HK$20m ruby earrings lead Sotheby's Hong Kong sale on 17 September
Two pear-shaped Burmese rubies of 5.08 and 5.20 carats top a sale of more than 200 lots. Nine of the ten costliest lots are led by a coloured stone.
By The Saleroom Desk
What changed
Colour leads the room. Sotheby's Hong Kong sells more than 200 lots on 17 September. Earrings set with two pear-shaped Burmese rubies, 10.28 carats together, carry the top estimate at HK$20 million.
What it means
- If you buy coloured stones: this sale is the September benchmark for Burmese ruby and Colombian emerald.
- If you consign diamonds: no diamond-led lot reached the published top ten.
- What this is not: a price. Estimates are the house's opinion before the room votes.
Key figures
| Top estimatethe ruby and diamond earrings | HK$20m |
|---|---|
| Two Burmese rubies5.08 and 5.20, pear-shaped | 10.28 ct |
| Lots on offerHong Kong, 17 September | 200+ |
| Coloured-stone lotsamong the costliest ten | 9 of 10 |
Source: Sotheby's Hong Kong High Jewellery, 17 September 2026 - lots and estimates as published by Rapaport, 3 September 2026
Colour carries the ten costliest lots
Diamonds lead nothing. 9 of the 10 costliest lots are led by a coloured stone. The tenth is a conch pearl necklace. Diamonds appear as settings and frames.
Burma supplies four. Four of the 10 are Burmese rubies: the earrings, two rings and a Mauboussin necklace of about 1930.
| Lot | Principal stones | Estimate (HK$) |
|---|---|---|
| Ruby and diamond earrings | 5.08 and 5.20 ct Burmese rubies | 20m |
| Burmese ruby ring | 5.06 ct oval | 8.8-16m |
| Paraiba tourmaline ring | 7.52 ct Brazilian cushion | 7.8-15.5m |
| Harry Winston emerald set | 25.09 ct Colombian emerald | 8-15m |
| Harry Winston emerald earrings | 16.27 and 17.03 ct Colombian | 7-15m |
| Mauboussin necklace, circa 1930 | Burmese rubies and ruby beads | 9.5-11m |
| Conch pearl necklace | 6.4-12.45 mm drop pearls | 6.5-9.5m |
| Kashmir sapphire ring | 20.84 ct sugarloaf cabochon | 5.5-9.5m |
| Burmese ruby ring | 6.05 ct cushion | 6.3-7.8m |
| Van Cleef & Arpels necklace | 72 carved emerald beads | 4.6-6m |
Source. Rapaport, 3 September 2026, reporting Sotheby's Hong Kong High Jewellery sale of 17 September 2026.
Order. is by the top of each estimate, computed by Carat Capital; Rapaport publishes no ranking.
The earrings. carry a single figure in the source rather than a range.
The estimates leave gaps
One figure, no range. Rapaport gives the earrings a single HK$20 million, where the other nine lots carry ranges. No low estimate for the top lot is published.
No sale total. Neither the house nor Rapaport gives an aggregate estimate for the 200-plus lots. The published ten are a selection, not a whole.
Hong Kong sets the September mark
The room matters. Hong Kong is where Asian coloured-stone demand is priced each September. Entry to the published ten is a Van Cleef & Arpels emerald necklace at HK$4.6 million.
What to watch
- 17 SepThe sale in Hong Kong. The earrings against HK$20 million is the test of Burmese ruby demand.
- Before 17 SepSotheby's catalogue, for a low estimate on the earrings and any aggregate for the sale.
- After 17 SepThe Colombian emerald results against the Harry Winston pair's HK$7 million to HK$15 million.
The story so far
- 4 one-offs to PhillipsRolex sends four unique Daytonas to a public room.
- £59,000 in PenzanceA steel Patek beat its low estimate 11.8 times.
- $31.4 million at Sotheby'sTrophy lots carried a high jewellery sale; a pink walked.
Go deeper
What would change this call
The earrings failing to sell, or clearing at the bottom of a range Sotheby's has not yet published. Either would show that Burmese ruby demand is narrower than a catalogue of nine coloured-stone lots implies.
Why a Burmese ruby prices apart
Rubies from the Mogok and Mong Hsu deposits in Myanmar carry the colour the trade calls pigeon's blood, and United States import restrictions have limited their movement since 2008. Certified Burmese stones above five carats are scarce and are graded and priced as a separate class from Mozambican and Thai material, which is why origin appears in the lot description before the weight.
Method
Estimates and carat weights are Rapaport's, published 3 September 2026, reporting Sotheby's Hong Kong High Jewellery sale of 17 September 2026. The South China Morning Post's report of the same sale confirms the lead lot, the estimate and the 200-lot count. The 10.28-carat figure is the sum of the two rubies, 5.08 and 5.20, computed by Carat Capital; the sources give them separately. The ranking in Table I is by the top of each estimate and is also computed here. Rapaport publishes one figure for the earrings rather than a range, no low estimate for that lot, and no aggregate estimate for the sale, so none is stated. The count of nine coloured-stone lots is of the ten lots Rapaport names and is not a count of the whole sale. Dollar equivalents in the source are Rapaport's conversion and are not repeated.