Celebrity jewels are on the auction block again this fall. The
Magnificent Jewels sales from Christie's on October 16 in New York City
will include more than $25 million worth of jewels including property from the estate of actress Lucille Desiree Ball. The collection features signed jewelry by Van Cleef & Arpels such as a suite of yellow sapphire and diamond jewelry that includes a pendant necklace, a pair of ear clips and ring. A portion of the proceeds from this collection go to the The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown, New York. The sale will also feature a variety of important diamonds including a 38.47 D,VS1 diamond estimated to sell for $2,300,000-$2,500,000 and several colored diamonds such as a pear-shaped fancy blue-gray diamond of 7.88 carats with an estimate of $700,000-$1,000,000 and a pear-shaped fancy vivid orangy-yellow diamond of 12.55 carats with an estimate of $800,000-$1,200,000.
Christie's is also holding a separate sale on the same day of 40 pieces from a private collection valued at $4 million. The collection features a variety of Harry Winston pieces including a rectangular-cut, D, VVS2 Type IIa 23.14 carat diamond ring which is estimated to sell for $800,000-$1,200,000. Type IIa diamonds are sometimes referred to as Golconda diamonds because they were first seen in the Golconda region of India and they are exceptionally clean and dazzling. My favorite piece of the 40-piece collection is the Tiffany & Co. brooch shown above. It is shaped like a Maltese cross with a stained glass design of sapphires, gold and diamonds around a central square-cut aquamarine, weighing approximately 19.48 carats. It is estimated to sell for $15,000-$25,000.
