sotheby's magnificent jewels featuring the beau sancy

8/2/2019 Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels Featuring The Beau Sancy

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ForImmediateReleasePRESSRELEASEGENEVA

Geneva|+41229084814|MarieBeatriceMorin | [email protected]

London|+44(0)2072936000|MatthewWeigman|[email protected]

SimonWarren|[email protected]|KellySignorelliChaplin|[email protected]

SOTHEBYSGENEVATOAUCTIONOVER700JEWELSINCLUDING

THEBEAUSANCYADIAMONDOFSUPREMEHISTORICALIMPORTANCE

JEWELSWITHILLUSTRIOUSARISTOCRATICPROVENANCE

&

IMPORTANTPRIVATECOLLECTIONS

TheBeau

Sancy

(est.

$2

4million)

and

Marie

de

Medici

wearing

it

at

her

coronation

in

1610

FransIIPourbustheYoungerRMNGP(MuseduLouvre)/ThierryLeMage


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2

On 14 and 15 May 2012, Sothebys Geneva will present over 700 lots in its sale of Magnificent Jewels and

NobleJewels.Thetwodaysalewillbespearheadedbyoneofthemost importanthistoricdiamondseverto

cometoauction:TheBeauSancy.

Commentingontheforthcomingsale,DavidBennett,ChairmanofSothebysJewelleryDepartmentinEurope

andthe

Middle

East

and

Co

Chairman

of

Sothebys

Switzerland

said:

WithfascinatingNobleJewelsledbythe

legendaryBeauSancydiamond,severalimportantprivatecollectionsincludingthepersonaljewelsofSuzanneBelperron,andmanyexceptionalgemstonesandperiodcreations,theMayauctionshouldbeadelightforallloversoffineJewellery.

TheBeauSancy

Atthe

heart

of

the

sale

will

be

The

Beau

Sancy,

adiamond

which

has

been

the

privileged

witness

of

400

years

of European history. Passeddown through the RoyalFamilies of France, England, Prussia, and the House of

Orange, the celebrated stonewasworn by MariedeMedici in1610 at her coronation as QueenConsort of

HenriIV.The34.98caratmodifiedpeardoublerosecutdiamondwasalmostcertainlydiscoveredintheareaof

GolcondainIndia,thesolesourceofdiamondsuntilthediscoveriesinBrazilinthe1720s(est.CHF 1,850,000

3,650,000/$24million,illustratedp.1).

Separatereleaseavailable

NobleJewels

Continuing Sothebys long tradition of offering

jewels with aristocratic provenance, Sothebys

Geneva 6th annual sale of Noble Jewels will bring

togethergemsofgreathistoricalsignificancehaving

belongedtoprestigiousEuropeanfamilies.

Following the record for a tiara established by

Sothebys Geneva last May1, the forthcoming

auctionwill includeTheMuratTiara,an impressive

pearlanddiamondjewelcreated in1920byJoseph

Chaumet for the marriage of Prince Alexandre

Murat(18891926)toYvonneGillois(18941961)

1 On 17 May 2011, Sothebys Geneva sold the most important emerald and diamond tiara to have appeared at auction in over 30 years for CHF

11,282,500/$12,736,927,thehighestpriceeverachievedforatiaraatauction.Thismagnificentandextremelyrarediademhadbeencommissionedfor

PrincessKatharinaHenckelvonDonnersmarckcirca1900andwasestimatedatCHF4.69.2million/$510million.


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Prince Joachim Murat 17671815

(est.CHF1,375,000 2,285,000/$1,500,0002,500,000,illustratedp.2).

Prince Alexandre Murat, through his ancestry with Joachim Murat

(17671815)whomarriedCarolineBonaparte,Napoleonssister,was

associatedwithoneofthemostgloriousperiodsofFrenchhistory.The

heroic

cavalry

charges

of

Joachim

Murat,

an

innkeepers

son

from

Gascony,contributedtothevictoriesofIna,EylauandAusterlitzand

from18081814heandCarolinewerepopularrulersoftheKingdom

of Naples and Sicily. The diadem boasts one of the largest natural

pearls ever recorded, at 303.37 grains. As stated by the SSEF

laboratory,themainpearl inthecenterisoutstandingin itssizeand

one of the most important pearls certified so far at the SSEF and

natural pearls of this size, quality and with a documented historic

provenanceareveryrareandthusthedescribedtiarawiththreelarge

pearlsrepresentsaveryexceptionaltreasure.

InadditiontotheBeauSancy,thesalewillfeatureseveraljewelswith

royal provenance. Among them is a necklace suspending a

detachable pearshaped D colour diamondweighing41.40 carats

and coming from the collection of a member of a royal family (est.

CHF2,750,0004,550,000/$3,000,0005,000,000,illustratedleft).

Also from a royal family, a magnificent emerald and diamond

necklace designed by Bulgari circa 1970 carries an estimate CHF

1,400,0002,800,000($1,500,0003,000,000,illustratedbelow).

Another highlight is a stepcut sapphire and diamond ring dating

from the1930swhichoncebelonged toQueenVictoriaEugeniaof

Spain (18871969). Estimated at CHF 23,00033,000 ($25,000

35,000),thisringwaspasseddownthroughtheSpanishRoyalFamily

andinheritedbythepresentowner.


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CharlesEdwardStuart

"BonniePrinceCharlie"(17201788)

Another piece of historical importance is to be found in a diamond

broochsetwitha7.33caratFancydeepyellowdiamondcomingfrom

thecollectionofPrinceFilippoCorsini,adescendantofthe illustrious

Florentine family whose history dates back to the 12th century and

whose lineage includes many popes (est. CHF 280,000480,000/

$300,000500,000,

illustrated

below).

The central diamond was offered to the Corsini family by Charles

Edward Stuart (1720 1788) in the 1770s, mostcertainly in gratitude

for their support during his years of exile. Most commonly known as

"Bonnie Prince Charlie", Charles Edward

Stuart was the second Jacobite

pretendertothethronesofGreatBritainandIreland.Hisattempttomakethe

Stuarts regain the crown ended with the Battle of Culloden in 1745 which

precipitated his exile to France and Italy. It is possible that the diamond was

inherited by Prince Charles from his mother MarieClementina Sobieski,

GranddaughterofKing John IIIofPolandand, therefore,wasoriginallypartof

theSobieskiJewelleryCollection.

Thirteenjewels fromtheEstateof the latePrinceKinskywillalso

be presented, shedding light on the history of one of most

illustrious and oldest dynasties originating from Bohemia. Tracing

itsrootsbacktothethirteencentury,theHouseofKinskywaspart

of the most powerful and influential families in the region in the

18th and 19th centuries. Its members served in high diplomatic or

militarypositions

of

the

Habsburg

Monarchy

and

subsequently

the

Austrian Empire. An Important natural pearl and diamond

necklacemadecirca1880evokesthesplendourandlavishstyleof

the imperialcourt (est.CHF275,000460,000/$300,000500,000,

illustratedleft).


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Enjoying a similarly illustrious provenance is a selection ofjewels

coming from the collection of a member of the Princely Family of

ThurnundTaxis.Amongthem isaveryfineemeraldanddiamond

demiparure,composedofanecklaceandapairofearrings,which

waspurchased

by

Albert,

8th

Prince

of

Thurn

und

Taxis

around

1890,

most certainly as a weddingpresent for Austrian Archduchess

Margarete whom he married on 15 July in that year (est. CHF

200,000 300,000/$220,000330,000,illustratedright).

Anotherhighlight from thisgroup is anattractive sapphireand

diamond bandeau dating from early 1930, accompanied by a

fitted case which was painted by Princess Margarete of Thurn

undTaxis(est.CHF75,000130,000/$80,000 140,000,illustrated

left).

Typicaloftheearlytwentiethcenturyisafinesapphireanddiamondbrooch/pendantdatingfromcirca1910

which belonged to the Italian Countess Adriana Guillichini della Gherardesca (est. CHF 185,000370,000/

$200,000400'000,illustratedbelow).


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SuzanneBelperronArchivesOlivierBaroin

JewelsfromthepersonalcollectionofSuzanneBelperron

On14May2012,SothebysGenevawillpresentthejewellerycollectionofone

of the most important jewellery designers of the 20th century: Suzanne

Belperron(1900

1983).

Comprised

of

60

lots,

this

unprecedented

sale

features

themostsignificantcollectionofjewelsbySuzanneBelperroninprivatehands.

The jewellers personal collection includes some of her most celebrated

designsandvery intimateitemswhich illustrateheruniquestyleandcreative

virtuosity,whilealsosheddinglightonherlife.

Separatereleaseavailable

MagnificentJewels

TheMagnificentJewelssectionfeaturesarichofferingofwhitediamondswhichareD

Colour the finest colour grading for white diamonds. Leading this group is an

exceptionaldiamondringbyHarryWinstonsetwitha36.43carat internallyflawless

diamondwhichhasbeenfoundtobepartoftherareTypeIIasubgroupcomprisingless

than2%ofallgemdiamonds.Diamondsofthisgrouparechemicallythepurestofall

diamond crystals and often have extraordinary optical transparency (est. CHF

3,200,0005,000,000/$3,550,0005,500,000,illustratedleft).

Among the other D colour diamonds on offer are a very fine 21.88 carat Internally

FlawlessdiamondmountedasaringsignedVanCleef&Arpels(est.CHF1,600,000

2,600,000/ $1,750,0002,850,000, illustrated right) and a 22.10 carat Potentially

Flawlessdiamond

set

as

aring

(est.

CHF

1,465,000

2,380,000/

$1,600,000

2,600,000).

The coloured diamonds will be led by an oval stepcut fancy vivid purplish pink

diamondweighing4.25caratsandmountedasaringbetweenbrilliantcutdiamondsof

pinkish tint and two buttonshaped natural pearls (est. CHF 2,200,0003,000,000/

$2,400,0003,200,000,illustratedleft).


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ASuperbPrivateCollectionofGemsandJewels

Atthecoreofthissectionwillalsobeasuperbprivatecollectionofgems

andjewels. Comprising over 80 pieces, this exceptional collection has

been assembled by two generations of a family, from the mid1960s

untilpresent

day.

Reflecting the passion for gemstones that animated the family for 50

years are a pair of impressive Kashmir sapphire clips (est. CHF 825,0001,370,000/ $900,0001,500,000,

illustrated right), a ring set with a cabochon Burmese sapphire weighing 58.56 carats (est. CHF 730,000

1,275,000/$800,0001,400,000)anda13.35caratColombianemeraldmountedatthecentreofadiamond

brooch(est.CHF185,000 275,000/$200,000300,000,illustratedleft).

The collection also comprisesjewels signed by the greatest makers of the 20th

century, includingCartier,HarryWinston,VanCleef&ArpelsandBulgariwhich

featuresprominentlywithquintessentialcreationsoftheyears19702000.Among

them is a magnificent gemset and diamond demiparure (est. CHF 140,000

230,000/$150,000250,000,illustratedbelow).

JEWELLERYSALES

SothebysGeneva,HtelBeauRivage

13QuaiduMontBlanc,1205Geneva

14&15May2012

JewelsfromthepersonalCollectionofSuzanneBelperron

Monday14May,10am(lots160)

MagnificentJewels&NobleJewels

Monday14May

11am:Session1(lots61186)

2pm:Session2(lots187337)

5pm:Session3(lots338479)

Tuesday15

May

5pm:NobleJewels(lots480595)

7pm:ASuperbPrivateCollectionofGems&Jewels

(lots596674)

MagnificentJewels(lots675734)

EXHIBITION

HtelBeauRivage,Geneva

1113May,10am6pm

Monday14May,10am7pm(selectionoflots)

Tuesday15May,10am5pm(selectionoflots)

ALLPRESSRELEASESAREPUBLISHEDONWWW.SOTHEBYS.COM

IMAGESAREAVAILABLEONREQUEST**Presaleestimatesdonotincludebuyerspremium

VentedirigeparleMinistredeMatresClaudeNavilleetMarcoBreitenmoser,HuissiersJudiciaires.

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