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Most hotels were closed; the streets were nearly empty; there were no crowds to visit the auction houses prior to the sales… This was the scene preceding the normally well attended events put on by Christie’s and Sotheby’s at their biannual auctions during November in Geneva, Switzerland. Both before and after the auctions, Cynthia Unninayar spoke with the intrepid auction goer and antiques expert, Ioannis Alexandris — one of the very few prospective buyers invited by the houses to privately peruse the goods before the virtual auctions—to get his take on the situation and the jewels.
“I arrived in Geneva just before the lockdown,” Ioannis Alexandris explains, “and was one of the invitees who could examine the jewels before the auction. The restrictions due to Covid-19 clearly made the trip and the private showings very difficult, but still doable.” He adds that he spent many hours at the previews, accompanied by the person showing the jewels as well as one or more security guards.
“Still, it was worthwhile,” he smiles. On sale were historical and noble-provenance jewels as well as exceptional gemstones and diamonds. “Among the signed pieces from important jewelers were those by Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Mauboussin, Bulgari and Chaumet.” Because of the pandemic, the number of lots was much lower than previously, and Ioannis felt that “it was a buyer’s market.”
In terms of diamonds, one of the most talked about lots was The Spirit of the Rose, a remarkable 14.83-carat vivid purplepink diamond offered by Sotheby’s, which included its Russian provenance and cutting history. “It is a wonder of Nature both in terms of color and cut, truly magnificent,” he adds. At Christie’s, much attention was given to a Graff brooch that featured a 107.46-carat fancy yellow diamond, as well as a 3.96-carat fancy deep blue pear-shaped diamond and platinum ring.
