Brooke Astor's Auction Will Keep The Ghostbuster Library Open A Little Longer

Commissioned by her third husband, Vincent, who died in 1959
before the piece was completed.
Mrs. Astor decided to keep it because "it is pretty and not ostentatious".

On September 24th and 25th, Sotheby's will auction 901 lots of furnishing, art and jewelry from the estate of socialite, Brooke Astor, who passed away in 2007 at the age of 105.  Included will be the last gift her husband, real estate tycoon, Vincent Astor, ever gave her...a custom designed platinum and 18K gold Bulgari emerald and diamond necklace.  Auction estimates are between $250,00 - $350,00, but as we all know these things go for two to three times the initial price tags.  There is also a matching 23 carat emerald ring with an auction estimate of $150,000.

It appears Brooke Astor did not read my blogs on bangs or blue eyeshadow.

Brooke is lucky to even have these things left to auction since her only son, Anthony Marshall, a US ambassador and a Tony winning producer, was convicted of stealing million of dollars from his mother in 2009.  Sentenced to up to three years in prison, Marshall remains out on bail pending the outcome of his appeal.  No wonder she decided to bequeath the proceeds of her belongings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Animal Medical Center, the Central Park Conservancy, New York City schools and the New York Public Ghostbuster Library.

April Showers Bring May...Diamonds?

Apparently it's raining (or reigning, as many of these amazing stones come from royal houses) diamonds during the busy gem auction month of May.  Some of the most important diamonds in history have come upon the auction block and have passed into the hands of individuals whose wealth is so stealth they have 10 million dollars of disposable income budgeted just for baubles.

First we have the Beau Sancy diamond, purchased yesterday for $9.7 million dollars by an anonymous buyer at Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels auction in Geneva.  Remaining anonymous is important because the buyer is thought to be European and they are supposed to be poor these days and behaving themselves with all kinds of austerity.  The oldest diamond to ever land on the auction block, the 400 year old, 34.98 carat Beau Sancy, was worn by Marie de Medici during her coronation as queen consort to Henri IV in France in 1610.  Apparently the story goes that once Marie saw the diamond she had to have it and nagged the philandering Henri until he bought it for her.  This tells us that nagging one's spouse for special favors remains an extremely successful technique some 400 years later. 

By 1631, crippled with debt, Marie, now the widowed Queen Mother of France, sold the Beau Sancy to a royal Dutch family where it was used to seal the wedding of William II of Orange to Mary Stuart, daughter of King Charles I.  After William's death, Stuart returned to England and sold the diamond to fund her brother's, Charles II, fight for the throne.

Passed among the royal families in France, England, Prussia and the Netherlands, the stone was sold by the Royal House of Prussia, the line of descendants that once ruled Prussia.

Next blog...for all of the Jamie Fraser, "Outlander" freaks out there, a historic diamond once owned by Charles Edward Stuart, better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, who owned the stone when the Jacobite Rebellion was crushed at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.

The New Storage Wars & Hoarders Show, or...Huguette Clark's Safety Deposit Box Is Opened

Score another one for Christie's.  Still recovering from their record setting auction of Elizabeth Taylor's personal jewel collection, on April 17th, Christie's will handle the disposition of the rare and outstanding gems and jewelry recently found when late copper mining heiress, Huguette Clark's, safety deposit box was opened.  Sealed for more than seven decades, head of jewelry for Christie's, Rahul Kadakia, said it was like "chasing a rainbow" when he finally saw the gems.  I agree with Mr. Kadakia,who further said, "Opening the vault to find this treasure trove of period jewels from the best French houses of the early 1900's has certainly been one of the most extraordinary moments in my 15 year career here at Christie's."  However I keep thinking this was some kind of A&E's Storage Wars for the rich.

Every piece was still in it's original, vintage box and includes this Cartier 19.86 carat, D, potentially internally flawless, diamond ring from the 1930's, with an estimated value of $2 to $3 million dollars...which seems low to me. 

And then there was the extremely rare Belle Epoque, 9 carat, fancy, vivid purple-pink, diamond by Dreicer & Co., circa 1910, valued at $6 to $8 million dollars, which she inherited from her mother.

Among the 17 items found were two unbelievable Cartier bracelets.  This one is an art deco diamond and emerald piece valued at $50,000 to $70,000.

And the other is this all diamond bracelet which has been estimated at $300,000 to $500,000. Seen wearing them in the photo above, this was one of the last known images of Clark, which was taken after she signed her divorce papers and right before she went into seclusion. 

Not to mention the real estate.  Clark left three New York apartments which overlook Central Park and are believed to be the biggest in the city.  Two occupy the entire 8th floor of a Fifth Avenue address.  The third unit takes up one half of the 12th floor at the same address and was used to store her doll collection.  Cue the tinkly, creepy "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" music.  The real estate is estimated to fetch in the neighborhood of $55 million dollars.

Of course there are two wills, and the contesting will go on for years. Huguette had no children and reportedly left the bulk of her $400 million fortune to her nurse.  This person should look both ways before she crosses those busy New York streets.

Diamonds Now Come From The Sun - The 110 Carat Sun Drop

Here we go again.  Can you believe another gargantuan yellow diamond is on the auction block?  This time it's the largest known diamond of it's kind.  On November 15th, Sotheby's will auction the 110.3 carat pear shaped, fancy vivid yellow "Sun Drop" diamond, discovered in South Africa just last year.  The interesting thing about this stone is that it has no history.  It has never been owed privately, and buyers seem to like this as they want to mark it with their own scent.  In this case, they even get to name it.

The scarcity of yellow diamonds, along with the highest color rating bestowed by GIA of "fancy-vivid-yellow", supports auction estimates of $11-$15 million dollars. 

Jerry Hall wishing she was still married to Mick Jagger so he could buy her this diamond.

Jerry...even this diamond doesn't cover the fact that women over 50 should wear bangs.

Elizabeth Taylor - The Christie's Auction Details

Now that you all have an idea about which of Elizabeth Taylor's jewels you are bidding on, here are some details.

First, it's Christie's that is holding the auction, not Sotheby's. Since they are the only two auction houses that really matter, and both auction important gems of the world, they seem to be interchangeable in terms of these important events.

In an attempt to cut 'em off at the pass, this October, Sotheby's in Hong Kong, will include in their Magnificent Jewels event, the auction of the 9.27 carat Fancy Vivid Pink Golconda diamond which carries a pre-auction estimate of $13 million - $19 million dollars.  The Golconda mine in India is known for producing many of the worlds most valuable stones, many of which were owned by the ancient emperors of India and Iran.  Since it no longer is mined, there are only a few of their legendary diamonds left in circulation.

This is one piece of jewelry Liz never owned.

Christie's started a world wide tour of Elizabeth Taylor's famous gems in Moscow on September 15th and September 16th, and it just arrived in London. For a taste of what's to come, view this link to see the opening: Liz in London. In October and November it continues through Los Angeles, Dubai, Geneva, Paris and Hong Kong. It finally arrives in New York on December 3 and remains on display through December 12 at the Christie's Gallery, 20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York. Tickets are required ($30 - available at the end of October)  and the catalogues are available in varying configurations at prices that range from $20 for the Souvenir Publication to $300 for the complete set. If you are really interested in the auction events, I suggest you set up an account at Christie's so you can get the details as they emerge.

This is not Elizabeth Taylor.

So choose the day you're going to New York and make sure to book your hotel now. What a fun time to be in New York City. The holiday decorations will be up and the stores will be stocked so you can get some serious shopping done. But don't forget to bring your museum armour so you can be ready to do serious battle because the big crowds in this type of exhibition bring out the worst in people. Be prepared to inhale other people's bad breath, B.O., and hair smell; navigate around the bloaty and farty people pushing you out of line while squirreling their way into your 6" personal space; and beware of the ubiquitous foreign tourists with camera equipment that would put a cinematographer to shame. Be comfortable with the fact you will never see these people again as you move in front of them or gently push them out of the line if they take too long to get their shot. Because you are there to see, for probably the only time in your life, a display of some of the most beautiful and important jewels you will ever see together in one place. It will be worth it.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton-Can't Live With Him, Can't Live Without Him

I liked them best old, drunk and nasty.

We're all familiar with the tempestuous marriages of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton so I won't bore you with their legendary stories.  Sigh...we just don't hear those kinds of tales about today's celebrities. We're much more interested in news of recent plastic surgery, like Meg Ryan's jaw dropping corrective face lift...it's about time she noticed how weird she looked.  Or how scary skinny Kelly Ripa (who looks like she can't wait to throw up in the nearest toilet so she can get rid of that forkful of food she is allowing herself  just because she's being photographed) is.

Meg Ryan as the Joker on the left.  Today, post Joker surgery.

Gag...Ripa looks like a little boy but eats like an anorexic.

Taylor and Burton adored, hated, adored and hated each other. I believe they shared a unique passion for love and life, however, when you have sombrero sized egos, only one can fit in a room. Between both marriages, Burton bejeweled Taylor with some of the most important gems in the world...ever. There are so many...here are the best of them.

The Grand Duchess Vladimir suite started off with the amazing emerald and diamond brooch Liz is wearing.  Burton and Taylor met in the early 60's on the set of Cleopatra. Their love affair caused so much gossip back then you would have thought they were filming porn.  As it was, Liz only showed a little cleavage in the movie. 

Burton built upon the Bulgari Grand Duchess Vladimir Suite in the early 60's when he added this magnificent Bulgari emerald and diamond necklace. Then, he went jewelry crazy.  The necklace pre-auction estimate: $1,000,000-$1,500,000; the pendant: $500,000-$700,000; the ring: $600,000-$800,000; and the earrings: $150,000-$200,000.

 

Burton said the only Italian word Liz new was "Bulgari".  I know a few curse words.

What happens to us?

Tiffany's, Jean Schlumberger, "Night of the Iguana" brooch, 1964.  Estimated pre-auction value $200,00-$300,000.

The Taylor-Burton Diamond, a 69.42 carat, D-IF, pear shaped stone, was purchased by Burton in 1967 from Cartier for $1.1 million.  The stone was quickly re-set into the more frequently seen cleavage necklace Liz dangled between her bubbies, because even Liz thought it was too big to wear as a ring.  In 1978, Taylor sold the stone for $3,000,000, two years after the end of her second marriage to Burton, in part to help fund a school in Botswanna (and is said to have later regretted selling it).  Today, the stone is reported to be in the hands of Lebanese diamond dealer, Robert Mouawad, who paid in the neighborhood of $5,000,000 for it and then had the stone re-cut to a more manageable 68.09 carats. This will not be in the Christie's auction.

The Krupp Diamond (now known as the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond), 33.19 carats, D- VS1, a gift from Burton in 1968 (purchase price then, $305,000).  Previously owned by Nazi sympathizer, Alfried Krupp, Taylor thought it funny a little Jewish girl like her wound up with the diamond.  She wore it almost every day of her life.  Estimated pre-auction value of $2,500,000-$3,500,000.

A close-up of "this old thang".

La Peregrina pearl.  Burton gave Taylor this historical bird's egg pearl in 1961.  It was once owned by Queen Mary I.  Extra necklace sparkly parts courtesy of Cartier.  Estimated pre-auction value of $2,000,000-$3,000,000.

The "Granny Suite".  Burton gave this Van Cleef and Arpels suite to Taylor in honor of her first grandchild at age 39, born in 1971.  Estimated pre-auction value of the necklace is $120,000-$180,000.

Van Cleef and Arpels "Granny" earrings.  Estimated pre-auction value of $25,000-$35,000.

The main component of the Bulgari sautoir is a 52.72 carat sugarloaf Burmese sapphire.  Burton gave this to Taylor in 1972 for her 40th birthday. 

Bulgari sapphire and diamond ring was added later.  Pre-auction value of $600,000.

The Taj Mahal diamond circa 1627.  This historically significant diamond was once owned by the man who built it.  Another outstanding gift given to Taylor by Burton for her 40th birthday in 1972.  Estimated pre-auction value of $300,000-$500,000

It will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for those lucky enough to view Taylor's jewel collection while on tour this fall.  The proceeds of the sale, some of which will benefit the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, will leave a legacy for generations to come. Initial estimates of her collection are around $30,000,000 but experts believe it will be triple that, or more. I just can't believe her children, especially her daughters, are not lusting after at least one of the important gems in her collection - just to remember her by.

Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, Geneva, 17 May 2011 Update

I left you hanging the other day after my emerald post. Two of the pieces I featured were to be auctioned Tuesday, May 17th in Geneva at the Sotheby's "Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels" event. The emerald and diamond tiara offered for the first time in over 30 years and an emerald and diamond ring. Read on to see if these amazing jewels hit their mark at the auction:

Sotheby’s May 17, 2011 Auction: 
“The Most Important Diamond and Emerald Tiara”
 
Estimated sale:  $5,000,000-$10,000,000

SOLD:  $12,736,927

Remember my TPW rule before you place your bid.

The most valuable emerald and diamond tiara to appear at an auction in more than 30 years will be auctioned by Sotheby's May 17 at its Magnificent and Noble Jewels sale in Geneva.  This highly important and rare tiara is composed of 11 Colombian emerald pear-shaped drops which total more than 500 carats.  The piece is estimated to sell for $5 million to $10 million.  The tiara was commissioned circa 1900, and was formerly in the collection of Princess Katharina Henckel von Donnersmarck.   

Sotheby’s May 17, 2011 Auction:

“12 Carat 16th Century Colombian Emerald Ring"

Estimated sale:   $500,000-$800,000

SOLD:  $625,981

Remember do not wear this while doing the dishes.

The thing I wonder about is who are the people who buy this jewelry and where do they wear it?  All I know is -  if I see someone heading my way with that tiara on when I'm in the paper towel aisle -  I know how much she paid for it.

EMERALDS! BIRTHSTONE FOR MAY

When I first started in the jewelry business, we carried emeralds – or something that was supposed to look like an emerald but really looked more like square boogers.  Many were off color – almost grey-green, and most were very small set in the typical ring, earring and necklace mountings.  Wearing boogers is not cool. As you will read below, color is the main thing that makes an emerald valuable. 

Emeralds have been prized for thousands of years for their lush green hues and rare beauty. Throughout the ancient world, emeralds symbolized eternal hope, rebirth and the arrival of spring - and some cultures believed the gem rewarded its owners with love, intelligence, eloquence and great wealth. Colombia continues to be at the top of the list of the countries in which fine emeralds are found.  Colombian emeralds differ from emeralds found in other deposits because they have an especially fine, clear emerald green hue.  This beautiful color is so valued in the international emerald trade that even obvious inclusions are regarded as acceptable.   

STATISTICS AND CARE

Emeralds rate 7.5-8 out of 10 on the Mohs hardness scale but they can be fragile due to the inclusions which are found naturally in the stones.  It's actually OK to see those little marks and lines throughout your stone.  Emeralds require more special care than most stones (that alone should tell you something....anything that requires more care than your hair requires further thought).  They should never be submerged in hot water or placed near heat sources so wearing them can give you a good reason not to have to cook.  Never put your emerald in an ultra-sonic machine to clean it as the intense vibrations of the machine can pulverize a stone and break it apart.  This actually happened to one of my colleagues. They wound up straining the emerald dust through paper towels while schvitzing in the back room and had to order the customer a new ring...believe me, you only learn that lesson once in your life.  Be sure take off your emerald jewelry before you do dishes (another reason to wear them – you don’t have to do housework either) as cleaning products can remove the oils used to protect and seal a stone after it’s been cut.  You can use a very soft toothbrush along with water to clean a stone then wipe it dry with a soft cloth.  Every 2-5 years emeralds should be re-oiled by a professional.  Be sure the jeweler you use is familiar with handling these special stones. 

COLOR

As I said before, color is the most important aspect when considering emeralds. Generally speaking the darker the color the more valuable the emerald. However, just because an emerald is dark green does not make it valuable. A fine emerald will have a dark blue green color while at the same time be translucent and brilliant.  Fine inclusions do not diminish its value. On the contrary, even with inclusions, an emerald in a deep, lively green still has a much higher value than an almost flawless emerald whose color is paler. There are many dark opaque stones that are very cheap (unfortunately, this is what you see most often in department stores). Obtaining good color in emeralds at an affordable price was the reason my store stopped carrying a large assortment of these stones and why I never purchased one of my own. Even with my store discount, a really good emerald was still so expensive, that along with the fragility of the stone, I was concerned I wouldn't be comfortable wearing it all the time, therefore, it wouldn't pass my “Times Per Wear” test.  TPW is my theory for buying something expensive and it’s a good rule to employ.  If you are not putting your new thing on while in the car in the parking lot, wearing those new shoes right out of the store, or wearing your new thing so much your friends are saying...."uh...don't you have anything else to put on," you must rethink your purchase.  You have to feel wanton lust for it, immediately rip off those tags, put it on and then proceed to wear it until you are bored with it.  People who have new things in their closets with tags that have not yet been test driven saving it “for something good” are totally breaking the TPW rule.

CLARITY 

We've established that emeralds tend to have numerous inclusions.  Unlike diamonds, where a 10x loupe is used to determine quality, emeralds are graded by eye. If an emerald has no visible inclusions to the eye it is considered flawless. Stones that lack inclusions are extremely rare and therefore almost all emeralds are treated, or "oiled", to enhance the apparent clarity.  Pure green emeralds with no inclusions are one of the most expensive stones you can buy.  Although my normal everyday assortment of emeralds was not of top quality, I did have access to a few wonderful vendors who carried top notch beautiful stones. You might not think customers would buy an expensive emerald from a large retailer, but we did sell a magnificent emerald ring to one of our best customers by bringing stones in for her to review and then having her selection set by my jeweler.  We sold the four carat emerald cut emerald with trillion cut diamonds on either side for approximately $25,000.  This client trusted us so much she didn’t mind paying the premium that can come with buying retail.  This is why my phone number was on speed dial with many of my clients - they trusted me. 

CUT

The cut is usually the most boring part of the four C's and many people don't understand how important it really is.  The faceting, shape, width and depth of the emerald make up the cut. The ideal cut emerald will be symmetrical and have uniform facets that provide for maximum color and brilliance. Round emeralds are least common because you must waste more material to cut a round but you can find them, along with oval cuts, used as cabochon stones (rounded and smooth rather than faceted) as a center or accent stone.  A rectangular step cut known as the "emerald" cut is generally thought to produce the best end result for emeralds and, in my opinion, along with a square cut, is really the only cut for an emerald stone. 

CARAT WEIGHT 

Although size really does matter, the actual carat weight of an emerald is not as important as the color or clarity when determining the value of a stone. An eight carat significantly included emerald of dark color without translucency would not be as valuable as a four-carat stone of impeccable color, translucency, and a few inclusions. Thus, the color, clarity, and cut should be taken into consideration before carat weight. I've decided, after looking at the following images of amazing emeralds, that if I can't wear it on my head or pin it to my boobs, I'll probably never own one. 

 

WOW EMERALDS WORTH LUSTING OVER.....

Angelina Jolie's 115 carat Lorraine Schwartz Colombian emerald earrings and 65 carat emerald ring worn to the 2009 Oscar’s.  Not sure if Jolie owns these gems or borrowed them.  Lorraine Schwartz, who makes some of the most amazing pieces out there, does not pay celebrities to wear her jewelry as some jewelers do as a way to advertise. The earrings alone are valued at $2.5 million. 


Of course only Angelina Jolie would wear the most amazing oval cut emeralds that completely debunk the information I provided on the cuts of stones but I'm using her jewelry anyway.

Sotheby’s May 17, 2011 Auction:

“12 Carat 16th Century Colombian Emerald Ring"

Estimated sale:   $500,000-$800,000

Remember do not wear this while doing the dishes.

Offered at the May 17, 2011 Sotheby’s auction is a 16th century Colombian emerald which exhibits the most vivid green, exemplified in this superb emerald and diamond ring, set with an octagonal step-cut Colombian emerald weighing 12.03 carats, estimated to sell for $500,000-800,000. “Natural emeralds from Colombia of this size and quality represent a great rarity” and this gemstone has been described by the SSEF laboratory as “a very exceptional treasure."

Sotheby’s May 17, 2011 Auction: 

“The Most Important Diamond and Emerald Tiara”

Estimated sale:  $5,000,000-$10,000,000

Remember my TPW rule before you place your bid.

The most valuable emerald and diamond tiara to appear at an auction in more than 30 years will be auctioned by Sotheby's May 17 at its Magnificent and Noble Jewels sale in Geneva.  This highly important and rare tiara is composed of 11 Colombian emerald pear-shaped drops which total more than 500 carats.  The piece is estimated to sell for $5 million to $10 million.  The tiara was commissioned circa 1900, and was formerly in the collection of Princess Katharina Henckel von Donnersmarck.   

Christies April 2011 Auction: 

“The Catherine the Great Emerald and Diamond Brooch”

Estimated sale: $1,000,000-1,500,000

SOLD - Realized Price at Auction - $1,650,500.

Is it wrong to wear an emerald as large as your kneecap when going food shopping?

The center of this brooch is a hexagonal-cut Colombian emerald of 60-70 carats, secured within an openwork two-tiered rose-cut diamonds border, surrounded by a row of old mine-cut diamonds, mounted in silver-topped gold, from the mid 18th century.  The brooch stem may be detached and the brooch may be worn as a pendant with an additional pendant hoop.  

An important imperial jewel, the Catherine the Great Emerald and Diamond Brooch evokes the bygone days of Russian majesty. It is a testament to an empire and a glittering memento which adorned princesses, grand duchesses and empresses alike, and is now being offered at auction for the first time in 40 years. With such a history, the possession of a jewel of this quality and rarity would certainly be the center of any modern collection.  

It was acquired for Catherine II of Russia after she ascended to the throne in 1762 and it became known as one of the most outstanding jewels in her vast collection.  To historians she is Catherine the Great.  To Russian nobles and commoners of her time she was the "beloved mother" of her people.  With not a single drop of Russian blood in her veins, for her contemporaries and for successive generations, she was to become the very embodiment of Russia, ruling a mighty empire for thirty-four years.  "Russia above all" was her credo.  Christie's Features Archive, 30 March 2010.