Bonhams Hong Kong offers stunning gems from jeweler to the stars Van Cleef & Arpels
An important collection of eight exquisite jewels will be offered by Bonhams in Hong Kong on 23rd November 2012. Entitled "Eight Exceptional Jewels from a Private Collection", the sale showcases magnificent gemstones and four superlative jewels by legendary jeweler, Van Cleef & Arpels.
Van Cleef & Arpels have a long tradition of expertise, having first established their business in the fashionable Place Vendôme in Paris in 1906.
The boutique soon became a must-visit destination for anyone with pretensions to chic and over the following decades, Van Cleef & Arpels became the place to shop for stunning pieces to celebrate life's more memorable moments.
It was here that the Prince of Wales, Wallis Simpson bought the sapphire-and-diamond clip and bracelet, Which she wore to set off her blue satin wedding gown Mainbocher. Prince Rainier ordered the pearl-and-diamond necklace with matching bracelet and earrings on his commitment to Grace Kelly and John F.
Kennedy found the emerald-and-diamond ring he slipped on the third finger of Jacqueline Bouvier's left hand. Movie stars from Dietrich and Garbo to Elizabeth Taylor, and political style icons, seeking as Eva Perón (who commissioned a brooch of the Argentine flag), all possessed at least one, if not more, Van Cleef gem in their jewelry boxes.
Lot 6, a magnificent ruby and diamond bracelet strap,
Which is recorded in Van Cleef & Arpels' archive as being made in 1936, was once in the collection of glamorous philanthropist and leader of pre-WW2 French Riviera society, Madame Hélène Beaumont. Set with 107 carats of fine-quality rubies, the bracelet is remarkable for its outstanding supple and ribbon-like craftsmanship and is estimated at £ 284.000 to 340.000 (HK $ 3,500,000-4,200,000).
Between 1959 and 1961, twenty-two were perfectly matched emeralds sought by Van Cleef & Arpels to make a sumptous collar necklace. The result was Lot 7, composed of 22 PRECISELY matched emeralds weighing, 47 carats,
and 412 diamonds with a total weight of more than 70 carats. The necklace was last seen at auction in 1975 where it fetched the staggering sum of CHF 1,000,000. With an estimate of £ 640.000 to 960,000 (HK $ 7,750,000 - 11,650,000) it is one of the key highlights in the Hong Kong sale.
In 1969, Jacques Arpels traveled to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in person to acquire a 43.16 carat sapphire, a perfectly crystalline, flawless stone that was Subsequently mounted in a ring and flanked by two pear-shaped diamonds. This ring, lot 8, is estimated at £ 350.000 to 420,000 (HK $ 4,250,000 - 5,000,000) Demonstrates the jeweler's expertise in sourcing stones of extraordinary depth and quality.
Matthew Girling, chief executive of Bonhams said "What is Particularly exciting is that it's incredibly unusual to know PRECISELY where a stone comes from. Here we have documented evidence that the sapphire was selected by Jacques Arpels himself ".