magnificent jewels

Isabella Stewart Gardner's Ruby Ring Sold by Sotheby's

Isabella Stewart Gardner's ruby ring was sold for just under $2.1 million (including buyer's premium) by Sotheby's in New York.

This week, Sotheby's sold the ruby ring that once belonged to Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924).

The cushion-shaped ruby ring weighs 8.66 carats. The ruby is flanked by single-cut diamonds weighing approximately .12 carat and is mounted in platinum. The ring sold for $2.098 million, including the buyer's premium. Its pre-sale estimate was $1 million to $1.5 million. The ring was sold as part of the Magnificent Jewels sale at Sotheby's, along with the collection of impressive jewels that belonged to philanthropist Patricia Kluge.

Gardner was a philanthropist and visionary patron of the arts whose personal collection of fine and decorative art is housed in her former home, now an esteemed Boston museum, called the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The Gardner Museum, which is filled with paintings, sculpture, tapestries, furniture and decorative arts from cultures spanning thirty centuries, has remained essentially unchanged since her death in 1924.

Gardner was born to a prominent New York family and in 1860 married financier John 'Jack' Lowell Gardner of Boston. She was strong-minded and intellectually curious and enjoyed her reputation in Victorian era Boston for leading an avant-garde lifestyle. Gardner frequently traveled abroad to expand their knowledge of art as well as European and Asian cultures.

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Yellow Diamond Ring Top Seller at Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels Auction

by Laura Malesich (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

As the catalogue's cover piece for Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels Auction held on December 9th in New York City, the Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond was bound to be a successful lot. Expected to sell for between $2 million and $3 million, the 36.99 carat oval diamond flanked by two shield-shaped diamonds, each weighing over 3 carats a piece, sold for $2,658,500 and rang in as the highest bid of the auction. The internally flawless diamond ring is clearly stunning and of the 430 lots in the auction it certainly warrants prestige. Although not every item sold the entire auction did bring in $20,348,375.

Gallery: Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond Ring

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Tags: magnificent jewels, magnificent jewels auction, MagnificentJewels, MagnificentJewelsAuction, NYC, sothebys, sothebys jewlery auction, SothebysJewleryAuction, yellow diamond, YellowDiamond

Famous Diamonds To Be Auctioned Off At Sotheby's

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels auction on April 25 in New York will feature a couple of golden beauties, the Rojtman Diamond, a fancy yellow, 107.46 carat diamond which could sell for $1.5-$2 million and the pear-shaped Golden Maharaja diamond, a fancy dark orange-brown, 65.57 carat diamond which is expected to bring in $400,000-$600,000. The Golden Maharaja was exhibited at the 1937 World's Fair in Paris and later spent 15 years at the American Museum of Natural History on loan from its owner Ella Friedus. The Rojtman was purchased by Harry Winston in 1957 and repolished to 107.46 carats. It is mounted in a clip-pendant combination and was sold in the US in 1963. The auction features a wide variety of the usual estate pieces including diamond rings and vintage pieces from Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Harry Winston.

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