For collectors of designer jewelry, the December 8th New York auction, A Legacy of Elegance: Jewels from an Exceptional Collection, represents a unique opportunity. The sale catalog features rare pieces by designers such as Jar, Cartier, Boivin, Boucheron, and Suzanne Belperron. The jewelry in the catalog has an estimate of over $8 million. Furthermore, the auction will be held in Sotheby’s new headquarters, the historic Breuer Building on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. The importance of the sale for design and collectibles enthusiasts is evident from the presence of around twenty jewels by Suzanne Belperron (1900-1983), one of the most original artists in the history of jewelry. Belperron created sculptural pieces, often in the Art Deco style, prized by Diana Vreeland and the Duchess of Windsor, among others. This is why Suzanne Belperron’s jewelry is…
One of the designer’s most anticipated pieces is a necklace made of pink topaz, aquamarine, morganite, and diamonds, and a bracelet in chalcedony and amethyst. Another designer in the celebrity elite is Jar, aka Joel Arthur Rosenthal, an American-born French jeweler who produces consistently surprising and sought-after pieces. The sale features a dozen pieces by Jar, considered a pioneer of contemporary fine jewelry. To understand the value of his jewelry, suffice it to say that a pair of diamond clip-on earrings with branches evoking the nature of frost are up for auction: they are estimated at $500,000-700,000.
The auction also includes jewels from major fashion houses, such as the Boucheron ruby and diamond laurel leaf necklace, with approximately 40 carats of rubies and 65 carats of old-cut diamonds (estimate $1-2 million), which belonged to Mary Louise Hungerford Mackay (1843-1928) and before her to Countess Mona Bismarck (1897-1983). From Cartier, the auction also includes a ruby and diamond-set bracelet (estimate $300,000-$500,000) bearing the hallmark of Rubel Frères, a Parisian workshop known for its Art Deco creations for the Parisian jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels.
