SOTHEBY’S DECEMBER 2007 SALE OF MAGNIFICENT JEWELS TOTALS A RECORD $49,827,926 Applause filled Sotheby’s salesroom tonight as the hammer fell on the final session of the auction of Magnificent Jewels, which achieved an outstanding total of $49,827,926.
News-Antique.com - Dec 05,2007 - **THE HIGHEST-TOTAL EVER FOR A JEWELRY SALE AT SOTHEBY’S NEW YORK**
NATURAL PEARLS FROM THE COLLECTION OF KELLY AND CALVIN KLEIN ACHIEVE $4,820,600
PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED LADY BRINGS $9,605,200
HISTORIC CARTIER FDR VICTORY CLOCK FETCHES $1,609,000, A RECORD FOR A CARTIER CLOCK AT AUCTION
New York, New York – December 4, 2007 – Applause filled Sotheby’s salesroom tonight as the hammer fell on the final session of the auction of Magnificent Jewels, which achieved an outstanding total of $49,827,926, the highest-total ever for a Jewelry sale at Sotheby’s New York (est. $28.2/37.4 million).
Determined bidders on the phone and in the room competed for the many historic and extraordinary jewels, remarkable for their rarity, quality, design and provenance, driving nearly 80% of the sold lots above their high estimate, with eight lots selling for more than $1 million, with three lots selling for more than $3 million. Highlighting the sale was a spectacular Pair of Diamond Pendant-Earrings by Harry Winston, the cover lot of today’s auction catalogue, which soared past their high estimate of $2 million to sell for $3,961,000. The offering of Natural Pearls from the Collection of Kelly and Calvin Klein brought $4,820,000, above the high estimate of 3.1 million, with the Single-Strand Natural Pearl and Diamond 1 The previous record for a Magnificent Jewelry sale at Sotheby’s New York was $33,486,641 achieved in October 1994
Necklace, Cartier, Paris, alone selling for a remarkable $3,625,000.
Leading off this evening’s session was the FDR Victory Clock, which exceeded its high estimate of $1 million, to sell to an American Private Collector for $1,609,000, a record for a Cartier clock at auction. Lisa Hubbard, Chairman, North & South America, International Jewelry Division, commented, “We are thrilled with the results of tonight’s sale. The market is hungry for fabulous pieces from private collections, be they great designer jewels or great stones. Today’s sale was almost 90% sold by lot and 93% sold by value. Bidders came from virtually all continents, confirming that the market for Magnificent Jewels is truly global.”
Among the top lots of today’s auction were the magnificent natural pearls from the collection of Kelly & Calvin Klein, formerly from the collection of the Duchess of Windsor. Both the Single-Strand Natural Pearl and Diamond Necklace, Cartier, Paris, and the Natural Pearl and Diamond Pendant, Cartier, Paris, circa 1950, which brought $505,000, were purchased by a Private European Collector. The Pair of Black and White Natural Pearl and Diamond Earclips, Van Cleef & Arpels, 1957 sold for $690,600 to a unique buyer. About the Klein collection, Lisa Hubbard said, “Sotheby’s was honored to handle the Klein pearls. They attracted incredible interest during the worldwide traveling exhibition, and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to bring such iconic pieces, so steeped in history, romance and style, to the market once again.”
The evening session of Magnificent Jewels began with the offering of a unique and historic presidential Cartier clock dating from WWII. This Silver, Onyx and Nephrite Eight-Day Five-Time-Zone
