opals

Opal Hat Could Be The Most Valuable Hat Ever Auctioned Off

I've never seen a hat quite like it. The piece above is titled the "Deep Blue Sea" and was created by Australian master milliner Ann Maree Willett and opal miners Vicki and Peter Drackett to showcase opals mined at Australia's famous Lightning Ridge. The hat will be sold at the "Nature of Opals" sale at Bonhams & Butterfields, San Francisco on November 10. The hat is formed from hand-blocked Australian felt, decorated with bright feathers and carrying 26 opals weighing approximately 1,447 carats. The opals were carved into beautiful microsculptures by Daniela L'Abbate and Christine Roussel and placed in sterling silver and 18-karat gold settings by master goldsmith Gerd Gerold Schulz. It is estimated at between $150,000 and $200,000 which would place it among the most expensive hats ever sold at auction. The world's most expensive hat is the Chapeau d'Amour-the "hat of love"-created by designer Louis Mariette. It is made of woven platinum and covered in diamonds and has a value of $2.7 million.

The sale also includes a wide variety of the types of opals available from brown boulder opals shot through with blue flashes, to orangy fire opals and plenty of white opals showing bright rainbow fire. Many lots are intricately carved and some are opalized fossils of flora and fauna. Before the November 10 auction, Bonhams & Butterfields will hold highlight presentations in Los Angeles October 1-3 and New York October 16-18, followed by a full preview in San Francisco from November 6-9.

[via National Jeweler]

Tags: bonhams, bonhams and butterfields, Bonhams auction, Bonhams Butterfields, BonhamsButterfields, hat, milliner, millinery, opal, opals

Rare Opal Necklace Up For Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

As with art, provenance in jewelry can be important. But sometimes it can be a bit of a challenge to know where a piece came from. The piece above, a gorgeous Art Nouveau-style gold necklace embellished with 45 carats of fine Australian fire opals, diamonds and freshwater pearls is an interesting case. It is said to have maybe been the property of interior designer Elsie de Wolfe, America's first famous interior decorator to the rich and famous. The Vanderbilts, the Fricks, the Morgans and the Duchess of Windsor were among her high-profile clients. The piece, which goes up for auction on April 18 at Austin Auction Gallery was purchased by the consignor in 1976, at an antiques show in Hillsborough, California. At that time it was sold as being de Wolfe's personal jewelry . De Wolfe, who later became Lady Mendl after marrying British diplomat Sir Charles Mendl did have an extensive and noted jewelry collection.

The necklace will be offered with an opening bid of $30,000. It appeared in an episode of Leigh and Leslie Keno's television show Find! The Keno brothers brought in jewelry expert Peter Shemonsky for a specialist appraisal. Shemonsky said the necklace of 23 opals, 52 diamonds and 19 freshwater pearls was unique and gave it an insurance value of $60,000-$80,000 on the necklace. A video of the TV show appraisal is after the jump.

Tags: Art Nouveau, elsie de wolfe, jewelry auction, opal necklace, opals

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