Two-Stone Ring More Than Doubles Estimate at Sotheby’s

A toi et moi ruby and white-diamond ring smashed its estimates to lead a recent auction at  Sotheby’s in London. 

The piece features a cushion-cut, 3.88-carat Burmese ruby and an old oval-cut diamond, the band set with brilliant-cut diamonds. It sold for GBP 381,000 ($515,616) at the June 3 Fine Jewelry sale, beating its presale high price of GBP 180,000 ($243,580), according to the auction’s house website.   

In total, the auction garnered GBP 3.2 million ($4.4 million), with several lots surpassing their presale estimates. The event also featured pieces from famous design houses, including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Bulgari.

Here are the rest of the top five pieces sold: 

An early 20th-century chocker brought in GBP 304,800 ($412,748), more than doubling its GBP 150,000 ($203,124) high price. The piece has a plaque set with rose-cut diamonds, suspending a large pear-shaped diamond in an openwork surround of old brilliant-cut and cushion-shaped diamonds as well as 12 rows of pearls. It contains a total of about 44 carats of diamonds. 

This cushion modified brilliant-cut, 20.04-carat, fancy-light-yellow, VVS2-clarity diamond ring exceeded its GBP 150,000 ($203,124) high estimate, realizing GBP 165,100 ($223,572). 

This Black Starr & Frost ring features a heart-shaped, 7.42-carat, E-color, SI1-clarity diamond between engraved shoulders set with single-cut diamonds. It fetched GBP 165,100 ($223,572), more than twice its presale estimate of GBP 70,000 ($94,783). 

Sotheby’s sold this pendant from the late 19th century bearing an oval-cut, 11.44-carat Ceylon sapphire surrounded by cushion-shaped diamonds, with graduated cushion-shaped diamonds in pinched-collet settings along the necklace. It sold within its price range for GBP 95,250 ($128,985)