Contributors
Rising Value of Unrestored Cars
By Malcolm Welford, Vintage Car Specialist
Jewelry
“Harry Legacy” Sells For $26.m
May 17, 2013Money has been flooding into the rapidly rising diamond market in recent months, as collectors seek remunerative parking spots for their investment dollars. The latest example is the $26.7m that jeweler Harry Winston paid this week at a Christie’s auction in Geneva for a flawless 101.73-carat “colorless” diamond. The price was a new high for a diamond of this type, exceeding the last auction price record by more than $10m.
Read more...Silver Spoons, High Prices
April 25, 2013Many collect flatware, some just spoons. An even smaller subset—numbers unknown– has a passion for vintage silver spoons. For these collectors, Christie’s has fashioned a sale in early June that’s likely to quicken pulses. It’s an auction of some forty 14th and 15th century examples from the Benson collection. Expected to be among the most valuable is a set of six 15th century apostle spoons, estimated at $229,000-$381,000.
Read more...‘Princie’ Pink Diamond Sells For Nearly $40m
April 17, 2013Records fell to the “Princie” Diamond, a 34.65-carat fancy intense pink cushion-cut stone that sold to an anonymous telephone bidder for more than $39.3m yesterday at Christie’s in New York. It’s the highest price paid for any jewel that Christie’s has offered as well as a record for any gem to come out of the famed Golconda mine in India, where it was found 300 years ago. The final tally for the Christie’s event was more than $81m, which the auction house said was the highest total for any various owner jewelry sale in the U.S.
Read more...Nameless 101-Carat Diamond For Sale
March 14, 2013At Christie’s in Geneva next month, a buyer will not only have a chance to buy the largest flawless pear shaped diamond to come to auction, but also the right to name the stone after him or herself. It weighs 101.73 carats and took nearly 2 years just to polish. A diamond of this size and clarity is literally one out of tens of millions. No price estimate given.
Read more...Paul Revere’s Teapot coming To Auction
January 02, 2013Paul Revere did a lot more than ride a horse at midnight. He also practiced dentistry, drew political cartoons, designed the Continental currency, even ran a hardware store. But his genius was in working silver, and a Revere teapot–the only one of its kind still privately owned–will be sold by Christie’s later this month in New York. High estimate is $250,000.
Read more...Christie’s Luxury Week
December 10, 2012Closing out its 2012 season, Christie’s will offer a Luxury Week series of sales, beginning today with an event in New York devoted to jewels, led by a 50.01 carat diamond ring by Graff, (est. $7m-$10m). In tomorrow’s sale, Christie’s will auction a collection of furniture, fine and decorative art from the estate of legendary director Billy Wilder, and in coming days, there will be sales, six in all, devoted to watches, wine, and 20th century design.
Read more...Lauder Jewels Raise $22.2m
December 07, 2012Nearly doubling its high estimate, a 6.54-carat pink diamond ring sold this week for $8.6m at Sotheby’s auction of Estee and Evelyn H. Lauder’s jewelry collection. Dealer Laurence Graff bought the Oscar Heyman & Brothers ring at the New York event along with two other high-priced lots at the auction, which realized $22.2m.
Read more...Millions Expected For Top Items At Christie’s Jewelry Sale
September 27, 2012Bidders at Christie’s jewelry auction next month might want to bring their oxygen masks, as the prices are likely to be stratospheric. The auction house hasn’t made public its estimate for the lead item, a diamond pendant necklace weighing approximately 50.52 carats. But the $4.5m-$6.5m estimate for the next highest valued offering, a pair of colored diamond and diamond ear pendants, gives a sense of the rarified air into which the bidding’s likely to climb.
Read more...Kitty Carlisle’s Jewelry At Sotheby’s
September 19, 2012For decades until her death in 2007, the actress, television celebrity, and arts advocate Kitty Carlisle Hart seemed ubiquitous. Tomorrow in New York, Sotheby’s will be selling a few choice items from the versatile actress’ estate, including a Verdura ruby and diamond brooch (est. $12,000-$15,000), an art-deco diamond necklace, (est.$70,000), and two gold Cartier cigarette cases monogrammed “MH,” the initials of her late husband, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Moss Hart (est.$10,000).
Read more...Brooke Astor’s Estate Finally Comes To Auction
August 27, 2012For decades, ruling from her 14-room duplex on Park Avenue, New York socialite Brooke Astor set a standard for philanthropy, and civic responsibility. After her death in 2007 at the remarkable age of 105, relatives battled for five years over the revered heiress’ $130m estate, from which her son was convicted of stealing millions. Now, following that scandal, Sotheby’s has announced it will auction the contents of her stylish two homes. Up for grabs at the September 24-25 charity sale are everything from the guest book for her husband Vincent Astor’s yacht (est. $1000-$1500), to her 1959 Bulgari diamond, emerald and gold necklace ($250,000-$350,000).
Read more...Chicago Mobster’s Swag Up For Auction
June 27, 2012The swag of a mobster who collected gobs of jewels, rare coins and watches goes to an online auction next month while the one-time owner, Frank Calabrese, Sr., lives out his days in an Illinois prison, convicted of multiple murders. Included in the 250 lots of seized bling are an 8.64 carat loose diamond, and a 1927 St. Gaudens $20 gold piece.
Read more...Hollywood Agent Sue Mengers’ Private World
June 05, 2012From the 1960s through the 80s, talent agent Sue Mengers was part of the bunch that ruled the Hollywood roost. The client list of the notorious agent, who died late last year, included the likes of Barbara Steisand, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway and Candace Bergen, and even after Mengers retired in the late 80s, her dinner parties remained one of the hot tickets in town. Next week Bonhams will be offering a two-day sale of her estate, or “private world.” Leading the mix at the June 11-12 event in Los Angeles is a 17th/18th century Chinese altar table, estimated at $20,000-$30,000.
Read more...Record $6.7m Ruby At Safra Sale
May 15, 2012When Lily Safra entered the salesroom after Christie’s charity auction of 70 items from her jewelry collection, she received a standing ovation. It was no surprise, given the evening’s results. Led by the $6.7m a Dubai buyer paid for a 32.08ct Burmese ruby and diamond ring—a new world auction record for a ruby—the Geneva sale realized almost $38m, which will benefit 32 charities.
Read more...Jewels From Eccentric Heiress Come Out Of Vault
April 13, 2012The story of the jewelry’s owner is more fascinating than her jewels to be sold next week by Christie’s in New York. Huguette Clark died at 104, a recluse for 60-years. Unseen in a vault for most of those years were a rare 9-carat pink diamond and an“internally flawless” 44.09 carat D-color, emerald cut diamond. Christie’s will offer 17 of Clark’s pieces, expecting a total of $12m.
Read more...Sotheby’s Scores Big In Hong Kong
April 04, 2012Sotheby’s had anticipated a total of $233m for its spring series of auctions in Hong Kong. As it turned out, the auction house did quite a bit better, achieving a result of $316m. Contributing to that tally was the $60m generated by its sale of Fine Chinese paintings. That was more than double the $25.6m estimate. Top seller was a pair of gold screens by Qi Baishi, “Willows At The Riverside; Begonias” (1922), which realized $9m, more than three times its $2.6m high estimate.
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