Superb jewels at auction: on June 17, Christie’s presents a sale of Magnificent Jewels at Rockefeller Center in New York. The catalog includes a selection of diamonds and gems with spectacular colors, along with creations from the most prestigious jewelry houses, including Belperron, Bulgari, Cartier, Harry Winston, JAR, Van Cleef & Arpels and many others.
The most anticipated piece is The Blue Belle, a sapphire and diamond necklace (estimate $8,000,000-12,000,000). At the heart of the jewel is an extraordinary Sri Lankan (Ratnapura) sapphire weighing an exceptional 392.52 carats, discovered in 1926. Purchased in 1937 with the intention of giving it to Queen Elizabeth (The Queen Mother) on the occasion of the coronation of King George VI, the jewel never entered the royal collection. After passing through several owners, the Blue Belle resurfaced at the Geneva auction in 2014 and now returns to Christie’s, where it will once again take centre stage as the lead lot of the sale.
Christie’s is delighted to present the entire selection of Magnificent Jewels to our clients and collectors. Leading the sale is the Blue Belle Sapphire, a 392.52 carat gem of exceptional size, colour and clarity. Sapphires of this calibre are extraordinarily rare. This extraordinary stone must be considered among the most prestigious colored gems to come to market in many years, truly worthy of any world-class collection.
Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Jewelry at Christie’s
Among the most historically significant highlights of the sale is the Marie-Thérèse Pink Diamond, a historic vase-shaped colored diamond ring (est. 3,000,000-5,000,000). This rare 10.38-carat fancy purple-pink kite-shaped diamond is believed to date back to the mid-18th century. According to royal tradition, Queen Marie Antoinette entrusted her most valuable jewels to her faithful coiffeur on the eve of her failed escape from Paris in 1791, hoping to one day retrieve them. As fate would have it, the jewels were eventually passed down to her only surviving daughter, Duchess Maria Teresa of Angoulême, and then to her niece Duchess Maria Teresa of Chambord. Although it is not known for certain, it is likely that this diamond was part of this inheritance.
Generations later, a will identified the diamond’s next known owner as Queen Maria Teresa of Bavaria, who called it “a pink solitaire diamond from Aunt Chambord.” Presented in a velvet case containing a hat pin with an Austrian Imperial Warrant, likely dating to 1868, the diamond’s provenance reflects its imperial heritage. The jewel last appeared at auction in Geneva in 1996, offered by a member of a European royal family, and has remained hidden from the public until now. Today it has been reinterpreted by legendary Parisian jeweler Joel Arthur Rosenthal (Jar) and set in a spectacular ring that transforms it into a contemporary masterpiece, steeped in centuries of royal history, elegance and glamour.
Other highlights include a loose diamond of 66.74 carats, D color, VVS1 clarity (3,200,000-4,200,000). Another highlight is a ring with a 17.98 carat pear-shaped brilliant-cut blue diamond set in platinum (1,000,000-1,500,000) from Important Jewels from a Distinguished Family Collection. The sale also includes several fine signed jewels, such as a Cartier Panthère brooch in onyx, emerald and diamonds (estimate 250,000-350,000), a Cartier Art Deco brooch set with gems and diamonds (100,000-150,000), and a rare Van Cleef & Arpels ring set with sapphires and diamonds (400,000-600,000), as well as an important Chaumet ring set with coloured diamonds and sapphires (500,000-700,000). Jewels of exceptional provenance include a Plastron necklace in star sapphires and sapphires by Suzanne Belperron (250,000-350,000), from the collection of Elsa Schiaparelli. A second piece formerly owned by Schiaparelli is Suzanne Belperron’s diamond Torsade bracelet (100,000-150,000), in which sections of diamonds and platinum intertwine to form dynamic sculptural forms. The sale also includes several previously announced major private collections, including Color and Ingenuity: The Collection of Lucille Coleman, The Jewelry Collection of Anne H. Bass, and Magnificent Mughal Jewels: Property from a Royal Collection.
