Catharine Becket, a specialist at Sotheby\u2019s in charge of its \u201cmagnificent jewels\u201d sale in New York, had been working on obtaining a specific 1930s diamond and enamel bracelet by Cartier for five years.<\/p>\n
“We\u2019d always hoped it might come to auction,\u201d she said, \u201cand it was just this winter that I spoke to the client, and she decided it was time to sell.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bracelet, known as a \u201cTutti Frutti\u201d for its multicoloured, Mughal-cut stones, is one of the most recognisable designs Cartier ever made, and several bracelets of the same style and from the same period have sold for millions of dollars.<\/p>\n
Becket\u2019s client had inherited the bracelet years ago, and she\u2019d worn it \u201cI think once,\u201d Becket said. After some discussion, the client agreed to put the piece of jewellery up for auction at the major spring sale at Sotheby\u2019s New York, which was supposed to be held in late April.<\/p>\n
And then the coronavirus pandemic hit.<\/p>\n
Live auctions were called off, and Sotheby\u2019s pivoted to online sales. With global economies faltering, US equity markets whipsawing, and people stuck at home indefinitely, the success of online jewellery sales was far from certain.<\/p>\n
Becket called the bracelet\u2019s owner \u201cand told her that we would evaluate if it should be put in an online sale or deferred to a live auction at a later date.\u201d<\/p>\n
But to Becket\u2019s astonishment, collectable jewellery sales started to do well – very well. Speaking to her wealthy clients, she discovered they were buying jewels as a sort of pick-me-up.<\/p>\n
\u201cClients are sequestering at home and, generally speaking, leading relatively dreary lives,\u201d she says. Some, Becket adds, told her \u201cthey\u2019re wearing their big diamonds inside their homes because it brings joy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone, she said, \u201cis waiting for this to be over, and I suppose knowing that a million-dollar piece of jewellery is waiting for you is a fulfilment of when things return to the new normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The results speak for themselves. Since the beginning of March, Sotheby\u2019s has run four online sales. Of them, 92% of every lot sold, and 61% of the lots exceeded their high estimates. In total, the sales brought in $6.1 million,\u00a0above the\u00a0high estimate of $5.7 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re finding is that anything of good quality is performing well,\u201d Becket says, \u201cand actually better than it would have just a couple of months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Given the strength of these sales, Becket decided that \u201cI could call the client with complete confidence and say to her that I thought we\u2019d do a great job (selling the Tutti Frutti bracelet) online.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bracelet will be offered in a standalone sale, with online bidding open from April 24 to April 28. The estimate is $600,000 to $800,000 (R11.5 million\u00a0 – R15 million).<\/p>\n
Investment Potential<\/strong><\/p>\n The rise in online collectable jewellery sales comes at a time when the price of raw diamonds has sunk precipitously.<\/p>\n Prices at industry auctions for rough diamonds have sunk from 15% to 25%, according to a 7 April release from the Rapaport Research Report, and demand for polished diamonds has also plummeted.<\/p>\n \u201cPolished exports from India fell 41% year on year in February,\u201d Rapaport wrote, while \u201cshipments from Belgium dropped 38%, and Israel\u2019s plummeted by 73%.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, \u201cinventory rose among diamond manufacturers and dealers, with new supply becoming available while demand stayed frozen. We estimate that midstream inventory increased 20% from the beginning of the year to mid-March.\u201d<\/p>\n If buyers are looking for an alternative asset to place their cash, in other words, diamonds, at least for the moment, is not an obvious safe haven.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think people were buying for the sake of investment,\u201d Becket says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a\u00a0recent sale in Hong Kong<\/a><\/strong>, online, that was pretty much exclusively diamonds, and it did incredibly well.\u201d It\u2019s true, she continues, that \u201cthere has been a softening\u201d in the auction market for jewellery as the value of loose stones has declined.<\/p>\n But demand has stayed strong, Becket says, for lots with a compelling provenance, a prestigious maker, or a uniquely compelling aesthetic element to the object.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Tutti Frutti bracelet is a case in point,\u201d she explains. \u201cThe stones in a Tutti Frutti bracelet are pretty modest in intrinsic value,\u201d because Cartier purposefully chose flawed coloured stones to contrast with the brilliant diamonds and settings. \u201cSo the Tutti Frutti jewellery we value more as works of art.\u201d<\/p>\n A million dollars, sight unseen<\/strong><\/p>\n Now\u00a0the question is whether or not buyers are willing to spend almost\u00a0a million dollars on a bracelet they\u2019ve never seen in person. Traditionally, Becket says,\u00a0people are most willing to buy things with which they\u2019re familiar: a Cartier \u201cLove<\/a>\u201d bracelet or pieces made by famous jewellers such as Graff or Bulgari.<\/p>\n In the past few sales, though, Becket has seen a \u201cbroadening\u201d of what\u2019s done well at auction.<\/p>\n