A rare necklace containing approximately 300 carats of diamonds, some of which may have ties to Marie Antoinette, was the star of the Royal and Noble Jewels sales at Sotheby’s in Geneva, raking in $4.8 million.
The piece, which made its first public appearance in 50 years, led the white-glove sale by nearly doubling its $2.8 million high estimate after a seven-minute bidding war, Sotheby’s said Thursday. Belonging to Marjorie Paget, marchioness of Anglesey and oldest daughter of Henry Manners, the eighth duke of Rutland, the necklace graced the coronations of both King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II.
“While there were innumerable results worth celebrating, as a career highlight, the Anglesey Jewel stands sans pareil,” said Andres White Correal, chairman of jewelry for Sotheby’s in Europe and the Middle East, and head of the Noble Jewels sale. “From the moment we laid eyes on it, our entire team was transfixed by its beauty, its history, and its timelessness. Traveling with it around the world, the awe it inspired was universal. The electricity in the sales room was palpable, and it will be one of my fondest memories to have been on the phone, helping to find its new home.”
The November 13 sale took place in Geneva, directly after the company’s Magnificent Jewels auction. Together, the two sales brought in $30.7 million, receiving bids from more than 330 participants across the world. Some 87% of lots at the Magnificent Jewels sale sold, while 100% of items from Royal and Noble Jewels were snapped up, Sotheby’s noted.
Here are the top five items from the Magnificent Jewels sale:
A ring with a step-cut, 12.52-carat, fancy-orangey-pink, VVS2-clarity diamond center stone set between triangular diamond shoulders more than tripled its CHF 800,000 ($902,031) high estimate to bring in $3.3 million. This brilliant-cut, 16.73-carat, very-light-pink, VVS1-clarity diamond pendant fetched $1.4 million, exceeding its CHF 1.1 million ($1.2 million) upper price. The Argyle mine produced this cut-cornered rectangular mixed-cut, 1.44-carat, fancy-red, I2-clarity diamond, set in a ring. It sold for $1.1 million, within its expected range. Containing a cushion modified brilliant-cut, 40.88-carat, fancy-intense-yellow, VS2-clarity diamond, this ring garnered $817,531, just edging out its CHF 700,000 ($789,415) high price. Tiffany & Co. created this necklace which features a pear-shaped, 13.05-carat, D-color, internally flawless diamond suspended from a chain with spectacle-set brilliant-cut diamonds. It went for $749,404, meeting its estimate.
Here are the rest of the top five lots from the Royal and Noble Jewels sale:
This tiara, attributed to Nitot, is designed as a wreath composed of 14 detachable ears of wheat, each set with old cushion-shaped diamonds. The piece, which belonged to Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen, the queen of Bavaria, achieved $626,774, more than three times its CHF 160,000 ($180,383) upper price tag. A tie pin with a fleur-de-lis motif, bearing a pear-shaped, 2.08-carat, fancy-grey-blue diamond, as well as 0.65-carat, fancy-pink, 0.52-carat, fancy-green, 0.47-carat, fancy-deep-brown-orange, and 0.13-carat, fancy-intense-green-yellow diamonds, garnered $585,897. The piece, which belonged to Czar Ferdinand of Bulgaria, carried an estimate of CHF 450,000 ($506,959) to CHF 600,000 ($675,946). French jeweler Mellerio designed this Egyptian-revival-style necklace containing intertwined papyrus reeds centering a cushion-shaped, 18.08-carat Ceylon sapphire and diamonds. It made $476,893, well above its CHF 340,000 ($382,978) top price. This ring, which sports a step-cut Colombian emerald weighing approximately 3 carats between pear-shaped diamond shoulders, pulled in more than five times its CHF 50,000 ($56,326) high estimate. The piece, which has belonged to Princess Eudoxia of Bulgaria, Princess Giovanna of Savoy, czarina of Bulgaria and Princess Mafalda of Savoy, landgravine of Hesse-Kassel, had a sale price of $313,387.
Main image: The Marie Antoinette-linked necklace. (Sotheby’s)
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