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Lots of jewels, lots of gems and lots of watches for the Pandolfini auction on 29 and 30 May. The sale will be held in the Milan headquarters, in via Manzoni 45. In the two sessions, the department head of the auction house, Cesare Bianchi, prepares to award pieces of great interest. Starting with a collection of three Kashmir sapphires (the rarest), known for their intense blue color. They are natural gems without heat treatments, mounted on three rings: an 18-carat white gold band with a 6.08-carat sapphire and diamonds (estimate: 80-140,000 euros), a platinum ring with a 4.47-carat Kashmir sapphire and diamonds ( 50-90,000) and a rose gold ring with Kashmir sapphire and diamonds (30-50,000). Another sapphire, this time octagonal-cut Ceylon, is set in a Ceylon sapphire flower-shaped ring (10-18,000). Another highlight of the auction is a Cartier London platinum bracelet with Ceylon sapphires and diamonds (30-50,000), along with a platinum branch-shaped brooch with pear-cut sapphires and diamonds (8-12,000).

Auction in Rome with over 110 jewels up for auction on Thursday 9 May at the headquarters of Affide (a company that is part of the Dorotheum group), Palazzo Santacroce Petrignani in Piazza del Monte di Pietà. The overall starting price is 355,450 euros. Highlighted is lot 118 (starting price 7,000 euros): a brooch and a bracelet depicting the basilisk, dating back to the second half of the nineteenth century. The brooch and bracelet, of fine workmanship, are made with the hollow barrel technique in 750 gold, presumably of French manufacture. The brooch presents the shape of the body of the mythological creature twisted on itself, with the head of the rooster finely decorated in the plumage, the eyes embellished with garnets and the blue enamelled pendant metaphor of the terrestrial globe. The bracelet, with naturalistic motifs and embellished with two rooster heads with eyes decorated with emeralds, an open beak and a sharp tongue, evokes the power of his poison.

Spring jewels in the auction sale on May 28th by Faraone Casa d’Aste. The Milanese company offers 258 lots, which will be contested at the headquarters in via Monte Napoleone 9, in three rounds of jewellery, watches in the afternoon and luxury goods (such as Chanel bags) in the morning. The first of the two Faraone Casa d’Aste events (the other will be close to Christmas) will also be live streaming on the MyFaraone app. The session dedicated to jewels includes a rare choker signed Bulgari Monete collection, 1980s with three rows of tubigas, in two-tone gold with an imperial Roman coin in bronze set in the central part. Another important piece is a no-heat octagonal cut Burma sapphire weighing approximately 16.50 carats mounted on a platinum ring and another oval Ceylon sapphire weighing approximately 14 carats, also no-heat, mounted on a gold brooch yellow.

Still in the field of colored gems, mounted on a ring are two oval Colombian emeralds of approximately 4.90 carats in total, a Pederzani ring in yellow gold with an oval cabochon sapphire of 22.73 carats, with sapphires and caliber diamonds, and a platinum ring with natural white saltwater pearl with gray shade of approximately 17 millimeters. For diamonds, two platinum solitaires are highlighted, one with a 6.03-carat diamond and the other with a 6.86-carat diamond, both brilliant cut. Also on sale is a Bulgari Serpenti Viper full diamond bracelet and ring in white gold, a Van Cleef & Arpels Vintage Alhambra necklace characterized by ten motifs in yellow gold with malachite and diamonds, a Sabbadini snake bracelet in ebony and diamonds, an Illario snake ring in yellow gold, enamel and diamonds, a Ravasco brooch in platinum and diamonds and a Minaudière Illario for Ventrella in yellow and white gold finished with round diamonds and caliber rubies, complete with original case.

Among the watches, a rare Patek Philippe 3770/001 in yellow gold stands out, an ultra-refined model although with a quartz movement, born from the fusion of the elegant and refined Ellipse in the 1980s, and the Nautilus, a watch symbolizing young sportiness. A hybrid of the two watches, the Nautellipse, sold in this rare version: it is only the fourth to appear on the international auction market. Also up for auction are two Audemars Piguet Royal Oak models, with self-winding mechanical movements, in yellow gold and steel respectively, both complete with box and guarantee. There is no shortage of Rolex watches: an Ovetto and an Ovettone both from the 1950s.

Spring marked by blue for Aste Bolaffi in Turin. The auction sale organized by the company for the end of March culminated in the awarding of a ring with a prestigious 4.61-carat Kashmir blue sapphire, sold for 370,000 euros after a telephone and in-room duel between numerous international collectors. The jewel was purchased by an important New York buyer. The stone, free of signs of heating and inclusions, is characterized by a uniform velvety blue color, the most sought after and appreciated. The jewel comes from the heirs of an important Milanese family together with other precious items. The sale for the Turin maison ended with over 2.4 million euros, a record for the jewelery department.

The sapphire had no certification of origin, but gemological investigations by the Basel SSEF officially confirmed its provenance: the Kashmir region, north-west of the Himalayan chain, where a small mine rich in sapphires of extraordinary beauty was discovered in the 19th century, then exploited intensely, only for a few years, at the behest of the maharajah and now exhausted.

A memorable auction both in general, for the record of the jewelery department, and for this spectacular sapphire, which is proof of the added value that Aste Bolaffi can offer sellers. Specifically, I am proud to have been able to demonstrate it, thanks to the competence and stubbornness of our specialist, Maria Carla Manenti, who allowed the selling family to see a beautiful sapphire transformed into a stone of exceptional provenance. Once this discovery was ascertained, certified by the supreme authority on the subject consulted by us, the other added value was given by our international network which brought the most important buyers from all over the world to battle at the auction, thus allowing the sensational result.
Filippo Bolaffi, CEO of Aste Bolaffi

Among the other jewels that achieved the best prices were a pair of earrings in blue sapphires and diamonds, which went up to 167,000 euros, a rare necklace made up of five strands of natural saltwater pearls, purchased for 143,000 euros, more than three times the starting price, a platinum ring with a 5-carat rectangular stepped cut diamond, sold for 50,000 euros, a carnelian cameo engraved by Benedetto Pistrucci, purchased for 45,000 euros (lot 203), a pair of agate and enamel bookends signed by Alfredo Ravasco, one of the leading Italian goldsmiths of the 1920s and 1930s, depicting tropical fish, sought for up to 25,000 euros.

Positive results for the jewelery auction organized by the Ponte Casa D’Aste at Palazzo Crivelli, in Milan. The result indicates over 3.5 million euros awarded, a 128% revaluation of estimates and with 85% of lots sold. Shining above all was the 7.45 carat E graded white shuttle diamond which sold for 252,000. Among the top lotus also the bracelet signed Pederzani with rectangular diamonds for a total of 36 carats sold for 119,700 euros.

Sotheby’s Milan organized a Fine Jewels sale on October 25th. The auction house’s selection of jewels includes pieces with noble origins, made by the most important Italian and French maisons, together with a selection of colored stones. Among the highlights of the sale, for example, is a ring with a 3.58-carat ruby and diamonds (estimate 100,000-150,000 euros) signed Petochi, an ancient Roman jewelry brand that dates back to 1884. Another relevant piece is a diamond necklace and emeralds and brooch (estimate 60,000-100,000 euros).