Sotheby’s latest auctions shone a spotlight on the Farnese. Sold for $6.7 million, this historic diamond of over 6 carats is one of the exceptional pieces on offer in Geneva.  And yet it doesn’t figure among the many records set by Sotheby’s since its first sale in the city in 1980. We look back at some of them.

1- 2015. The 12.03-carat  ‘Blue Moon of Josephine’ was  sold for $48,468,158 or $4,028,941 per carat, setting the world record for a diamond or stone per carat.

2- In 2014, the 100.09-carat Graff yellow diamond fetched $16,347,847 (or $163,331 per carat). It set the auction record both for a diamond of this colour and for a jewel sold by Sotheby’s.

3- 2012. This Cartier bracelet made of conch pearls from the 1920s belonging to Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain.  (1887-1969) was estimated at $800,000-$1,400,000. It was sold for $3,461,146. A record for a conch pearl bracelet. It appears in the book Celebrating Jewellery by David Bennett and Daniela Mascetti.

4- 2011. This tiara composed of 11 Colombian emeralds weighing 500 carats was probably created by Chaumet. The pear-shaped emeralds are thought to have come from the collection of Empress Eugenie. Estimated at $5-10 million, it went for $12,736,927. The world record for a tiara.

5- In 2010, the 24.78-carat ‘Graff Pink’ was sold for $46,158,674, or $1,862,739 per carat. The world record for a fancy intense pink diamond.

6- 2010. The onyx and diamond Cartier bracelet, created in 1952, belonged to the Duchess of Windsor’s collection. Estimated at £1-1.5 million, it fetched £4,521,250 ($7,036 874). An auction record for a Cartier bracelet.