Sotheby's June high jewellery sale in New York totalled US$43.4 million, up 38% on the prior June, with 98% of lots sold (National Jeweler). Coloured gems were not a side show. A private group of five Paraíba tourmalines realised US$3.4 million against a US$770,000–1.2 million estimate.
The lead stone was a 7.70 ct oval of Brazilian origin at US$1.4 million, more than double its high estimate. A 6.11 ct modified triangle Brazilian Paraíba made US$972,800. An 8.48 ct oval brought US$819,200. A 6.65 ct oval and 6.44 ct pear, sold together, reached US$204,800.
Sapphire buyers should note two other prints. Cartier Art Deco clips with six Kashmir sapphires (23.02 ct combined) opened near US$850,000 and finished at US$1.6 million, more than thirteen times the published high estimate. Separately, a 21.25 ct emerald-cut Ceylon sapphire ring (est. US$100,000–150,000) climbed to US$716,800 in a five-minute contest.
That spread is the market talking: maison Kashmir provenance at one end, large Ceylon face-up colour at another, and copper-bearing Brazilian Paraíba as the specimen category of the season. For Gem Shop, Paraíba is not our daily book, but the psychology matters. Buyers who stretch for neon blues will still ask hard questions about heat, origin reports and daylight appearance on Ceylon sapphires. We disclose heat on every card and sell stone-only list prices; landed cost is a separate WhatsApp quote.
