Phillips New York jewels sale tops $4.1 million on strong demand

A platinum necklace set with 20 graduated step-cut Colombian emeralds and rows of brilliant-cut diamonds set the tone at Phillips’ New York Jewels sale, where collectors kept paying for pieces with strong signatures, clear provenance and stones that could be recognized at a glance. The auction closed at more than $4.1 million on June 10, with 95% of the 113 lots sold and 82% of sold lots bringing prices within or above estimate.

For vintage jewelry owners trying to judge what is truly liquid, the clearest answer came from the houses and the estates. Signed jewelry by Harry Winston, Cartier, JAR and other prestigious makers sold 100% by lot and doubled their combined pre-sale estimate, a reminder that named design and documented workmanship still travel well when the market is selective. The top lot, the Colombian emerald necklace, sold for $541,800, showing that important colored stones in disciplined, well-balanced settings can still outrun expectations when the stones are matched to elegant construction.

Provenance also did serious work. Phillips said 40 of 41 lots from the Tina Hills collection sold, while all 13 lots from the Irma Nicolas collection found buyers. Hills, who was born in Pola, Istria, Italy, now part of Croatia, immigrated to New York in her teens, studied at NYU and later became a prominent civic and philanthropic figure in Miami. That kind of backstory matters at auction because it gives jewelry a second layer of value beyond carat weight and brand stamp: it gives a piece a life.

Color, though, was not a guaranteed win at every price point. The projected top lot, a 31.77-carat oval paraiba tourmaline from Mozambique in a platinum and 18-karat yellow gold ring, failed to sell against an estimate of $550,000 to $650,000. But the category still had momentum. It was one of five paraiba tourmalines in the sale, and the other four sold, with two ranking among the 10 highest-selling lots. In other words, buyers remained willing to chase rare electric-blue material, but only when the size, saturation and price aligned.

Phillips had previewed the sale as a showcase of rare gemstones, important diamonds and signed jewels from major houses, and the result backed that claim with numbers rather than hype. The preview exhibition ran June 8 to 11 at the Phillips galleries at 432 Park Avenue in Manhattan, with the auction taking place June 10 at 12 p.m. ET.

The June result also marked a sharp step up from Phillips’ New York Jewels sale a year earlier, which brought in $2.876 million, sold 78% of lots and 77% by value across 105 lots. The 2025 sale was led by a 9.81-carat emerald and diamond ring at $165,000, but the 2026 session showed broader depth, especially for signed jewels, estate pieces and well-bred colored stones that still read clearly in the room.