RECORDS TUMBLE AS THE LEONARD JOEL DIAMOND SELLS FOR 873,000 USD

Leonard Joel is thrilled to announce that the biggest and most expensive diamond ever to come to auction in Australia sold at last night’s Important Jewels auction in Sydney for AU$1,125,000 IBP ($87,077,813).

Lot 46, the spectacular platinum and diamond ring featuring a square emerald-cut diamond weighing 25.02 carats, delighted clients at the viewings in Melbourne and Sydney before selling at auction to an absentee bidder in a historic moment for Leonard Joel.

When the hammer went down, the previous record for the most expensive diamond sold at auction in Australia – set at Leonard Joel’s Important Jewels auction last August when a 17.34-carat diamond ring sold for $575,000 IBP – was broken. The seller of the “Leonard Joel Diamond” is over the moon, and Hamish Sharma, Leonard Joel’s Head of Important Jewels, is delighted to have broken his own record.

Leonard Joel’s Important Jewels auction on 20 April 2021 in Sydney delivered AU$4,275,000 IBP ($330,895,688) IBP, making it the highest-grossing jewellery auction in Australian history. The auction saw competitive bidding from all over the world in the 50K+ range, but the majority of lots were sold to Australian buyers.

Other highlights from the night included lot 24, a rare pair of platinum and diamond earrings, the square emerald-cut diamonds, weighing 10.03 and 10.00 carats respectively, that sold for AU$650,000 IBP ($50,311,625), lot 49, a block of impressive platinum, 18ct gold, fancy intense yellow diamond and diamond ring that sold for $287,500 IBP, and lot 73, an exceptional platinum and diamond ring, the brilliant-cut diamond weighing 10.07 carats that sold for AU$275,000 IBP ($21,285,688).

2021 marks 40 years since Leonard Joel sold Hollywood actress Claire Adams Mackinnon’s jewellery collection and founded their jewels department. Last night’s results further cement Leonard Joel as the leader of the auction jewellery marketplace in Australia.