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Sparkling Royal Jewels From Around the World

Royal Jewels Fetch a Princely Sum

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Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby’s, Christie’s
We recently showcased five pieces of incredible antique jewelry here on The Court Jeweller that would soon be sold at auction. Now that the sales have happened, here’s a look at the amount each piece fetched in the auction room…

Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby’s
Likely made ca. 1903 by Fabergé, this diamond kokoshnik was given to Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin when she married Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia. The piece features three distinctive circular elements set in the middle of the tiara’s lattice and quatrefoil design. Auction estimates for the tiara ranged from just around $200,000-$300,000. When the hammer fell at Sotheby’s on May 14, the tiara sold for almost $435,000.
Christie’s
On May 15, Christie’s sold a diamond and aquamarine tiara made by Fabergé in 1905 for Princess Alexandra of Hanover. The piece was a wedding gift from her new husband, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and the tiara’s design appropriately incorporated many love symbols in its design. The piece was estimated to fetch around $230,000-$335,000, but it sold for significantly more: just over $1,020,000.
Christie’s

For the second time in recent memory, an emerald and diamond necklace that once belonged to Princess Helene, Duchess of Aosta was sold at auction. In May 2015, a buyer purchased the necklace at auction for more than $2.5 million. On May 15 in Geneva, the necklace sold for a lesser sum of $1.8 million — though this price fell within the piece’s auction estimate, which was set between $1.5 million and $2.5 million.
Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby’s
This versatile, convertible emerald and diamond necklace, made by Van Cleef and Arpels, is an excellent example of the Art Deco style. It belonged to one of the wealthy socialites of the period, Helene Beaumont. The auction estimate for the stunning piece was set at around $3 million-$4 million. When the bidding finished at Sotheby’s on May 14, the necklace sold neatly within that range, fetching more than $3.5 million.
Christie’s
One of the most impressive auctions of royal jewels last week was the sale of an emerald that once belonged to Grand Duchess Vladimir. The stone, which has since been recut and is now set as a pendant in a diamond necklace, weighs more than 75 carats. Christie’s set the auction estimate for the necklace at a whopping $2.3-$3.5 million, and on May 15 in Geneva, it shattered those numbers, selling for more than $4.2 million.

On the Block: Glorious Royal Emeralds at Christie’s

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Christie’s

The major jewelry auctions this coming May are the gift that keeps on giving, bling-wise! Today, we’ve got a peek at two incredible lots of royal emeralds from the Magnificent Jewels sale coming up soon at Christie’s in Geneva.

Christie’s

Lot 269 in the sale is an incredible necklace set with a grand 75.61 carat pear-shaped Colombian emerald. The stone itself is astonishing, but its royal and imperial provenance makes it even more special.

Grand Ladies Site

The emerald was originally a rectangular cut stone, and was later re-cut as a pear-shaped emerald for improved clarity. Its first owner was none other than Catherine the Great, the magnificent eighteenth-century Empress of Russia. From her, it passed through numerous Romanov hands, including Tsars Paul I, Alexander I, Nicholas I, and Alexander II. In 1874, it arrived in the jewelry box of one of the greatest magpies of the century: Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, wife of Grand Duke Vladimir. In the portrait above, taken during a costume ball in 1903, she wears the rectangular emerald pinned to the collar of her intricate costume.

Christie’s

From Grand Duchess Vladimir, the emerald passed to her son, Grand Duke Boris, who sold the stone to Cartier in 1927. The stone was later owned one of the Rockefellers, and is now being sold by a private collection. The emerald today is set as a pendant in an elaborate necklace made of diamonds set with platinum and gold. Christie’s has set the auction estimate for the necklace at a whopping $2.3-$3.5 million dollars.

Christie’s

Also included in the sale is another diamond and emerald necklace with a major royal pedigree. The necklace, made in 1810, is also set with Colombian emeralds. One of its early royal owners was Prince Henri of Orleans, Duke of Aumale. He presented it to his goddaughter, Princess Helene of Orleans, when she married Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta in 1895.

Christie’s

Here’s a portrait of Helene wearing the necklace with several other jewels from her collection. The necklace was later acquired by the 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley for his glamorous wife, Sybil. When she died, the necklace was sold by Christie’s in London.

Christie’s

If the piece seems familiar to you, it might be because it was sold fairly recently. In November 2015, it was sold by Christie’s in Geneva. That time around, it fetched more than $2.5 million. This May, Christie’s expects it to sell for between $1.5 and $2.5 million.

The Beaumont Emerald Art Deco Necklace

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Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby’s

As the upcoming magnificent jewelry sale at Sotheby’s approaches, we’ve got the scoop on one of the most important piececs in the auction: the Beaumont Emerald Art Deco Necklace.

Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby’s

Like so many grand jewels, the necklace was first owned by a wealthy socialite. Helene Beaumont was the second wife of Louis Dudley Beaumont, one of the founders of the May Company, one of the largest twentieth-century department store chains in the United States. Born Louis Shoenberg in 1857 in Dayton, Ohio, he was nicknamed “Commodore” because of his life-long passion for yachting. After retiring from the company in 1912, he moved to France, where he sailed yachts, flew planes, and changed his surname from Shoenberg to Beaumont.

Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby’s

Louis’s first wife, Flora Rothschild, died in 1891. (Their son, Dudley, passed away in 1910.) Decades later, in 1926, Louis married Helene Marguerite Thomas, an Australian-born opera singer, in London. They settled in a grand villa on the French Riviera after their wedding, filling it with gorgeous art and jewelry together until Louis’s death at the age of 85 in 1942. His legacy lives on, however, in the numerous charitable initiatives and endowments established by the May Company after his death (especially in my hometown of St. Louis!).

Sotheby’s

Helene died in 1988, and six years later, a major auction of her magnificent jewelry was held at Sotheby’s in Geneva. This emerald necklace was one of the stars of the sale. Now, the necklace is going on the block once more. Sotheby’s describes it as “set with a line of graduated sugarloaf cabochon emeralds of truly exceptional quality … alternating with hexagonal-shaped diamonds, framed with similarly cut, dart-shaped and baguette diamonds.”

Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby’s

The softness of the Colombian cabochon emeralds, combined with the sharp glitter of the diamonds, gives the necklace a fascinating dual personality. And, even better, the piece is convertible. The all-diamond sections at the back of the necklace can be detached and worn with another diamond bracelet (also sold in 1994, but not included in this auction), while the remaining diamond and emerald section can be worn separately as a bracelet.

Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby’s

The piece, made around 1935, was probably made by one of Helene’s favorite jewelers, Van Cleef and Arpels. (Helene’s collection also contained a matching emerald and diamond bracelet by Van Cleef and Arpels.) It’s a magnificent example of the Art Deco style of the period, and it would have looked right at home on a stylish socialite in on the Riviera in the ’30s.

Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby’s

The necklace is scheduled to be sold in Geneva on May 14th, and it’s expected to fetch a mint: between three million and four million dollars. It’s the same sale that features Crown Princess Cecilie of Prussia’s Faberge tiara, so it’s going to be a jewelry bonanza! (Read our article on Cecilie’s tiara here!)