A 6.95-carat fancy vivid purplish pink diamond and historic jewels from the Vanderbilt family are among the highlights of Phillips “The Geneva Jewels Auction: V” sale being held November 10 at the Hôtel President.
The estimate for the fancy vivid purplish pink diamond is mounted on a ring flanked by diamonds. Its estimate is approximately $9 million, Benoît Repellin, Phillips’ Worldwide head of Jewellery, told me on Monday.
The catalog for the sale hasn’t yet been released but the auction house did provide some details of what will be available.
The sale will include important jewels from the Vanderbilt family largely originating from the Belle Epoque period to early-20th-century.
The top lot in this collection from one of the United Sates wealthiest families is “The Vanderbilt Sapphire,” a Belle Epoque diamond brooch featuring a 42.68-carat Kashmir sapphire in the much sought after “royal blue” color. The gem was mounted by Tiffany & Co. It was originally gifted by Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt to her daughter Gladys Vanderbilt, Countess Széchényi. The brooch’s intricate openwork design is embellished with old-cut diamonds.
Another highlight is a diamond brooch, originally part of a diamond tiara created by Cartier during the Belle Epoque era. Commissioned by Alice Vanderbilt, née Gwynne, for her daughter Gladys Vanderbilt for her marriage to Count László Széchényi in 1908. the tiara was eventually dismantled, and the present brooch set with an old-cut pear-shaped diamond weighing 4.55 carats. Its estimate is $100,000 - $150,000.
Also in the Vanderbilt collection are important jewels by Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Bulgari and Graff.
Another top lot in the sale is an unheated 18.09-carat step-cut Kashmir sapphire, described as “vivid,” with velvety blue color.” Its estimate is $2.2 million - $2.8 million.
Other gemstone highlights include:
A pair of brilliant-cut diamond ear studs weighing 8.00 and 8.28 carats, both of D color, VVS1 clarity, with excellent polish and symmetry. Its estimate is $600,000 - $850,000.
Very fine light pink-brown old cut diamond weighing 10.08 carats, Type IIa, with Golconda, India, origin, among the world’s oldest sources of diamonds and considered among the best sources of diamonds. Its estimate is $450,000 - $650,000.
A diamond ring centered with a 4.95-carat unheated Burma ruby with an estimate of $300,000 - $400,000.
A diamond ring set with a 20.08-carat oval Paraiba tourmaline. Its estimate is $250,000 - $350,000.
Along with the colored gems are important signed jewels that include the following:
Phillips says among the most historically significant pieces in the sale is the “Plumes” necklace by Jean Schlumberger, created in the late 1950s in diamonds, rubies, sapphires and gold for Fiona Campbell-Walter, Baroness Thyssen-Bornemisza. “The necklace carries both artistic and cultural weight,” the auction house said as it was worn by Campbell-Walter in the March 1962 issue of Vogue. Its estimate is $300,000 - $500,000.
A Van Cleef & Arpels 1920s Art Deco diamond sautoir set with a 10.79-carat step-cut diamond. Its estimate is $300,000 - $500,000.
A 1904 Cartier ruby and diamond bracelet with matching earrings and a brooch has an estimate of $45,000 - $80,000.
A Bulgari ‘Serpenti’ pendant necklace, set with diamonds and tourmaline, circa 1970, has an estimate of $40,000 - $60,000.