And 3-D was definitely on the agenda when Chaumet staged a mini-fashion show with models dressed in geometric paper dresses, their "head jewelry" shown against the backdrop of historic diadems displayed on the salon walls.
Do you want earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings or head jewelry (like a tiara)?
Head jewelry: are you doing to wear a tiara or headdress?
But both Ms. Hubbard and the head of jewelry at Christie's, Simon Teakle, said that no one could pick which fashion jewelry pieces would be "rediscovered" in the future -- and stage a comeback.
"Ten years ago the stone would have made a fraction of this price," said Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry for Christie's Americas and Switzerland, referring to "The Orange".
Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry for the Americas at Christie's, said Mr. Bhagat's delicate Mogul-inspired style "with a modern deco flair has found a great following".
Lisa Hubbard, the Sotheby's head of jewelry for the Americas, described Mr. Bhagat's jewels as a modern fantasy with echoes of the past.
"It's much easier to estimate a diamond or a ruby, comparing its size and clarity," said Terry Chu, deputy head of jewelry at Sotheby's Asia.
"You wouldn't go into Graff or Winston or Van Cleef and see wood," said Rahul R. Kadakia, Christie's head of jewelry in New York.
Graeme Thompson, head of jewelry for Bonhams Asia, said by e-mail that "dramatic" price increases in the past two or three years were "a direct result of auctions' becoming more and more popular, as collectors seek professional advice and an objective opinion".
The designer had some new ideas, said Sze Sze, head of jewelry at Poly Auction, which sold Ms. Feng's jadeite, emerald and diamond pendant necklace with a vine leaf design for 295,000 Hong Kong dollars ($37,580) at that auction.
