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Princess Aga Khan Jewels
Nov 3, 1995 1:31 PM
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Princess Aga Khan Jewels
Jonker Diamond #8 To Be Auctioned In Geneva
by Amber Michelle
The upcoming auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's in Geneva
this November promise to be filled with excitement as well as
exceptional jewels of fine provenance. It's the ultimate
fantasy...to get inside the jewelry box of a princess. And it's a
fantasy come true November 13 at the Hotel Richmond in Geneva when
Christie's auctions part of the personal jewelry collection of
Princess Salimah Aga Khan. The jewels are reported to be the most
extravagant collection to hit the international auction market since
the Duchess of Windsor's jewels were auctioned in Geneva in 1987.
The highlight of the collection is the Begum Blue, a 13.78
heart-shaped fancy deep blue diamond. The Begum Blue is the
centerpiece of a diamond pendant necklace comprised of forty-one heart
shaped diamonds. A second internally flawless, 16.04 carat heart
shaped diamond is suspended from the Begum Blue. It is expected to
garner US$7 million. Many pieces of Princess Salimah's jewelry
collection were specially designed for her by the greatest designers
of our time. The collection includes jewels from Van Cleef & Arpels,
Cartier, Boucheron, Buccellati, Bulgari, Winston, Tiffany-Schlumberger
and Marina B. "This is the first time in my 25 years as a
jewelry specialist at Christie's that we are offering such a complete
and magnificent jewelry collection for sale," says Francois Curiel,
director of Christie's International Jewelry Department. Over
250 pieces of Princess Salimah's jewelry are being auctioned including
pieces she inherited from her grandmothers and pieces she received as
gifts. A 16.66 carat pear shaped D color diamond ring by Van
Cleef and Arpels is being offered (estimate $400,000) along with a
brooch by Harry Winston set with marquise and pear shaped diamonds
(estimated at $160,000) A celebrated beauty, the Princess was
born Sarah Croker Poole in Delhi, India in 1940 where her father was a
serving officer in the Sixth Lancers, formerly an Indian Cavalry. The
family returned to England in 1946 where they bought a farm in
Berkshire before moving to London. In 1958, Sarah who was known as
Sally, was presented as a debutante to the Queen of England. At 19
she married lord James Crichton-Stuart, whom she left two years later.
During the 1960s the Princess became one of England's top
fashion models and quite the celebrity. She was photographed by such
notable photographers as Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton and Norman
Parkinson. She made twenty some television commercials and was
perhaps best known for her Pond's Cold Cream ads. She met
Prince Karim Aga Khan at a New Year's Eve party at the Palace Hotel in
St. Moritz in 1968. A year later they married and Sally moved to
France. The couple recently divorced after 25 years of marriage.
The Daily Express (England) reported that the Princess, who divides
her time between Switzerland and London, received a #50 million pound
divorce settlement; #20 million in cash and #30 million in jewelry.
Other notable jewels to be auctioned are a suite of diamond and
emerald jewelry by Cartier made up of a pendant necklace, ring, brooch
and ear pendants ($850,000). A suite of ruby and diamond jewelry by
Buccellati,is estimated at $200,000. "The attraction of a
jewel is not just in its value or in the pleasure of wearing it, but
above all in its design and in the talent of the workmanship that
turns stones into magic. It is the quality that speaks to you and
makes each piece of jewelry unique," said the princess in a prepared
statement for the press. A portion of the proceeds from the
sale of the gems will be donated to a charity of the Princess' choice,
which will be determined after the auction. Ahmadabad Diamond...the
Legend Continues The Ahmadabad diamond, is the highlight of Christie's
sale of Magnificent jewels on November 15 at the Hotel Richmond in
Geneva. The pear shaped 78.86 carat D color diamond is expected to
bring $6 million. The diamond has a distinguished history dating back
to the 17th century when the French explorer Jean-Baptiste Tavernier,
Baron of Aubonne, illustrated and described the diamond in his diary,
which came into his possession during one of his many expeditions to
Asia between 1631 and 1668. Tavernier acquired the stone in
Ahmadabad, capital of the Gujarat province of India, an important
center of trade at the time. Legend says that Tavernier sold the
diamond to the last Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb who ruled from 1659 to
1707. The stone was not seen again until it showed up a 150 years
later in the private collection of the Begum Hazrat Mahal, wife of
Wajid Ali Shah, King of Oudh from 1847 to 1856 renowned for leading
the Indian mutiny against the British in 1857. 26.34 Carat Blue
Diamond Poised For Sotheby's Auction A fancy deep blue diamond
weighing 26.34 carats, the largest ever to be offered at auction is
expected to garner #8 million at the at Sotheby's Geneva Magnificent
Jewelry sale on Thursday, November 16 at Hotel Beau Rivage. The
diamond is a rich velvet blue color. According to David Bennett,
director of Sotheby's Jewelry and Precious Objects Division of Europe,
the color combined with its exceptional size, elegant emerald cut and
excellent polish places it among the most important colored diamonds
in the world. The Gemological Institute of America's report is
accompanied by a letter stating that the "26.34 carat square emerald
cut...is the largest Fancy Deep Blue natural color diamond that we
have graded." As is the tradition with diamonds of this
magnitude sold at auction, the buyer of the stone will choose the name
for it. Jonker Number 8 Diamond on the Block at Sotheby's
Sotheby's Geneva will auction the 15.76 carat Jonker Number 8
diamond (estimate $380/450,000) as part of its Magnificent Jewels
Collection on November 16 at Hotel Beau Rivage. The D color VS1
diamond is set as a single stone ring in platinum. The Jonker diamond
was found by Johannes Jacobus Jonker a farmer and digger. The 726
carat diamond was discovered January 17, 1934 about five kilometers
from the Premier Mine in South Africa. When it was first uncovered
the Jonker diamond was the fourth largest gem-quality diamond ever to
be found. The stone was bought from Jonker by Joseph Bastisenen of
the Diamond Corporation. The diamond was shipped to London where
Harry Winston purchased the rock from the Central Selling
Organization. The stone was brought to New York and then toured around
the United States in 1935 drawing capacity crowds at exhibitions. A
year later it was cut into high quality 13 gems. Diamond Dazzlers
Sotheby's Geneva also offers several other fine diamonds
during its sale of Magnificent Jewelry, November 16 at Hotel Beau
Rivage.
A fine pink diamond ring signed Cartier London, circa 1920. The
ring features a claw set with a 7.37 rectangular step-cut diamond with
cut corners. Each shoulder is collet-set with a trapeze shaped and
baguette diamond (estimate $3/4 million).
A rare fancy purplish pink 12.77 carat diamond ring is part of a
European private collection (estimate $2/3 million).
A rectangular shaped step-cut D color diamond weighing 38.88 carats
comes from the same European private collection ($1/1.5 million).
Diamond pendant earrings with pear shaped diamond drops, both D
color weighing 14.13 and 15.81 carats respectively also comes from
the European private collection ($400/600,000). Ritman Collection of
Art Nouveau and Symbolist Jewelry Sotheby's Geneva offers a
the 95 piece Ritman Collection of Art Nouveau and Symbolist jewelry,
November 16 at Hotel Beau Rivage. The collection includes pieces from
the most celebrated jewelers from the fin de siecle, including Ren
Lalique, Georges Fouquet, Lucien Gautrait, Philippe Wolfers, Maison
Vever and Eugene Feuillatre. The jewelry is characterized by images
of mysticism, exotic imagery and suppressed passion. The
Ritman collection was accumulated, by a collector with a deep
understanding of the period, resulting in a select group of pieces
that represent the finest of this art form.
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Tags:
Auctions, Bulgari, Exhibitions, Harry Winston, India, Jewelry, Sotheby's, South Africa, Tiffany, United States
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