NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s announced its upcoming schedule of Winter Jewelry sales in New York, starting with the live saleroom auction of Magnificent Jewels on December 10, and continuing with a companion online boutique of Holiday Jewels from December 11 – 21. Both venues offer a multitude of outstanding jewels at every price level, including fancy colored and colorless diamonds, rare gemstones, natural pearls, and signed creations from the most coveted jewelry houses. Auction highlights, along with informative videos, buying tips, and Christie’s specialists’ Holiday Gift Suggestions are available for browsing online at Christie's now.
The Magnificent Jewels auction on December 10 features more than 500 lots, including signed pieces from Boucheron, Cartier, David Webb, Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels, and more. Prominent private collections comprise the most important jewels offered this season, with jewelry from the estate of New York philanthropist and socialite Carroll Petrie crowning the evening session.
Estimates range from $2,000 to over $4 million and the entire Magnificent Jewels auction will be on public view December 5 through December 9, at Christie’s Rockefeller Center galleries.
PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF CAROLL PETRIE
From a young age, Carroll McDaniel Petrie (pictured below left) had a strong passion for beauty and great design and an early inspiration came when her first marriage to the Marquis de Portago brought her to Paris. There she became enamored with the fashions of Christian Dior, and even collaborated with the designer in the creation of her wedding dress. Her great love of beauty and keen eye allowed Mrs. Petrie to build a remarkable collection of fine and decorative art, haute couture, and jewels.
From the late-1950s, Mrs. Petrie established herself as an icon of international society and philanthropy, living and mingling among the elite in Paris, Hong Kong, and New York. Many of the pieces presented in this sale were worn during her meetings with notable figures such as President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, just to name a few. Carroll Petrie patronized many of the great jewelers of the twentieth century, including Van Cleef & Arpels, Jean Schlumberger, and David Webb, all of which are represented in the auction.
• FROM THE ESTATE OF CARROLL PETRIE A DIAMOND ‘CADENAS’ BRACELET WATCH, BY VAN CLEEF & ARPELS ESTIMATE: $50,000-70,000
• FROM THE ESTATE OF CARROLL PETRIE A MULTI-GEM AND DIAMOND ‘HEDGES AND ROWS’ NECKLACE, BY JEAN SCHLUMBERGER, TIFFANY & CO. ESTIMATE: $200,000-300,000
• FROM THE ESTATE OF CARROLL PETRIE A CULTURED PEARL, DIAMOND, EMERALD AND ENAMEL BROOCH, BY DAVID WEBB ESTIMATE $20,000-30,000
COLORED GEMSTONES
Christie’s will present an impressive selection of exceptional emeralds, rubies and sapphires this December. Key highlights include rare sapphires from the Estates of Beatrice Goelet Manice and Gladys (Patsy) Pulitzer Preston, an important ruby and diamond ring from Harry Winston and an extraordinary cabochon emerald of over 50 carats.
• FROM THE ESTATE OF BEATRICE GOELET MANICE A BELLE ÉPOQUE KASHMIR SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND RING ESTIMATE: $1,500,000-2,500,000
• THE ESTATE OF GLADYS (PATSY) PULITZER PRESTON A BURMESE SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND RING, BY BOUCHERON ESTIMATE: $400,000-600,000
• A BURMESE RUBY AND DIAMOND RING, BY HARRY WINSTON ESTIMATE: $700,000-1,200,000
• A COLOMBIAN EMERALD AND DIAMOND RING ESTIMATE: $200,000-300,000
NATURAL PEARLS
Natural pearls formed part of every royal and state collection for centuries and continue to remain in high demand. The Magnificent Jewels auction provides beautiful examples of necklaces from Cartier and Tiffany & Co., matched drop earrings and an elegant antique brooch formerly owned by Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, the first woman elected to serve in the British Parliament.
• FORMALLY FROM THE COLLECTION OF NANCY WITCHER LANGHORNE ASTOR AN ANTIQUE DIAMOND AND NATURAL PEARL BROOCH ESTIMATE: $60,000-80,000
• A PAIR OF EARLY 20TH CENTURY NATURAL PEARL AND DIAMOND EAR PENDANTS ESTIMATE: $300,000-500,000
• A TWO-STRAND NATURAL PEARL NECKLACE, BY CARTIER ESTIMATE: $250,000-350,000
DIAMONDS
Christie’s continues its reputation for offering the most important historical and rare diamonds available in the market today. We are proud to offer once again the famous “Victory” diamond, named to commemorate the Allied victory in World War II. The “Victory” was last offered at Christie’s in 1984 as part of the famous Collection of Florence J. Gould. Other notable stones include the “Petrie” diamond ring, a D color stone of 24.34 carats by Harry Winston, and a beautifully cut diamond pendant of 103.66 carats as well as an impressive selection of fancy colored pinks, blues, oranges and yellows.
• A ROUND BRILLIANT- CUT FANCY INTENSE BLUE DIAMOND RING OF 1.74 CARATS ESTIMATE: $700,000-1,000,000
• A CUT–CORNERED RECTANGULAR FANCY VIVID PURPLISH PINK DIAMOND RING OF 3.74 CARATS ESTIMATE: $1,300,000-1,500,000
• A BELLE ÉPOQUE MARQUISE-CUT FANCY TO FANCY INTENSE BLUE DIAMOND RING, BY J.E. CALDWELL ESTIMATE: $400,000-600,000
• A D COLOR RECTANGULAR-CUT DIAMOND RING OF 28.28 CARATS ESTIMATE: $2,800,000-3,500,000
• A RECTANGULAR-CUT DIAMOND PENDANT NECKLACE OF 103.66 CARATS ESTIMATE: $3,900,000-4,500,000
• A D COLOR CUSHION-CUT DIAMOND RING OF 43.79 CARATS ESTIMATE: $4,000,000-5,000,000
SIGNED JEWELS
Unique signed pieces from top international designers including Boucheron, Cartier, Graff, Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels and more are among the key highlights of the sale. A top lot from the selection includes an iconic art deco coral bracelet by Cartier, with additional highlights including a diamond and gold ballerina brooch designed in arabesque pose, and two ‘Mystery Set’ flower brooches by Van Cleef & Arpels.
• A DIAMOND AND GOLD BALLERINA BROOCH, BY VAN CLEEF & ARPELS ESTIMATE: $60,000-80,000
• AN ART DECO CORAL, DIAMOND AND ONYX BRACELET, BY CARTIER ESTIMATE: $80,000-120,000
• A ‘MYSTERY-SET’ SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND FLOWER BROOCH ESTIMATE: $100,000-150,000
• A ‘MYSTERY-SET’ RUBY AND DIAMOND FLOWER BROOCH ESTIMATE: $120,000-180,000 EACH BY VAN CLEEF & ARPELS
