium hardware, estimated at €180,000 to €300,000. A one-of-a-kind tricolor Birkin 40 from 1998 is estimated at €20,000 to €30,000.
To close, the week's calendar. Tomorrow, June 11, is Bonhams London Fine Watches. Friday, June 12, is busy: Christie's Important Watches in New York, the Christie's Paris Hermès online sale opening, and Sotheby's Gem Drop.
That is Luxury Spending for Wednesday, June 10.
I'm Sharon, from ALT/FNDATA. Closing Price is this evening at 5 PM Eastern, and Open Bid returns tomorrow morning at 6.
