World's Most Dazzling Royal Jewels

Why wait in line to see the royal jewels at the Tower of London when you can have a princely piece of your own?

That's what buyers at Sotheby's auction of important pieces once owned by royalty found Thursday at the Beau-Rivage Hotel in Geneva. The event, called "Magnificent Jewels, Noble Jewels and Jewels from the Collection of Lily Marinho," fetched a total of 60 million Swiss francs ($57.1 million), including buyer’s premium. This was the highest total for any sale held in Geneva this week and the second-highest total for any sale of magnificent jewels worldwide in U.S. dollars.

The auction featured an enamel and diamond cocktail watch by Cartier, a diamond devant de corsage and a pink topaz and diamond bracelet that once belonged to Henriette de L'Espine, S.A.S. la Princesse Louis de Croÿ.

The auction featured an enamel and diamond , a and a that once belonged to Henriette de L'Espine, S.A.S. la Princesse Louis de Croÿ.

But perhaps the most important piece of the Sotheby's auction was a sapphire pendant set with diamonds. that was formerly in the collection of the Duchess of Windsor, for whom the King of England had abdicated his throne. Throughout their lives together, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor shared a passion for jewelry and commissioned many pieces, including the 206.82-carat sapphire pendant that was created by Cartier in 1951--from some of the greatest jewelers of their time. It was expected to sell for between 1.1 million to 1.5 million Swiss francs, however, the lot was withdrawn from the sale as the owner decided he couldn't part with it.

Sotheby's has a long tradition of offering aristocratic jewels at auction. In 1987, the auction house sold the collection that belonged to the Duchess of Windsor, and fetched a total of $50.3 million, which to this day is a record for a single-owner jewelry collection at auction.

Jewels from the princely house of Thurn und Taxis were sold by Sotheby's in 1992 for a total of $23.2 million. Five years later, the company also sold several pieces belonging to Queen Marie Amelie of France, wife of Louis-Philippe, King of France (1773 to 1850).

In November 2005, Sotheby's sold a Russian Imperial diamond necklace that belonged to Empress Catherine the Great for $1.5 million, and in April, Christie's sold a $6 million brooch once owned by Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III.

The 1987 Sotheby's auction of the Duchess of Windsor's jewelry collection was broken down into over 305 lots, including 87 pieces signed by Cartier, the Duke and Duchess's favorite jeweler, and 23 items by Van Cleef & Arpels. Many of these pieces bore personal inscriptions, such as "My Wallis from her David 19/3/36," engraved on a ruby and diamond necklace signed Van Cleef & Arpels. Buyers included Elizabeth Taylor, the Cartier Museum, and jeweler Laurence Graff. In accordance with Wallis' final wishes, the entire proceeds of the sale were donated to the Pasteur Institute in Paris.

Pricey Purchases
Certainly a royal provenance can alter the value of a jewel, although much of the excess value will depend on which royal owned it, says Raymond Sancroft-Baker, Christie's senior European jewelry director.

"We sold Princess Margaret's jewelry," he says, "and often the sold price was 10 to 15 times the estimate that was based on it being an ordinary jewel."

In the past, Christie's has sold jewelry from minor royals for only a little over their usual value. "Naturally," says Sancroft-Baker, "jewelry that had belonged to Princess Diana would be very keenly sort after and fetch maybe 10 to 20 times its usual value."

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Thursday's sale featured a piece once owned by the Queen Mother, otherwise known as Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, daughter of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and wife of Prince Albert. The enamel and diamond cocktail watch was made in 1924 by Cartier and is inscribed with "Elizabeth 1924."

Her brother-in-law, the future King Edward VIII of England had given Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon the watch. Following his abdication in 1936, Prince Albert was crowned George VI of England, and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon became his queen. In the 1930s, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (then the Duchess of York), gave this watch to her personal companion, Katta Maclean.

Collectors were offered several pieces from the Collection of Henriette de l'Espine, S.A.S. La Princesse Louis de Croÿ, member of a royal family that once had branches in Belgium, France, Prussia and Hungary. The pieces included a topaz and diamond bracelet, dating from circa 1830.

The central oval pink topaz, set off by vine leaf motifs set in diamonds, can be detached to be worn as a brooch. A mid-19th-century diamond that belonged to the princess was also sold.

Sotheby's also auctioned off a pearl and diamond tiara from an "anonymous" aristocratic collection, which is set with diamonds, as well as another tiara, decorated with diamonds and dating from circa 1900.

The central diamond rivière is believed to have been commissioned by Carl, Count Scheel-Plessen, either circa 1882 (for the occasion of his marriage to his wife, Louise) or in 1896, when his Danish title of greve (count) was recognized by Prussia.

In April, Christie's scheduled a sale featuring a diamond bow brooch once owned by Empress Eugénie (1826-1920), wife of Napoleon III. The last time the brooch was sold was in 1887 when the French government decided that the once exclusive property of French queens and kings would be made available to the highest bidder in a public auction. The brooch was then purchased by the jeweler Emile Schlesinger for 42,200 French francs (or 85,000 pounds) at the time, on behalf of Mrs. Caroline Astor (1830-1908) and remained in the Astor family for more than 100 years.

The auction, which was planned for April 15 at Christie's New York, was canceled at the last minute for judicial reasons. But soon after, François Curiel, president of Christie's Europe, with the agreement of the owner, negotiated a private sale to the Louvre. The brooch was estimated to be worth approximately $6 million.
Source: forbes