Phillips Kashmir sapphire ring hammers 18.9% below its low estimate
The 16.40-carat ring sold for CHF 1,935,000 with premium on a CHF 1.5 million hammer in Geneva on 9 November. Phillips puts its Geneva Jewels Auction VII at CHF 8,069,595, with 91 of 125 lots sold.
By Carat Capital
What changed
Hammer below estimate. Phillips' Kashmir sapphire ring hammered at CHF 1.5 million in Geneva on 9 November, below its CHF 1.85 million low estimate. With premium it cost CHF 1,935,000.
What it means
- If you price Kashmir sapphires: the hammer was 81.1% of the low estimate, on a stone with SSEF and Gübelin letters stating no heat.
- If you consign to Geneva: Phillips says 91 of 125 lots sold, 73% by lot and 76% by value.
- What this is not: an unsold lot. The ring sold, and led the sale.
Key figures
| Hammer, lot 423low estimate CHF 1,850,000 | CHF 1,500,000 |
|---|---|
| Sold Forincludes premium | CHF 1,935,000 |
| Hammer below low estimateCarat Capital's division | 18.9% |
| Sale total, Phillips says91 of 125 lots sold | CHF 8,069,595 |
Source: Phillips, Geneva Jewels Auction: VII, 9 November 2026; lot page, sale page and results release read 10 November 2026 · estimates exclude buyer's premium; Sold For includes it
The hammer missed the estimate.
Estimates exclude premium. Phillips sets estimates without buyer's premium, so the hammer is the like-for-like test. CHF 1.5 million was 81.1% of the low estimate.
Premium added CHF 435,000. The buyer paid CHF 1,935,000, the price Phillips reports as achieved.
| Lot | Estimate | Sold For |
|---|---|---|
| 423, Kashmir sapphire ring, 16.40 ct | 1,850,000 to 2,900,000 | 1,935,000 |
| 387, Bucherer diamond ring, 10.09 ct, D flawless | 290,000 to 450,000 | 619,200 |
| 419, nine fancy colour diamonds | 380,000 to 660,000 | 451,500 |
| 421, diamond ring, 20.16 ct, H VS1 | 190,000 to 370,000 | 412,800 |
Source. Phillips' results release and lot pages.
Lot 423 hammered at CHF 1,500,000, from its lot page.
The sapphire still led.
Top lot of 125. The ring was the sale's top lot, ahead of a 10.09-carat D flawless diamond ring by Bucherer at CHF 619,200.
Two letters, no heat. SSEF and Gübelin reports both state Kashmir origin with no indications of heating, the lot page says.
Phillips gives no blue ring result.
Same top estimate. A Fancy Vivid Blue diamond ring, lot 426, carried the same CHF 2.9 million high estimate. It is not among the ten lots Phillips lists.
Total matches the labels. Phillips puts the sale at CHF 8,069,595. The 91 Sold For prices on the sale page add up to the same figure.
What to watch
- Next Kashmir sapphire above CHF 1 millionThe next one offered at Geneva. The test: whether its hammer clears the low estimate.
- When Phillips posts lot 426The blue diamond ring's result. The test: sold, unsold or withdrawn, on the house's own page.
The story so far
Go deeper
What would change this call
If the next comparable Kashmir stone hammers above its low estimate, this result reads as one room's bidding on one ring, not a softening in the category.
How a Phillips price is built
The hammer is the winning bid. Phillips adds a buyer's premium to give the Sold For price, the figure its releases call the price achieved. Its release states that estimates do not include buyer's premium, so a hammer is set against an estimate and a Sold For is not.
Method
Lot 423's page, https://www.phillips.com/detail/236884, read 10 November 2026 with an identifying user agent, 200, 168,130 bytes: 'CHF1,935,000' 1 hit; page data 'soldPrice\",1935000,\"hammerPrice\",1500000'; estimate '1,850,000' 1 hit and '2,900,000' 1 hit; 'Kashmir' 16 hits; 'SSEF report no. 155711 and Gübelin report no. 26070131', 'with no indications of heating'. The sale page, https://www.phillips.com/auction/CH060426, 200, 1,325,412 bytes: 91 'Sold For' labels summing to CHF 8,069,595; no lot record for lot 426 ('lotNumber",426' 0 hits in 1,325,412 bytes fetched 06:07 EST 10 November 2026), and the house editorial on the same page gives lot 426's estimate as 'CHF1,850,000–2,900,000'. Phillips' release PDF, 200, 422,623 bytes, text read by OCR: 'Sale Total: CHF8,069,595', 'Lots Sold: 91 | Lots Offered: 125', 'Sold by Lot: 73% | Sold by Value: 76%', the ten lots and prices in the table, 'Estimates do not include buyer's premium'; '426' 0 hits in the OCR text of the 422,623-byte PDF fetched 06:06 EST 10 November 2026. Division, Carat Capital's: 1,500,000 / 1,850,000 = 0.811 -> 81.1% of the low estimate, 18.9% below it; 1,935,000 - 1,500,000 = 435,000. Lots 421 and 388 both sold for CHF 412,800 (two labels on the sale page).