Phillips estimates two rings at CHF 2.9m each for 9 November
A 1.35-carat fancy-vivid-blue diamond and a 16.40-carat Kashmir sapphire carry the same upper figure at the Geneva Jewels Auction: VII. Three further lots are priced between CHF 180,000 and CHF 1.2 million.
By The Auctions Desk
What changed
Two lots share one ceiling. Phillips has put the same CHF 2.9 million upper estimate on a 1.35-carat blue diamond ring and a 16.40-carat sapphire ring. The sale is 9 November.
What it means
- If you are bidding at the top: The ceiling is shared but the per-carat ceilings are 12.1 times apart. The two lots are not substitutes.
- If you buy Kashmir sapphire: The larger 18.69-carat stone carries the lower per-carat estimate. The setting is doing the pricing, not the weight.
- If you buy provenance: A royal-owned necklace tops out at CHF 180,000, 6.2% of a headline ring's ceiling.
- What this is not: A result. These are pre-sale estimates for a sale that has not taken place.
Key figures
| Upper estimate, each ring$3.5m | CHF 2.9m |
|---|---|
| Fancy-vivid-blue diamondCHF 2,148,148 a carat at the ceiling | 1.35 ct |
| Kashmir sapphire, ringCHF 176,829 a carat at the ceiling | 16.40 ct |
| Sale date, GenevaAuction VII | 9 Nov |
Source: Phillips pre-sale estimates · Geneva Jewels Auction: VII, 9 November 2026 · reported 4 October 2026
One ceiling, twelve times apart
Same number, different stone. Both rings top out at CHF 2.9 million. The blue diamond weighs 1.35 carats and the sapphire 16.40.
Per carat it splits. That is CHF 2,148,148 a carat against CHF 176,829, a ratio of 12.1 on Carat Capital's division.
| Lot | Stone | High estimate, CHF | High estimate, USD | CHF a carat at the ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ring | 1.35-ct fancy-vivid-blue diamond | 2,900,000 | 3,500,000 | 2,148,148 |
| Ring | 16.40-ct Kashmir sapphire | 2,900,000 | 3,500,000 | 176,829 |
| Brooch and pendant, late 19th c. | 18.69-ct Kashmir sapphire | 1,200,000 | 1,500,000 | 64,206 |
| Harry Winston earrings | 9.67 and 10.29-ct Colombian emeralds | 900,000 | 1,100,000 | not computed |
| Necklace, circa 1928 | Cultured pearl and diamond | 180,000 | 220,000 | not applicable |
Notes on this table
Estimates are as reported on 4 October 2026 and read only out of that story's own body paragraphs. CHF a carat at the ceiling is Carat Capital's division of the high estimate by the stated carat weight: 2,900,000 ÷ 1.35 = 2,148,148 and 2,900,000 ÷ 16.40 = 176,829. The earrings hold two stones of different weights under one estimate, so a per-carat figure would be arbitrary and none is printed. The necklace's value is not carried by a single graded stone and no per-carat figure applies. The emerald earrings' estimate is a range, CHF 600,000 to CHF 900,000; the high end is the figure tabled.
The bigger sapphire costs less
Weight misleads. The 18.69-carat Kashmir sapphire in the 19th-century brooch has a high estimate of CHF 1.2 million.
Setting carries it. At CHF 64,206 a carat it is priced at 36.3% of the ring sapphire's per-carat ceiling, despite being the heavier stone.
Provenance is priced modestly
A royal name. The cultured pearl and diamond necklace of about 1928 belonged to Mary of Teck, queen of the United Kingdom.
Six percent. Its CHF 180,000 top estimate is 6.2% of a headline ring's ceiling, on Carat Capital's division.
What to watch
- 9 November 2026Geneva Jewels Auction: VII. Hammer prices against these five estimates, and whether the shared CHF 2.9m ceiling holds on either ring.
- Before 9 November 2026Phillips' full catalogue and any revised estimates. The figures above are a pre-catalogue announcement, not a final book.
- Mid-November 2026Christie's and Sotheby's Geneva jewellery weeks price comparable Kashmir material in the same fortnight.
The story so far
Go deeper
What would change this call
A withdrawal or a revised estimate. Pre-catalogue figures move, and a lot pulled before 9 November would take its ceiling with it.
What a pre-sale estimate is
An estimate is a range the house publishes before bidding, net of the buyer's premium it will add to the hammer price. It is a marketing figure as much as a valuation: a low estimate is set to attract bidding and a high estimate to frame the ceiling. Neither end is a price anyone has paid, and the realised total can land outside the range in either direction.
Method
The report was fetched to raw bytes at rapaport.com, HTTP 200, 454,360 bytes, saved to newsroom/sources/2026-10-06/phillips.html, with its payload datePublished reading 2026-10-04T10:36:59+00:00. Figures were greped only inside the story's own body paragraphs and the page's related-stories widget was excluded, because this site embeds other stories' figures in the same HTML document. Exact-digit greps on the saved file: 2.9 million one hit, 1.35-carat five, 16.40 five, 3.5 million three, November 9 one, Geneva Jewels Auction: VII three. Every per-carat figure above is Carat Capital's own division and is shown as arithmetic in the table note rather than attributed to Phillips. Archive check, by entity and period: no file in website/ matches Phillips Geneva together with Kashmir sapphire and 1.35-carat; the Geneva Jewels Auction: VII sale of 9 November 2026 has not been covered here before. Phillips said the figures last week, per the report; the sale itself is a future event and no result is claimed.