Christies Great Estates

Private Palace in Paris Listed for Sale at $140 Million

Filed under: Estates

Clocking in at just behind the $150 Spelling Manor in Beverly Hills and snagging the title of the second most expensive estate in the world is this private palace in Paris just listed by an affiliate of Christie's Great Estates for about $140 million. Located on the city's famed Avenue Foch, one of the world's most expensive and prestigious addresses, home to many mansions including those of the Onassis and Rothschild families, the ultra-exclusive estate was built in 1912 for the Duchesse de Montmorency. The nearly 28,000 sq. ft. interior houses 12 bedrooms and 12 baths along with four staff apartments. Many elements of its incredibly rich décor come from older mansions and are of historical importance including 18th century wood paneling, dozens of marble fireplaces and a museum-quality ceiling in the enormous dining room by the great French Post-Impressionist painter Henri Rousseau. The lavish interior also boasts massive crystal chandeliers, huge Corinthian columns, gilded moldings and marble floors.

[via JustLuxe]

Gallery: $140 Million on Avenue Foch

Tags: Beverly Hills, Christies Great Estates, estate, mansion, Paris, Spelling Manor

The Classicist: A Piece of Architectural History in Watch Hill, Yours for $19.5 Million

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, The Classicist, Wealth

Last week The Classicist told you about a historic Hudson River estate being restored to its former glory. That posh property is being thoroughly enjoyed by its new owners, but there's another architectural gem of equally impressive provenance now available with the added bonus of oceanfront acreage – The Timbers in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Set high above the ocean on a picturesque stretch of beach, the majestic eight-acre compound comprises one of the grandest historic oceanfront estates in New England that's still in private hands. The mansion was built in 1917 and designed by celebrated architect John Russell Pope, who created the Jefferson Memorial and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The estate recently underwent a meticulous and historically accurate $10 million restoration, reflecting Pope's original vision. It's now been listed for sale by Christie's Great Estates affiliate Seaboard Properties for $19.5 million.

The opulent 10,500-sq.-ft. main residence was styled after a grand English Tudor manor and features baronial touches such as 15 elegant fireplaces, a magnificent grand staircase and a bell tower. In addition to panoramic ocean views it boasts wide-plank oak floors, wrought-iron chandeliers, archways, and light-filled, generously scaled rooms. The spectacular living room features 35-foot-high cathedral ceilings, exposed English oak beams, and a beautifully crafted wraparound balcony with a carved wooden balustrade. Large French doors on the east side of the living room open to a large covered veranda which features glorious views of the beach and the sounds of the surf as it rolls ashore. At the far end of the veranda, an octagonal dining area features an outdoor woodburning fireplace, wrought-iron chandelier, vaulted ceilings, and archways overlooking the ocean.

Gallery: The Timbers, Watch Hill

Tags: architect, architecture, beach, Christies, Christies Great Estates, historic houses, Jefferson Memorial, John Russell Pope, mansion, ocean, oceanfront, real estate, Rhode Island, Tudor, Washington, Watch Hill

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Rhode Island's Sakonnet Vineyards for Sale at $10.5 Million

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Wine

Christie's Great Estates is offering a rare opportunity to own an established and award-winning vineyard on the east coast of the United States. Sakonnet Vineyards in Little Compton, Rhode Island, celebrating its 35th anniversary, is being offered for $10.5 million by Christie's affiliate Lila Delman Real Estate in Newport. Recognized as a pioneer in the New England wine industry, Sakonnet is located in the heart of a burgeoning wine-growing region producing wines under the Southeastern New England viticultural appellation. The property consists of 170 acres of which approximately 37 acres are planted in vines producing an average of 8,000 to 9,000 cases of "Estate Grown" wine annually.

The wines have received national and international acclaim winning numerous medals, including "Best of Show" for a Gewurztraminer at the 2004 Monterey International Wine Competition. Boston Magazine also named Sakonnet "Best Winery in New England" for 2006. The vineyard was founded in 1975 on the well-researched premise that the microclimate and soil conditions found along the Southeastern New England coast closely resemble some of the great wine regions of the world, particularly, the maritime climates of northern France. A residential component contiguous to the vineyard property is located on a plateau of open fields, laced with stone fences that slope gently down to Watson Reservoir.

Gallery: Sakonnet Vineyards

Tags: Christies, Christies Great Estates, New England, Rhode Island, vineyard, wine

Carla Bruni's Castle Back on the Market for $28 Million, Estate of the Day

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Wealth

Back in February we reported that Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the sexy supermodel, singer and first lady of France, had sold her family's castle in Italy (above) to an Arab sheikh. Now the buyer, who has since been revealed as billionaire Saudi businessman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, has relisted the historic castle with an affiliate of Christie's Great Estates with a reported asking price of about $28 million; he was said to have originally paid anywhere from $12 million - $25 million depending on sources. The 40-room, 21,000-sq.-ft. Castello di Castagneto Po, near Turin, has been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt over the years but is believed to first date from the year 1019. Bruni's father, the billionaire industrialist Alberto Bruni Tedeschi, bought the historic estate in 1952 for about $1.5 million. It is surrounded by 175 acres replete with vegetable gardens, orchards, flowering terraces, ancient greenhouses, a caretaker's house and a farm building.

Gallery: Carla Bruni's Castle