Christie’s “Magnificent Jewels” Auction is set to take place on April 17th at the Rockefeller Center Headquarters in New York. The auction will feature 300 individual jewelry pieces from the collections of private donors and late-heiresses. Items up for auction include necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings and brooches studded with diamonds, rare gemstones and natural pearls. Individual pieces are expected to earn from $2,000 to $8,000,000, and Christie’s is expecting to take in $40 million overall.
The Magnificent Jewels auction will contain dozens of pieces from the estates of several high-end jewelry collectors. Forty pieces from the jewelry collection of Lucille E. Davidson, an art collector and philanthropist who died in 2010, are up for auction. The collection is noted for its exceptional signed jewelry pieces which feature modern designs, and is highlighted by a “mystery set” of jewels designed by Van Cleef and Arpels. Mystery set jewels include the stunning “Pavot” flower brooch, which is studded with rubies and diamonds, the ruby and diamond “Bow Brooch,” and two sapphire and diamond bracelets.
In addition to fine estate jewelry, the auction will contain an impressive selection of diamond rings. Top pieces include a 6.26-carat, D-color, circular-cut diamond ring, and the “Belle Epoque” diamond ring, a 6.50-carat, D-Color stunner that is internally flawless.
Several of the world’s finest colored diamonds, rare gemstones, and natural pearls are also up for auction. The highlight of the colored diamonds is the 43.49-carat, cushion-cut fancy intense yellow diamond ring. The dramatic piece was designed by Graff and has an estimated value of $1.5 million. The exquisite, five-strand natural pearl necklace is expected to fetch between $600,000 and $800,000, while the pear-shaped, 10.26 and 9.01-carat Colombian emerald ear pendants, and square-cut, 9.13 and 8.16-carat fancy yellow ear clips, are also sure to be popular with bidders.