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Storied Necklace Makes Bold Return at Sotheby’s
May 15, 2019 6:08 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Sotheby’s brought in $42 million at its Geneva
auction this week as an emerald and diamond necklace with royal connections fetched $3.6 million.
The Van Cleef & Arpels Art Deco piece, which includes
diamonds, as well as 11 cabochon Colombian emeralds with a total weight of more
than 75 carats, went for more than double the price it achieved when it was
first sold at auction in 1994, Sotheby’s noted. The necklace — which
can be converted into bracelets — was created in the 1930s for Hélène
Beaumont, an American socialite and close friend of Wallis Simpson, the duchess
of Windsor. It was originally valued at $3 million to $4 million at the May 14 Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale.
“Tonight we saw the enduring appeal of outstanding Art Deco
jewelry,” said David Bennett, Sotheby’s worldwide jewelry chairman. “The
Beaumont Necklace is the Chrysler Building of jewelry, instantly recognizable
as an Art Deco masterpiece, and in my opinion, the greatest emerald and diamond
necklace of the period. I had the privilege to sell it a quarter of a century
ago, and achieving this landmark result tonight is a further testament to its
absolute and timeless beauty.”
Other notable lots include a brilliant-cut, 36.57-carat,
D-color, type IIa diamond, which garnered $5 million against an estimate of
$4.5 million to $5.5 million. A signed Bulgari ring, set with a 5.14-carat
Burmese ruby, fetched $328,355 per carat, or $1.7 million, beating its high
estimate of $1.3 million. An 18.86-carat, D-color, type IIa diamond ring by
Harry Winston also smashed its high estimate of $1.2 million, bringing in $1.4
million at the auction.
Sotheby’s also sold a diamond tiara, made by Fabergé in 1903
for Duchess Cecilie von Mecklenburg Schwerin, the last crown princess of
Prussia. The headpiece, which was a present from her Russian relatives upon her
marriage to Crown Prince Wilhelm, achieved $434,346. It was valued at $200,000
to $300,000.
Sotheby’s sold 77% of all lots on offer, it said, with close
to 60% of them fetching prices above their high estimate.
Image: The Beaumont Necklace. (Sotheby’s)
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Tags:
Bulgari, Crown Prince Wilhelm, David Bennett, Duchess Cecilie von Mecklenburg Schwerin, Fabergé, geneva, Harry Winston, Hélène Beaumont, Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, Rapaport News, Sotheby’s, the duchess of Windsor, Van Cleef & Arpels, Wallis Simpson
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