Auction Favorites- Christie’s July 2020

Tomorrow, Christie’s is holding it’s the first of its biannual Magnificent Jewels auction’s in New York and I am so excited!  Magnificent Jewels is my favorite jewelry auction because the offerings are always over the top.  People ask me why I enjoy looking at auction results and I think it boils down to three things: (1) It’s an opportunity to see vintage or antique jewelry of exceptional quality, things not seen in stores (2) It can be a good indicator of how the economy is doing, rich people only spend money when they’re comfortable (3) Auction houses keep great records, so you can see the history of a piece and how often it’s been sold or read extraordinary detail about the provenance of an item.  I have compiled a list of my favorites from tomorrow’s auction and I’ve included some fun details below.  

My favorite designer at auction is always vintage Bulgari.  I love Italy, I love color and I love cabochon gemstones.  Lot 184 is a coral, onyx and diamond bracelet and I just love the striking contrast between the three colors.  Coral, like so many components in jewelry, has ethical considerations you should be aware of.  Many types of coral are protected, some endangered, and you should certainly do your homework before buying any new jewelry containing coral.  I consider estate jewelry to be a safe way of ensuring that you’re supporting sustainability when it comes to coral.

Tiffany & Co is represented in the sale with three lots making my favorites list including two of their best-known designers.  One of my favorite colors is orange and Lot 14 is a spicy 5.3 carat natural orange sapphire flanked by triangular cut diamonds in a platinum and gold ring.  I picked this one because the color looks out of this world and I like a sapphire for a ring because the hardness is second only to diamond and that makes it a very practical way to spend the estimated $20k-$20k they expect this piece to bring in. Lot 91, a peridot and enamel brooch designed by Lewis Comfort Tiffany!  This is exciting because this is like owning a piece of history.  The son of the Tiffany & Co founder, Lewis Comfort Tiffany first gained fame as a designer and manufacturer of beautiful colored glass.  He was commissioned to produce stained glass for department stores, hotels, and transportation terminals.  He was a prolific designer and inventor, who only really started to focus on jewelry halfway through his career.  His experimentation and success with jewelry enameling techniques led to his appointment as the company’s first director of design on his father’s death in 1902.   

 Lot 49 is a pair of stunning opal and diamond earrings designed by Paloma Picasso.  Paloma is the youngest daughter of famed painter Pablo Picasso.  She began designing for Tiffany & Co in 1980 and their relationship continues to this day.  Owning a Paloma Picasso piece puts you in good company, her jewelry is on exhibit at both the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and the Field Museum in Chicago. 

When it comes to buying diamonds, I’ve been telling you all along that you can get a good deal buying things at auction.  Lot 83 is a 33 carat Fancy Intense Yellow Diamond that has a presale estimate of $525k-$625k.  That’s roughly $19k/carat.  Now, if I go today and look at Blue Nile for a Fancy Intense Yellow diamond, VS2, which is the clarity rating for this one, I get prices coming up that are $31k/carat.  See, buying at auction is totally a bargain!  Granted, the largest stone on Blue Nile is 21 carats, but you get what I’m saying.  Lot 228 is an exquisite orange-brown diamond set in rose gold.  This ring is probably my favorite diamond ring that I’ve ever seen.  The color combination is just gorgeous and I can’t wait to see the price that it gets.  Lot 106 is a retro ring with a 1.8 carat brown-pink diamond.  I wrote a blog post last week about pink diamonds, you can read it here.  The diamond sits in a rose gold bezel setting, which is going to make the diamond look pinker than it would if it was set with prongs or in a different color metal.  This is one that I would definitely want to examine carefully before bidding because if you remove the diamond from the setting after purchase, the color might look completely different.  Personally, I love the design of the ring and it’s much more wearable than some of those record-breaking pink diamonds I talked about last week. 

Lastly, I’m always intrigued when lots are listed as “Property of a Lady”.  I am not sure what that means, but it sounds so fancy and mysterious.  “The Property of a Lady” was actually a James Bond short story commissioned by Sotheby’s from Sir Ian Fleming for publication in their annual journal in 1963.  It included the usual KGB, double agents an espionage, and I wonder if the term is now used to auction items of dubious provenance.  Probably not!  Lot 132 is a pair of oh so scrumptious diamond earrings.  Over 18 carats of diamonds in an amazing topsy-turvy mix and match set.  I could see myself wearing these to Kindergarten drop-off, they look like they’d match my car really well.  I’m not sure if it’s the same lady, but whoever consigned Lot 146 certainly had style!  It’s a unique piece and I think it’s immensely wearable for either night or day.  I think a style like this would be extremely popular as affordable fashion jewelry and still look just as fabulous.

I have a lot of fun looking through auction catalogues and I recommend it to everyone!  So much of the jewelry that’s thrown at us in advertising is great for the everyday, but not for our fantasies of black tie charity events and our first trip to the opera.  The auction this year is certainly different, the preview was by appointment only and the auction will not be held with bidders in attendance.  I’m sure Christies isn’t worried, because sales during COVID-19 have been very high for the major auction houses.  We’ll have to see when the results come out tomorrow if that holds true.  Thanks for reading, as always please contact me with any questions, I’d love to hear from you!

All photos from Christies.com Magnificent Jewels sale.