ALT/FNDATA · Market Report
Q1 2026 Report: The Secondary Market for Fine Jewelry & Gems
Auction-realized prices and the luxury-equity backdrop
A between-flagships quarter that firmed where it counts: with no Geneva marquee sale, the regional and London books carried the period, and value at the houses tracked in both years rose sharply even as the listed luxury majors sold off.
The headline
The correction in three numbers
+71%
Like-for-like value, YoY
$16.1M vs $9.4M at the 20 houses tracked in both years (gross −18% on a coverage shift)
$520,700
Top lot at Christie's London
An important diamond ring; the March sale carried the quarter
$16.4M
Q1 2026 auction value
Across 5,315 sold lots, a quarter between the Geneva flagships
Auction-realized prices: what fine jewelry and gemstones actually sold for at the hammer, not asking prices. · 10M+ auction results · 100+ houses.
Key findings
What the quarter told us
- A between-flagships quarter, read most cleanly like-for-like: at the 20 houses tracked in both years, value rose 71% (to $16.1M). The gross figures, $16.4M and a 51% lower lot count, are distorted by which regional houses happen to fall in each first-quarter window.
- The first quarter has no Geneva marquee sale, so the regional and London books carry it. March alone cleared roughly $14.0M, about 85% of the quarter.
- Christie's London led, clearing approximately $8.5M (about 52% of value) across 152 lots, headed by a $520,700 diamond ring and a run of important diamond rings and earrings.
- Diamonds anchored the quarter, with emerald, jade and sapphire adding the colored-stone interest below the top.
- The top lot firmed: the $520,700 high was about 61% above the $324,324 that led Q1 2025, the quality of the consigned single pieces stronger than a year earlier.
- The public markets diverged sharply. The listed luxury majors sold off hard in the first quarter of 2026 (LVMH about −28%, Richemont −20%), yet the auction jewelry market firmed at the shared houses and Richemont's jewellery maisons kept growing through the downturn.
Year-over-year
Q1 2025 vs. Q1 2026
Q1 2025 vs. Q1 2026: sold fine-jewelry and gem lots at auction (like-for-like = the 20 houses present in both quarters)
| Metric | Q1 2025 | Q1 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sold auction lots | 10,857 | 5,315 | −51% |
| Total value (USD) | $20.0M | $16.4M | −18% |
| Like-for-like value | $9.4M | $16.1M | +71% |
| Top marquee lot | $324,324 | $520,700 | +61% |
The divergence
The listed luxury majors recorded their weakest start to a year in over a decade (LVMH about −28%, Richemont −20%), yet the auction jewelry market firmed at the houses tracked in both years (like-for-like +71%). Jewelry held its hard value as the broader complex sold off.
Source: Yahoo Finance closing prices (31 Dec 2025 to 31 Mar 2026); ALT/FNDATA auction value.
The outlook
Three trends that will define the year
Read the first quarter like-for-like
With no Geneva flagship, the first quarter is a thin, regional book whose gross figures swing on house coverage. The like-for-like read, value at the houses present in both years, is the signal; in 2026 it firmed by 71%.
Quality over quantity at the top
Fewer lots cleared, but the best single pieces sold for more: the top lot rose 61% year over year. In a quiet quarter, the depth of demand for genuinely important stones held.
Jewellery is the resilient luxury category
As the listed majors sold off in early 2026, the jewellery maisons kept compounding and the auction market firmed at the shared houses. Hard, intrinsic value, lifted by record gold, is the defensive core of the luxury complex.
“With no Geneva marquee to anchor it, the first quarter is best read at the shared houses, and there the jewelry market firmed even as the listed luxury majors sold off.”
Members only
Read the full report
The headline data above is free to cite. The full report is part of ALT/FNDATA Membership, which includes every quarterly market report and the Visual Analytics Hub. Inside this report:
- The full month-by-month auction breakdown (January to March)
- The luxury-equity backdrop: the jewellery maisons vs. the Q1 selloff
- What the value was made of: diamonds and colored stones
- Methodology and how to cite the data
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Source: ALT/FNDATA, “Q1 2026 Report: The Secondary Market for Fine Jewelry & Gems” (June 2026). Based on auction-realized prices for fine jewelry and gemstones cleared at the auction houses ALT/FNDATA tracks, with public-market context from Q1 2026 luxury-equity performance. © 2026 ALT/FNDATA · altfndata.com/reports/jewelry-gems-market-report-q1-2026