Across auction houses, luxury collectibles has become one of the most effective categories to offset declining art sales while expanding audiences. As demonstrated – and amplified – by Sotheby’s ‘Other World’ strategy, which repositions its headquarters as an experience-based department store, the luxury sector is becoming increasingly central to auction houses’ business models. In 2025, Sotheby’s luxury category generated $2.7 billion in revenue, up 22 percent year over year and exceeding $2 billion for the fourth year in a row. At Christie’s, luxury sales reached $795 million in 2025, up 17 percent from 2024, and proved to be one of the most effective tools for attracting new and younger buyers, who made up 38 percent of new bidders last year.
Across auction houses and geographies, luxury jewelery and accessories has emerged as one of the strongest performing sectors, representing a decade-high of 18.8% of total auction value in 2025. While gold and other precious metals continue to rise, it is particularly interesting to note how the secondary market is also gaining momentum, moving dynamically across categories, geographies and price levels.
Sotheby’s jewelry sales exceeded $300 million by December, excluding the Dec. 5 jewelry and watch auction in Abu Dhabi, which was led by an $8.8 million, 31.68-carat bright orange-pink diamond. Additional debut auctions in the Brewer Building generated $43.9 million in total sales. Meanwhile, Christie’s held a series of high-selling jewelry auctions throughout the year, including an $87.7 million auction in June in New York and a $46.5 million auction in December, with jewelry sales in Geneva in between. Among the standout pieces was the Mellon blue diamond, which sold for about $25.5 million — the highest-grossing piece of jewelry of the year — during a week in which jewelry sales rose 24 percent.
While the colored gemstone market has remained exceptionally strong, prices have been noticeably driven by a small number of high-quality stones. At the same time, demand for signed jewelry with historical provenance has soared. A prime example is a diamond brooch once owned by Napoleon Bonaparte, which sold for nearly $4.4 million — more than 15 times its high estimate — at Sotheby’s Royal and Noble Jewels auction last November. However, there is a difference between seasoned collectors and the younger generation of buyers, who tend to gravitate towards wearable heritage designs from the late 1960s and 1970s. Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Hermès, Bulgari and Chanel continue to attract the most attention in this category.
A recent study by FashioNica, a luxury retailer, analyzed popular jewelery pieces from major heritage brands to assess which ones have seen the strongest retail price growth since 2020, making them increasingly compelling opportunities when they appear on the secondary market and also proving their role as reliable assets to maintain value over the long term.
Over the past five years, Chanel’s Coco Crush line has risen more than 30 percent at retail, with the bracelet now priced at $15,750 and the ring at $3,250, respectively, up 36 and 32 percent from their previous retail prices ($11,600 and $2,500). On secondary platforms, prices generally range from about US$10,000 for a bracelet to US$2,500 for a ring, depending on condition and materials.
The Cartier Trinity Ring has the largest increase in retail sales, rising 65 percent over five years to $2,350 from its previous price of $1,400. Secondary market prices remain closely matched, typically averaging around $2,000. As FashionNica points out, the Trinity Ring contains nearly seven grams of 18-karat gold — worth about $750 at current metal prices — while retailing for $2,350. The residual value reflects the brand value and cultural capital associated with a design that has remained iconic since 1924. It is worth noting that, as with many heritage jewelry examples, the Trinity Ring’s history is deeply intertwined with the world of art. According to widely cited accounts, its inspiration is linked to Louis Cartier’s close friendship with artist and writer Jean Cocteau, who famously wore two Trinity rings stacked on his little finger, their six interlocking bands creating a striking gesture. The ring quickly became a favorite among many, especially among the avant-garde and eccentric circles of Paris, cementing its status not only as jewelry, but as a cultural icon.
Bulgari’s B.Zero1 Ring follows closely behind, up 41 percent at retail, from $2,700 to $3,800. The bold design aesthetic continues to resonate, with more than 67,000 annual online searches. On the secondary market, B.Zero1 rings typically trade for around $2,800, which represents about a 75 percent value retention. Recent results at smaller European auction houses – including Auktionsverk in Stockholm – show standard 18-karat gold B.Zero1 rings selling for between £810 and £1,012 (US$1,000-$1,250), generally in line with estimates.
The Van Cleef & Arpels Alhambra necklace remains one of the most popular pieces of fine jewelry, attracting an estimated 2.6 million searches annually. At a recent Phillips auction, an antique onyx necklace sold for about $12,700 against an estimate of $5,000 to $7,000. Bracelets from the same collection are selling at or above estimates, ranging from approximately $4,825 to $7,000. On secondary platforms like 1stDibs, antique Alhambra pendants show a wide variation, ranging from around $11,750 for mother-of-pearl models to as much as $75,000 for rare gold 20-figure versions, depending on materials, number of embellishments, and provenance.
The Finesse ring from Hermès is another highly sought-after heritage design that has seen significant increases in retail prices. Diamond-studded white gold versions now start at about $9,700 in the United States, an increase of about 20 percent from about $7,600 five years ago. Although it rarely appears at major auction houses, the ring frequently trades hands on secondary platforms such as eBay, 1stDibs, and The RealReal, and typically ranges from $1,200 to $4,800, depending on materials, condition, and provenance. The higher-carat-weight diamond-encrusted versions can exceed $5,000.
The price of the Cartier Love Bracelet has also risen from a retail price of about $4,500 five years ago to $5,500 today, an increase of nearly 20 percent that reflects the enduring power of the design, which has been groundbreaking since 1969. Diamond-encrusted versions now sell for about $12,000 to $15,000. On the secondary market, value retention can be as high as 95-96 percent for well-documented examples, placing the Love Bracelet — along with the Trinity Ring — among the more “investment grade” pieces of jewelry at this price. Plain 18-karat gold versions typically retail between $4,000 and $8,000, while diamond-encrusted models can fetch up to $12,000.
Even higher is the current retail price of the Cartier Juste un Clou bracelet, now listed at about $8,700, a 16 percent increase from $7,500 five years ago. On the secondary market, plain 18-karat gold versions generally trade for between $4,500 and $6,000, while diamond-encrusted examples range from $9,000 to $14,000, depending on condition and configuration.
When it comes to heritage branded jewellery, the logic of the secondary market is fundamentally different from the logic of art. The appeal lies less in the upside of resale and more in structural stability. While secondary prices are often lower than retail prices, they tend to rise over time as primary prices rise, limiting downside volatility rather than generating speculative gains.
However, the fact that secondary prices are already approaching high retail levels after relatively short holding periods supports long-term investment appeal – especially as scarcity increasingly favors vintage examples. In a secondary market shaped by inflation, frequent increases in retail prices and a tightening of primary supply, celebrity jewelry acts less as a speculative commodity and more as a store of value, benefiting from liquidity while exhibiting relatively low volatility.
Heritage jewelery houses such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Bvlgari, Hermès and Chanel tightly control production and supply, impose strict discipline on retail prices and implement regular price increases. At the same time, much of jewelry’s value remains tied to tangible materials — gold, platinum, diamonds and colored stones — whose prices are supported by global commodity markets. Combined, these structural factors create predictable upward pressures in retail trading, compressing volatility between primary and secondary markets.
More in luxury
