Sotheby's High Jewelry auction in Geneva on 11 November brought in CHF 32.6 million, or $39.2 million, with coloured diamonds and gemstones taking the leading positions. The top lot was an unmounted oval modified brilliant-cut diamond of 8.63 carats, graded fancy-intense-pink with VS2 clarity and type IIa, which sold for CHF 4.5 million ($5.4 million), near the top of its CHF 3.3 million to CHF 5 million estimate.

Several lots went far beyond their published ranges. A Cartier Art Deco gem-set and diamond tutti frutti brooch, estimated at CHF 13,000, sold for CHF 128,000, almost ten times its pre-sale price. A Boucheron diamond tiara estimated at CHF 35,000 to CHF 50,000 made CHF 166,400, more than three times its upper valuation. A ring with a 28.46-carat step-cut Ceylon sapphire, estimated at CHF 260,000 to CHF 420,000, reached CHF 1.2 million.

Unmounted stones dominated the upper end of the results. A rare cushion-shaped Tanzanian spinel of 51.79 carats sold for CHF 1.7 million against an estimate of CHF 350,000 to CHF 500,000. An 8.11-carat fancy-pink diamond made CHF 1.6 million, a Graff ring with a 2.88-carat fancy-deep-blue diamond brought CHF 1.5 million, and an 18.03-carat fancy-vivid-yellow diamond sold for CHF 1.4 million.

The remaining top ten included a 3.40-carat fancy-intense-green diamond at CHF 921,600, a Harry Winston ring centred on a 69.44-carat Ceylon sapphire at CHF 755,200, a 9.55-carat Kashmir sapphire ring at CHF 678,400, and a Van Cleef & Arpels Egyptian Revival bracelet at CHF 665,600. The pattern across the sale was consistent: buyers paid premiums for colour, with pink, blue, yellow and green stones all finding strong competition.