For the six months to June 30, for example, Sotheby’s reported jewelry sales of $296.4 million, largely thanks to the Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale in Geneva in March. Presided over by Mr. Bennett, it totaled $175.1 million, shattering the previous record of $160.9 million achieved by Sotheby’s in the previous year’s sale. But just six months later, and days after Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, Mr. Bennett seemed uncharacteristically subdued when we met for lunch. It was hours before Sotheby’s high-profile sale of the Lesedi La Rona, a 1,109-carat, top-color white diamond, the largest rough diamond in existence. “I was surprised and disappointed,” Mr. Bennett said from California on a phone call weeks after the event.

Source: New York Times September 11, 2016 10:18 UTC