natural pearls

Marie Antoinette's Pearls Up For Auction

Filed under: Jewelry

Recently I told you about the gorgeous pearls that will hit the block at Sotheby's in December. Of course, their toughest competitor Christie's also has a jewel auction in December with another set of pearls with historical provenance. The necklace shown here is made of natural pearls, diamonds and rubies and will go on sale at Christie's in London on December 12. The pearls once graced the neck of Marie Antoinette and were smuggled out of revolutionary France by Lady Elizabeth, the Countess of Sutherland. The pearls were later mounted onto a necklace for the wedding of Lady Elizabeth's grandson and have remained in the family for over 200 years. The necklace was made in 1849 and has a fringe of 21 graduated drop-shaped gray natural pearls, each suspended from an old-cut diamond collet, and connected to a diamond ribbon which intertwines with a ruby collar. The collar is set with 12 button-shaped gray natural pearls mounted in gold. This amazing piece is estimated to sell for between £350,000 and £400,000.

[via The Independent]

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Tags: auction, diamonds, marie antoinette, MarieAntoinette, natural pearls, necklace, pearls, rubies

Calvin and Kelly Klein Put The Duchess of Windsor's Necklace on the Block

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Auctions, Celebrity Shopping

The Magnificent Jewels auction at Sotheby's on December 4 offers the chance to bid on three lots of natural pearl and diamond jewels from the collection of Kelly and Calvin Klein. The pieces are a necklace, pendant and ear clips that were purchased by Calvin for Kelly at Sotheby's 1987 auction of "The Jewels of the Duchess of Windsor" in Geneva. The single-strand natural pearl and diamond necklace by Cartier once belonged to Queen Mary who gave it to the Duke of Windsor. It consists of 28 natural pearls, bulbous and luminous, with a diamond clasp. The natural pearl and diamond pendant contains a 190.6-grain pearl topped by diamonds. The Kleins are also selling a pair of natural black and white pearl and diamond ear clips by Van Cleef and Arpels. The three lots have an estimated value of $2.2 million-$3.1 million. In the press release, Kelly Klein is quoted as saying that she hopes the pearls will be "given again, as they have been in the past, as a gesture of love and worn often and proudly.

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Tags: clavin klein, duchess of windsor, jewelry, kelly klein, natural pearls, necklace, pearls, sotheby's

Baroda Pearls Set A Record

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Auctions

The famed Baroda pearls, a two-strand set of natural pearls have been sold by Christie's for a record price. The necklace, which contained 68 of the largest and finest pearls from the original seven-strand necklace, sold for $7.096 million to a private Asian buyer. The pearls were part of the "Magnificent Jewels" auction on April 25 which brought in more than $39 million $3.064 million for a cushion-cut, 22.66-carat Kashmir sapphire.

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Tags: auction, baroda pearls, BarodaPearls, christies, jewelry, jewels, natural pearls