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Auction House :Christies London June 2006
Sale Price: £926,400
Above: The Poltimore Tiara
The Poltimore Tiara was designed as a graduated line of old cut and cushion cut diamonds with detailed diamond floral type scroll motifs.
The framework comprised both gold and silver metals . The tiara was able to be converted into a necklace and eleven brooches.
It was made in 1870 by Garrards in London and originally belong to Lady Poltimor.
She wore the tiara to the coronation of King George V in 1911. The tiara was put up for auction by the family in 1959.
It was purchased by Princes Margaret for 5,500 pounds. Princess Margaret wore the tiara at her wedding to Antony Armstrong on May 6th 1960.
After her death in 2002 an auction of Princess Margaret's private collection was held at Christie's London. The Poltimore Tiara was bought by a private buyer for 926,400 pounds in June 2006.
Auction House : Sotheby's Geneva 2017
Sale Price: £1.3 million
The necklace features detachable pear shaped emerald pendants with the central emerald pendant weighing 14.03 carats.
The rest of the necklace is set with rose cut diamonds with cushion cut stones supporting the pendants. The necklace has matching emerald and diamond earrings.
The Duchess of Berry was born Marie-Caroline of Bourbon-Two Sicilies in 1798, becoming the Duchess of Berry after her marriage to Charles Ferdinand the Duke of Berry in 1816.
She led an eventful life in the turmoil of French Politics of the time becoming one of the most famous aristocrat figures of the 19th century. In later years she became a patron of the art with passions for music, literature, garden design and botany.
Her necklace was sold for 1.3 million pounds at Sothebys Geneva in 2017
Auction House : Sotheby's 2021
Sale Price: £107,100
This 1950’s gem set and diamond necklace belonged to Lady Patricia Mountbatten the 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma .
The necklace comprises a wreath of colourful carved emeralds, sapphires and rubies accented by circular cut diamonds.
It is reminiscent of Cartier’s colourful “Tutti Frutti” style jewellery of the 1920’s which took inspiration from Indian jewels.
The Countess also owned a bandeau tiara purchased from Cartier in 1928 which can now be seen in the Victorian and Albert Museum. The bandeau is considered one of the most important of the surviving "Tutti Frutti" jewels.
Countess Mountbatten's necklace was sold for £107, 100 at Sothebys in March 2021
Sale Price: $27.4 million dollars
This Cartier jadeite bead, diamond and ruby necklace was owned by Woolworth Heiress Barbara Hutton and is considered the most important piece of jadeite jewellery in the world.
The necklace was given to Barbara by her father on the occasion of her wedding to Alexis Mdivani in 1933.
The necklace comprises 27 graduated jadeite beads in a highly translucent green colour. The large beads measure from 15.4 to 19.2 mm.
The platinum and 18 k gold clasp is set with baguette diamonds and caliber cut rubies.
The sale of the necklace set a world record for a Cartier jewel and a jadeite jewel, selling for $27.4 million dollars, double its estimate price.
It was purchased by The Cartier Collection at Sothebys Hong Kong in April 2014
5) Maria Christina Royal Devant-de-Corsage Brooch
Auction House : Christies, Geneva May 2014
Sale Price: $17,600,000
The Maria Christina Royal Devant-de-Corsage brooch was given by King Alfonso X11 of Spain as a wedding gift to his wife the Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria in November 1879.
Made by Cartier the brooch comprises a trio of large diamonds including a 34.8 carat pear shaped diamond, a 23.55 carat oval shaped diamond, and a 6.5 carat marquise shaped diamond.
These are surrounded by diamond lily of the valley shaped links.
The brooch was sold at Christie's, Geneva in May 2014 for $17.6 million dollars.
Auction House : Christies 2008
Sale Price: £16.5,000 000
The Wittelsbach diamond is a 35.56 carat fancy deep grey blue cushion shaped diamond with great clarity dating back to 1664. It was originally found in the Kollur Mine, India.
It has a long history having been owned by Austrian, Spanish and Bavarian royalty at times.
In 2008 the diamond was purchased by Laurence Graff at a Christie’s sale for the sum of 16.5 million pounds or 23.4 million dollars.
Graff decided to recut the stone to minimize imperfections and improve its brilliance, something that did not go down well with collectors and purists.
The diamond is now 31 carats and internally flawless. The stone has been renamed the Wittelsbach-Graff diamond.
Auction House : Christies 2006
Sale Price: £993,600
This necklace originally belonged to Queen Mary and dates from around 1900. It was worn by Queen Mary to the coronation of her son King George IV in 1937 stacked along with 6 other diamond riviere necklaces.
After her death in 1953 it was inherited by her granddaughter Princess Margaret who wore it on several occasions up until the 1980's.
After Princess Margaret's death in 2002 her children decided to auction some of her jewellery to cover the taxes on her estate.
The necklace comprises a line of 34 graduated old cut diamonds set in silver and gold and measuring 35.5 cm long.
The seven largest diamonds in the necklace are between 4 and 7 carats. It was sold at Christies in June 2006 for £993,600.
Auction House : Christies Geneva November 2012
Sale Price: 21.5 million dollars
The Archduke Joseph diamond takes its name from a prior owner of the jewel, a Hungarian Prince of the Hapsburg dynasty.
The Archduke's father was Emperor Leopold 11, the son of Empress Maria Theresa owner of the well know Florentine Diamond.
The Archduke Diamond is a 76.02 carat, D colour , internally flawless diamond cut in a rectangular cushion cut style.
The stone comes from the ancient Golconda mines in India. These mines were the world’s sole diamond source until the beginning of the 18th century.
Some of the worlds most amazing diamonds have emerged from the Golconda region, including the Hope and the Koh-i-Noor diamond.
The Archduke Joseph Diamond was first up for auction at Christies Geneva in 1993 when it was sold for $6 487 945.
At this time it weighed 78.54 carats, however it was slightly recut by Molina Fine Jewellers in the late 1990’s resulting in its current 76.02 weight.
The Archduke Joseph diamond was sold at Christie’s Geneva in November 2012 for million dollars
Auction House : Sothebys Geneva 2021
Sale Price: $900,000
The brooch has a plaque design with a beautiful central oval shaped 26.80 carat sapphire from Ceylon Sri Lanka, with a border of rose and cushion cut diamonds.
The ear clips are set with 6.96 and 9.36 step cut sapphires with a border of rose and cushion cut diamonds.
The brooch and ear clips were sold at Sotheby's Geneva in 2021 for $900,000.
Auction House : Christies, Geneva, November 1995
Sale Price: $7,790,708
The Begum blue necklace was owned by Princess Begum Salima Aga Khan.It was given to her as a gift by her husband Prince Karim Aga Khan IV.
The prince had necklaces especially designed for his wife by top designers including Cartier, Harry Winston, Bulgari, Van Cleef and Arperls, Tiffany, Bulgari, Buccelati, Boucheron and Marina B.
Although the designer of the necklace has not been confirmed it is thought to be one of the above names.
The necklace comprises a series of 41 heart shaped colour less diamonds . The centrepiece pendant has a fancy 13.78 carat deep blue heart shaped diamond above a D colour, 16.04 carat heart shaped diamond.
After Princess Salima was divorced from Prince Karim in 1995 she decided to sell all her jewellery collection including the Begum Blue necklace for charity.
The necklace was sold in November 1995 to Lawrence Graff at Christie's in Geneva for $7,790,708 dollars.
Article by Modern Vintage Style
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