estate jewelry

David Webb Estate Jewelry Up For Auction

The beautiful gold and diamond David Webb necklace above is just one of the pieces being sold an an auction of estate jewelry on September 29 at Doyle New York. The necklace is part of the estate of the Honoroable Florence P. Shientag, a very accomplished woman with some lovely taste in jewelry. During her 101 years, Judge Shientag led the way for women in law, mentoring women lawyers, and protecting the rights of filmmakers and artists. She was the first female federal prosecutor in New York State and one of the first in the country. She was also a patron of the arts and a woman with a strong sense of personal style as is shown through her exquisite taste in jewels.

The piece shown above is gold, platinum and diamond bib necklace with diamond-set platinum leaves, rope-twist stylized acorns tipped with diamonds and gold leaves that is estimated to fetch $20,000 to $30,000. It's just one of Judge Shientag's David Webb pieces. Also up for auction is a rose diamond flower clip-brooch (estimated at $30,000 to $40,000); a gold, platinum, turquoise and ruby chain necklace (estimated at $12,000-18,000) and matching clip brooch (estimated at $6,000-8,000); a pair of diamond flower earclips (estimated at $6,000-8,000); and a gold, platinum and diamond bracelet fashioned as textured branches (estimated at $5,000-7,000).

The top lot in the sale is a platinum ring with a rectangular step-cut diamond of approximately 16.74 carats, L color, VS1 clarity, formerly Property of the Scripps Estate and estimated at $125,000-175,000.

Tags: david webb, diamond rings, diamonds, estate jewelry, jewelry, jewelry auction

Kwiat Buys Fred Leighton

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

If you've ever seen celebrities on the red carpet at one of the major awards shows you've probably seen Fred Leighton jewels. The estate jeweler routinely outfits many top stars with glittering jewelry for special occasions. It's been a tough year for the jeweler, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2008 but now rescue comes from diamond jewelry brand Kwiat. National Jeweler reports that Kwiat Enterprises, LLC and two other partners have purchased the assets of Fred Leighton in a $25.8 million deal.

Kwiat will take over the Fred Leighton business, including its boutiques in New York City and Las Vegas, continuing to run them under the Fred Leighton name. Kwiat's other partners are Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC--partnering as FL Acquisitions LLC and FOF Inventory Holding, which consists of four estate and jewelry dealers including Windsor Jewelers, Robert Sadian and Mark Emanuel of European Arts and Antiques, Sima Ghadamian of Sima G. Ltd., and Moonbeam Consulting, whose principal is the company's original founder Fred Leighton.

Greg Kwiat, who will be chief executive officer of Fred Leighton, told National Jeweler that he see Fred Leighton as a "very complementary acquisition for Kwiat." After all both brands court the favor of Hollywood stars and both have retail stores on Madison Avenue in New York City and in Las Vegas. Kwiat hopes to boost Fred Leighton's retail presence and its wholesale presence in fine department stores and independent jewelers.

Jewelry collector and Fred Leighton owner Ralph Esmerian who filed the bankruptcy petition, bought Fred Leighton for $100 million in 2006 using a $178 million loan from Merrill Lynch and Co. Last year he planned a Christie's auction to recoup some of the brand's outstanding debt claims. Esmerian relinquished control of the company to a restructuring officer in January 2009 and earlier this month a bankruptcy judge signed an order that authorized the sale to Kwiat and the other two companies of Fred Leighton's assets, free and clear of all liens, claims, interests and encumbrances. The company's main creditor, Merrill Lynch will be the first beneficiary of the proceeds of the sale. In a press release issued by the company, Fred Leighton himself expressed enthusiasm that the Fred Leighton Madison Avenue store will continue to remain a New York landmark and that the brand "will continue to be the preeminent antique jeweler in the world."

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Tags: diamonds, estate jeweler, estate jewelry, EstateJeweler, EstateJewelry, fred leighton, FredLeighton, jewelry, kwiat, madison avenue, MadisonAvenue, red carpet jewelry, RedCarpetJewelry

The Kroc Collection To Be Auctioned At Christie's

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Auctions

Wow, those burgers sure paid off. The latest Magnificent Jewels sale from Christie's in New York on April 11 will include the collection of Joan Kroc, the wife of McDonald's founder, Ray Kroc. Check out the beautiful necklace shown here, the most expensive piece in the Kroc collection. The pear-shaped fancy intense yellow diamond is a 42.13 carat gobstopper. It hangs from a pear and circular-cut diamond two-row necklace mounted in platinum and 18K gold. This red-carpet-worthy beauty is a Harry Winston and is estimated to sell for $1 to $1.5 million. Other treats in the auction include a rare blue-gray diamond ring surrounded by pink diamonds and an unmounted 50-plus carat diamond ready to be mounted in the setting of your choice.

[via Diamonds.net]

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Tags: auctions, christie's, diamonds, estate jewelry, jewelry, yellow diamonds, YellowDiamonds