Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Laurence Graff, who collects gems and Andy Warhol art, showed his latest yellow-diamond necklace to Queen s Award for aiding international trade. The necklace will sell for more than $20 million, he said in an interview.
Graff, 67, opened his first retail outlet in the 1960s. With factories in Johannesburg and Amsterdam, he has 20 stores from London to Las Vegas and Moscow, and plans 2007 openings in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Geneva. His Web site shows Victoria Beckham and Oprah Winfrey wearing his jewels.
He wouldn t say how much he paid for the 100.09 carat yellow jewel shown last night, cut into a squarish pendant, and dangling from white diamonds.
and Asia enter the market.
Graff s fortune is valued by the Sunday Times Rich List at 750 million pounds, ($1.3 billion) not far below the musician Paul McCartney. As a collector, Graff ranks among the most active on lists compiled by art magazines.
At a Sotheby s auction on Saturday, he paid $2.2 million for ``The Scream, Warhol s rendering of Edvard Munch s painting. Earlier this month, he bought a 603-carat diamond called the Lesotho Promise for $12.
4 million. A small trim man in a pinstriped suit and snow white shirt, Graff spoke before the award ceremony about the art market.
Sandler: Do you regard art as a store of value, like diamonds?
Graff: It is a store of value. Warhol is like Picasso. People will always buy them.
Sandler: And if there s a crash?
Graff: There will be a dip in Warhol prices, but they ll come back.
100,000 pounds or more.
Sandler: You mean the young German artists at Sotheby s? They Graff: I think some of the Germans are overvalued. There are some young artists I would buy.
Cecily Brown is a genius. I bid on her painting (at the same auction), then I let it go.
well.
Graff: The ``Portrait of Man Ray. I didn t want to pay that much. I lost another version of ``The Scream six months ago.
It sold for $2.6 million. Before the auction on Saturday, Sotheby s offered me this version for more than that.
I said no. I bought it at the auction and I saved $600,000.
year.
Graff: I paid $12.6 million. There s an orange ``Marilyn million.
I paid $4.6 million for my ``Marilyn.
Sandler: Do you buy contemporary Chinese artists?
Graff: I bought four works when I was in Beijing. They ve doubled or trebled in six months. I paid $65,000 for a photograph by Wang Qinsong.
His auction price is now $350,000.
Sandler: Do you have new Asian buyers for your jewelry?
Graff: We ll open stores in Beijing and Shanghai.
We don t have a date yet, but it will be in the Peninsula Hotels, as in Tokyo.
We have a store in the Middle East. We ve been in Russia for five years.
We re the top jewelry store in Moscow.
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