The Beading Gem

Jane Austen (1775-1817), the celebrated English novelist lived about 200 years ago. She wrote just 6 complete romantic fiction novels.  Her acute and sometimes amusing observation of the landed gentry and the social mores of her day continue to delight both readers and scholars alike to this day.

Jane Austen at 13/14 Rice (descendants of Jane's brother) Portrait by Ozias Humphry

The vast majority of jewelry collections sold at auction are usually those belonging to royalty and extremely wealthy people.  The upcoming Sotheby's auction of Suzanne Belperron's  (1900- 1983) personal jewelry is an unusual exception for she was a noted French jewelry designer and one of the most influential ones of the 20th century.

Picture Source

Image via Wikipedia

Elizabeth Taylor's fabulous jewelry collection set a world record yesterday when it fetched a total of $115 million.  It way surpassed Christie's estimate of "more than $30 million".

It's an incredible sum considering it was from a single owner.  Some of her best pieces commanded the highest prices.

Pearls are classic. You can never go wrong wearing them. Even fake ones. But if the faux pearls once belonged to a style icon such as Jacqueline Kennedy (1929-1994), they are worth a lot.

Her triple strand fake pearl necklace recently sold for an astounding $47,000 at Bonhams' Pioneers of Popular Culture auction recently.  She wore them in the late 1950's and during her White House years.

Duchess of Windsor via Wikipedia

The jewels of Wallis, the Duchess of Windsor were first offered for sale back in 1987. All 306 pieces sold for $50 million which went to the Pasteur Institute. The proceeds from the spectacular sale remain a world record for an auction of a single owner jewelry collection. No wonder, as the collection celebrates the famous story of the king who gave up his throne for the woman he loved.

In November, 20 pieces will be available for auction again and no doubt will fetch millions. It's a fraction of the original auction but it does contain some memorable pieces which were commissioned to mark important events in the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's lives.

Just last month, a record-breaking $8.7 million was paid for an 18th century Chinese Imperial ceremonial court pearl necklace at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong.

It once belonged to the 4th Manchu Emperor Yongzheng (1678-1735). The court portrait shows the Emperor wearing the necklace. The portrait thus provides authenticated historical ownership (provenance) which probably explains the large sum paid for it.

This spectacular historic jewel was recently auctioned. It once belonged to Catherine the Great (1729-1796) one of Russia's most colorful rulers. (You can read the bejeweled mini-biography I wrote about her for more juicy details.)  Her emerald and diamond brooch sold for $1.65 million, well above the pre-auction estimate of $1- 1.5 million. A worthy price for one of the most outstanding gemstones in the world.

Image from ArtFixDaily

There is something about pearls and diamonds which appeals. This classic combination has been used for centuries. One lovely example is Princess Diana's Swan Lake parure.

In 1997, she wore the necklace to a Royal Albert Hall ballet (and hence the name) which turned out to be one of her last public engagements before her death three months later. Click on the link above to see the necklace on her.

I've noticed many artisans take wonderful pictures of their jewelry creations with seashells even starfishes, on sand and rocks. One example is a reader, Hawaiian Jamee who writes the Jonara Blu Maui blog. As a Canadian, I like gawking there particularly in the middle of winter!

Got $5.8 to $8.5 million spare? Then you could buy an incredibly rare blue diamond when it is up for sale at Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels auction in Geneva on May 12 and get to name it too. If it sells at the higher estimate or more, it will set a new world record for price per carat.

This blue diamond weighs 7.03 carats pared down from the original 26.58 carat rough diamond. It was found last year at the Cullinan mine in South Africa. It is the same mine which produced the mind-boggling 530 carat Great Star of Africa diamond or Cullinan I, now in the Crown Jewels of Britain.

There are very few blue diamonds (only red diamonds are rarer). A flawless blue diamond is even more exceptional. The Gemological Institute of America awarded this blue diamond the highest clarity grade they can give.

I don't know about you, but I am passing up on this collector's item. However there is apparently interest despite the current economic climate.

UPDATE : This rare blue diamond sold for more than the expected range. The unknown buyer will be paying $9.5 million - the highest price ever paid for a gem.

Related Posts
Moussaieff Red Diamond
Kazanjian Red Diamond
10 Cool Diamond Facts

Via
___________________
The Beading Gem's Journal
Subscribe via RSS Via Email

Sir Elton John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight) is in town for a two day concert! Alas, I am not going for tickets were hard to get and expensive. The concerts were sold out, too. So his picture here is about as close I can get to this remarkably resilient performer whose career spans four decades . It was taken earlier this year at a German concert.

He is known for his flamboyant dress and jewelry. Just a couple of days ago, his sapphire and diamond brooch was up for auction. He wore this circa 1935 Art Deco piece in his 1988 music video "I Don't Wanna Go on With You Like That." The brooch is a stylised "J" with about 7.5 carats worth of diamonds as well as multiple old brilliant-cut and baguette-cut diamonds, five oval-cut sapphires and a bombe cluster of circular-cut sapphires. It was expected to sell for between $24,000 - $30,000 at Bonham's in London. It didn't sell.

Via and Via
___________________
The Beading Gem's Journal

I had to share this photo for it is the closest most of us will come to really fabulous emeralds. The model is wearing a 28 million yuan or approximately US $3.71 million emerald pendant from a jewelry store in Nanjing, China.

Its provenance is fascinating for it dates back to 1790. It was a gift to the Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799) for his 80th birthday. The emerald is not only large but the green is close to that of imperial jade, the jadeite gemstone prized by the Chinese and probably the reason why it was chosen as a present for him. I wonder what he really thought of the emerald for he was mostly obsessed with imperial jade. This exquisitely lovely green shade of jade is also known as feitsu or "kingfisher" jade and remains the most sought after form today.

I wrote about the Qianlong Emperor and his jade obsession before. He was the "Son and Heaven" who squandered many lives to secure Burmese supplies of imperial jade. Before his reign, the Chinese only used nephrite, the other jade which is actually a totally different gemstone altogether. Nephrite jade is sometimes known as Ming jade because it was popular during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644).

References
Chinese Imperial Jade
Wikipedia : Jade
___________________
The Beading Gem's Journal

Remember Christina Onassis? She was the archetypal poor little rich girl. The only daughter of the Greek tycoon, Aristotle Onassis who married Jacqueline Kennedy five years after JFK was assassinated. Christina may have lived a life of luxury but it was one filled with strife and tragedy. Her parents had a stormy marriage and eventually divorced. In just a 24 month period, she lost her brother in a plane crash, her mother committed suicide and then her father died. Christina's adult life was marred by eating disorders, drug abuse and depression.

Although she successfully ran the family business after her father died, her pursuit for personal happiness was less so. She married and divorced four times. Christina had a daughter with her last husband, Thierry Roussel,a Frenchman, three years before her death in 1987 at 37. Well, that daughter, Athina Roussel is now 23 and decided to sell her mother's jewelry because she has no need of it.

The highlight of the Onassis auction last month was the above diamond necklace which went for £3.6 million - almost half of the £6.8 million total for Christina Onassis' jewelry. The 38 carat pear shaped diamond is practically flawless. According to the colourless diamond grading scale, it is the top notch 'D' or icy white level.

Athina is the sole heiress to the Onassis fortune, worth £1.3 billion.

Via
__________________
The Beading Gem's Journal

Vintage Jewelry
Part 2 of 3

I am not sure whether these are really vintage beads - perhaps a reader can confirm it? But the story behind this crystal necklace does suggest it is vintage. They do remind me of Swarovski vitrail beads but not quite. These are different.The clear glass beads have a rainbow of colours in stripes inside them, the likes of which I have not seen before. Simply drop dead gorgeous.

Alas, they don't belong to me but to Cathy who bought a bag of crystal and assorted jewelry from an estate auction not very long ago. This necklace was inside. The jewelry once belonged to a former flight attendant who travelled extensively. As she died last year at age 90, and assuming (and this is a big if) she bought it whilst working as a flight attendant, these beads could possibly be dated to the late 30's and 40's. But it can't be older than 1930, which is the year the very first female flight attendants were hired.
___________________
The Beading Gem's Journal
Subscribe via RSS Via Email

This gorgeous ruby and diamond necklace by Cartier, New York, a period piece made around 1938, was put up for auction last year.

At first glance, this piece appears to be just a necklace. However, the three pendants were designed to be detachable and could be worn as brooches. Cartier pioneered the concept of clip brooches which were commonly worn either singly or in pairs. He apparently got the idea after watching a woman hanging up her laundry using clothespegs!

References

Press release : Sotheby's Hong Kong Magnificient Jewels and Jadeite Sale, April, 2006

Leslie Field (1987). The Queen's Jewels : The personal collection of Elizabeth II. Harry N Abrams. Inc

The Arco-Valley pearl is very roughly heart-shaped, about the size of a hen's egg that takes its name from the Austrian family dynasty who once owned it. This unusual natural baroque or irregular shaped 575 carat pearl weighs 115 grams and displays blue-pink tones. It was almost up for auction recently to raise money for charity and to draw attention to the moribund natural pearl industry in the Persian Gulf area. The sale that could possibly raise $8 million was postponed.

Photo : Lifestyle Auctions via

From The Travels of Marco Polo

What makes this pearl so special is its age (~800 years) and provenance. It once belonged to the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, who ruled over much of China in the 13th century.

He gave it to Marco Polo as a parting gift. The Venetian trader and traveler extraordinaire, Marco Polo traveled to China with his father and uncle. He was so well received by Kublai Khan that he was made governor of the city of Hangzhou and served faithfully as a trusted emissary. Too faithfully as it turned out as Kublai Khan did not allow Marco Polo and his family to go home for almost three decades.

The Polos traveled with the gemstones hidden in their clothes. No one believed they were the long-lost Polos until they showed the treasures they brought back! And naturally, how rich they now were!

Via and via

For more tutorials check out my Jewelry Making Tips

Liked what you read? Don't miss a post!
Subscribe via RSS OR Via Email* It's FREE!
*Click on the link in the confirmation email to activate subscription
___________________
The Beading Gem's Journal

Sotheby's April Magnificient Jewels auction in Hong Kong featured Verdura's signature design - a jadeite wrapped heart brooch/pendant (estimated 70,000 - 82,000 USD)

Duke Fulco di Verdura was a master jeweler originally from an aristocratic Sicilian family who was famous for his whimsical and yet elegant creations. He once worked for Coco Chanel before founding his own company where his designs still endure and delight us today. Amongst his admirers and collectors were such society luminaries as the Duchess of Windsor, Greta Garbo and Barbara Hutton the Woolworth heiress. Another heiress, Doris Duke, whose magnificent collection of jewelry also features some delightful Verdura designs such as his feather brooch.

Today Verdura pieces are still highly sought after.

References

http://www.lifeinitaly.com/beauty/verdura.asp

Pat Corbett's biography Verdura: The Life and Work of a Master Jeweler is available from Amazon

http://www.cnn.com/STYLE/9809/09/verdura/

The diamond necklace mentioned in my previous post sold for $1,552,000 at Sotheby's Magnificient Jewelry auction!!

This fabulous diamond necklace with an almost 49 carat diamond pendant went on sale yesterday at Sotheby's Magnificient Jewelry Auction in New York to raise money for charity. The estimated price at auction is between $700,000 to $1 million.

Alexandre Reza, the Russian-born Parisian jeweler designed this for the stylish Florence J. Gould (1895-1983) who married the son of the industrialist J. Gould. She had a legendary jewelry collection to rival that of Elizabeth Taylor's. She bequeathed much of her estate to the Florence J Gould Foundation.

It was the baguette diamonds which form the flexible collar that caught my attention because it occurred to me that beaders could use beadwoven bugle beads to create a necklace along similar lines at a tiny fraction of the cost! A drop shaped crystal bead could be used to substitute for the diamond pendant.