Christie’s Hong Kong jadeite necklace fetches HK$200.2 million, sets decade high
Christie’s sold a 61-bead jadeite necklace for HK$200.2 million, nearly matching the record and showing how color, translucency and bead matching drive value.
Christie’s Hong Kong pushed jadeite back into the center of the collector conversation when a 61-bead necklace known as the Ethereal Jadeite Necklace sold for HK$200.2 million, about US$25.6 million. The price made it the most valuable jadeite jewel to appear on the market in more than a decade and placed it just shy of the long-standing auction record for jadeite jewelry.
The necklace was built around 61 perfectly matched jadeite beads, measuring roughly 13.7 mm to 8.8 mm in diameter, with a jadeite cabochon at the clasp and round yellow diamonds adding a sharp flash of contrast. Christie’s set the estimate at HK$110 million to HK$200 million, or US$15 million to US$26 million, and the final result edged past the top of that range. The sale also marked Christie’s 40th anniversary in Asia, a milestone that gave the result extra weight in a market where top-grade jadeite has become increasingly scarce.
For collectors, the number to remember is not just the headline price but the structure of the jewel itself. Fine jadeite is prized for vivid color, translucency and the soft inner glow dealers call water content. Matching 61 beads so precisely, especially across a necklace of this scale, is part of what separates museum-grade material from the estate pieces that turn up more commonly. The Hutton-Mdivani necklace, which still holds the all-time auction record at HK$215 million, had only 27 jadeite beads, yet its pedigree and exceptional material carried it even higher. That necklace sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in April 2014 and once belonged to Barbara Hutton, with ties to Louise Van Alen and Princess Nina Mdivani.
Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale on May 26 totaled HK$581.5 million, or US$74.2 million, up 55% year on year. The sale was 90% sold by lot, with 72% of lots finishing above their high estimates, and 109 of 121 lots finding buyers. Bidding on the jadeite necklace opened at HK$90 million, drew around 18 bids, and ended at a hammer price of HK$170 million before fees. The winning bidder was a woman in the saleroom holding paddle number 893.
The result showed that exceptional jadeite still commands a premium when the color is vivid, the translucency is luminous, the beads are evenly matched, and the mounting does not distract from the stone. That combination is rare, and in jadeite it remains the difference between a beautiful jewel and a piece the market treats like history.
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