Sotheby's Geneva Sale Of Magnificent Jewels & Noble Jewels Achieves $151.5 Million, Above Expectations

New World Record Set for Earrings at Auction - The Apollo and Artemis Diamonds Sell For $57.4 Million

Three Lots Sell for Over $10 Million, Five Lots Sell for Over $5 Million, With A Strong Overall Sell-Through Rate of 90%

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Sotheby's

May 17, 2017, 09:51 ET

GENEVA, May 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Last night in Geneva, Sotheby's (NYSE: BID) biannual sale of Magnificent Jewels & Noble Jewels achieved a total of $151.5 million, beating expectations. The sale was led by 'The Apollo and Artemis Diamonds', which sold to an anonymous buyer for a combined $57.4 million, setting a new world record for earrings at auction.

"The Apollo Blue" (an internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond weighing 14.54-carats) and "The Artemis Pink" (a fancy intense pink diamond weighing 16-carats) sold by Sotheby’s in Geneva for a combined $57.4 million, a new world record for earrings at auction

David Bennett, Worldwide Chairman of Sotheby's International Jewellery Division and Chairman of Switzerland commented: "The results from yesterday's sale – which saw more than 90% of lots sold and three new world auction records established – yet again underline the strong demand for top quality diamonds, gemstones and jewels."

About Sotheby's
Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as the collection advisory services of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners. Sotheby's presents private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division, and two retail businesses, Sotheby's Diamonds and Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby's has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).

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SOURCE Sotheby's