GENEVA.- Historic sale at Piguet Auction House. Over 400 pieces of jewellery, watches, clocks and objets de vertu by Gilbert Albert will be united together for the first time and sold at auction on 10th December next month in Geneva.

“It is the largest sale ever organised in the world of creations by this incomparable artistic jeweller who seems to be the last of this calibre” underlines Bernard Piguet, Director and Chief Auctioneer at Piguet Auction House. “The sale brings together 300 pieces of exceptional quality, many of which are in perfect condition”.

“It has been a real pleasure preparing this sale, as the diversity of the pieces reflects Gilbert Albert’s creative mastery and technique. He is a multi-talented artist who has left his mark on the history of Fine Jewellery and Watch making” adds Nathalie Combe, Head of this department. “His creations are now available to all as our estimates as often as low as a fifth of the retail price!”

From 7th to 9th December, all the pieces presented in the special Gilbert Albert sale will be on view at the Piguet salerooms as well as the 2,500 odd lots included in the December auction from paintings, furniture, silverware, Russian works of art, objets de vertu, luxury handbags to jewellery and watches. Two other important sales held during December’s auctions are Fine Wines and Asian art.

Gilbert Albert took his place among the great jewellers who revolutionised the history of Fine Jewellery through his boundless imagination and his innovative capacities. Just like René Lalique who he admired, Albert sought his inspiration from the forms and materials found in nature. He is the first to use the unusual treasures nature has to offer to make his creations. Gold necklaces set with fossilised dinosaur bones (lot 427 estimated at CHF 6,000-8,000), curving sea urchins (lot 368 estimated at CHF 6,000-8,000) or armadillo shells (lot 372 estimated at CHF 4,000-6,000) and brooches made from fossilised shark teeth, fossilised fish, beetles and fir cones are to cite just a few (lots 417, 415, 355 and 271 estimated between CHF 1,200 and CHF 3,000).

Ten time laureate of the “Diamonds-International” Awards, Gilbert Albert also created superb pieces in precious stones in spectacular naturalistic settings.

To him, “jewellery is a reflection of the lady wearing it” and as every woman is different, Gilbert Albert sometimes opted for a more traditional ensemble set with cabochon emeralds and Tahiti pearls (lot 422 opposite estimated at CHF 8,000-12,000) and at other times the extravagance of a set with plant like designs wrapped around red coral branches and diamond-studded coloured shells (lot 360 estimated at CHF 6,000-8,000).

Thirsty for originality, in 1965 Gilbert Albert invented timeless and avant-garde pieces by creating different lines of jewellery with interchangeable stones, a number of which are presented in our catalogue (for example lot 265 above estimated at CHF 500-700).

The talents of Gilbert Albert are not limited to Fine Jewellery. On completing his studies at Geneva’s Ecole des Arts industriels, he began his career at Patek Philippe then onto Omega. His fine horological creations are just as extraordinary as his jewellery adding technical precision and originality in this domain. An important clock comprising a tourmaline crystal partially covered with lively gold vegetation, emeralds, cultured pearls and diamonds will be presented in the sale (lot 421 estimated at CHF 30,000-50,000) as well as meteorite clocks (lots 333 and 420 estimated at CHF 3,000-5,000).

He was also the first to conceive the idea of the asymmetric watch which went on to become iconic in his collection and earned him the Town of Geneva’s prize for Watch and Jewellery (le prix de la ville de Genève de la Montre et de la Joaillerie) in 1960 (lots 225 to 234 and 405 estimated between CHF 1,500 and CHF 3,000).

The huge success of Genevan Gilbert Albert crossed over the Swiss borders. He opened boutiques in Geneva, Zurich, Moscow and even Dubai. In 1991, he was the first living artist since Fabergé in 1917 to present his creations at the Kremlin in Moscow. During his long career, he exhibited his works throughout the world in the largest capital cities.

Other features in the winter sales
The Gilbert Albert sales will not be alone in offering a variety of treasures in Fine Jewellery and watches. Two sales will be dedicated to these fields on Thursday 13th December. An impressive selection of Rolex watches and objects, jewellery by Adler, Boivin, Cartier, Hermès et Van Cleef & Arpels, etc… as well as a number of diamond solitaires and a fine sapphire ring.

The other specialist sale is Asian art including a rare and important collection of Chinese opium popes from one of the largest collections of its kind in the world. Contemporary Vietnamese art, fine Japanese porcelain and an impressive Qing dynasty finely sculpted jade marriage cup (estimate CHF 50,000-80,000) also feature in this sale.

The luxury handbags sale offers a broad selection of bags and accessories from Hermès such as a matte alligator Havana coloured Birkin estimated at CHF 25’000-30'000. The most revered vintage claret wines will also be presented in the Fine Wines sale.