Christie's five-day auction in Hong Kong ended with total sales of HK$3.2 billion ($418 million), indicating a a renewed uptick in the Asian market.

Compared to last year, Chinese buyers were back to a more competitive stance, bidding up the estate of renowned dealer Y. C. Chen from which a pair of iron-red Qianlong famille rose vases fetched HK$43.6 million.

The May 28th sale of jewelry was led by a 75.36-carat, briolette or water-drop-shaped diamond necklace that sold for an auction record of HK$86.1 million.

Price records fell for a number of Southeast Asian artists, among them was Nguyen Phan Chanh whose 1932 ink and gouache on silk work “La Marchande de Riz” set a record for a Vietnamese artist by selling for HK$3.03 million. The work had once been appraised at just 50 pounds ($75).