Editor’s Note
Christie’s is set to dazzle collectors with its “Magnificent Jewels” live auction in New York on May 17. The event will showcase an exceptional array of diamonds, colored gemstones, and iconic creations from legendary houses like Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Bulgari.
Christie’s will host the “Magnificent Jewels” live auction on May 17th at the Rockefeller Center in New York.
The auction will feature a stunning collection of diamonds and colorful gemstones, as well as iconic pieces from the world’s most prestigious jewelry houses, including Belperron, Bulgari, Cartier, Harry Winston, JAR, Van Cleef & Arpels, and many others.
The leading lot of the sale is the “Blue Belle,” a magnificent sapphire and diamond necklace (estimate: $8,000,000 – $12,000,000).
At its center is an extraordinary 392.52-carat Sri Lankan (Ratnapura) sapphire, discovered in 1926. The gem was purchased in 1937, originally intended as a gift for Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) on the occasion of King George VI’s coronation, but it never entered the royal collection. After changing hands among several distinguished owners, the “Blue Belle” reappeared at a Geneva auction in 2014 and now returns to Christie’s as the star lot once again.
One of the most historically significant highlights of the auction is the Marie Thérèse Pink Diamond, a historic ring set with a canary diamond (estimate: $3,000,000 – $5,000,000).
This rare 10.38-carat purplish-pink kite-shaped diamond is believed to date back to the mid-18th century. According to royal tradition, Queen Marie Antoinette entrusted her most precious jewels to her loyal hairdresser on the eve of her failed escape from Paris in 1791, hoping to retrieve them one day. By a twist of fate, the jewels eventually passed to her only surviving daughter, Marie Thérèse, Duchess of Angoulême, and later to her niece, Marie Thérèse, Duchess of Chambord. While not certain, it is highly probable this diamond was part of that legacy.
Generations later, a will identified the diamond’s next known owner: Queen Maria Theresa of Bavaria. Housed in a velvet box alongside a hatpin bearing the seal of the Austrian Empire, possibly dating to 1868, its provenance reflects its imperial heritage. The gem was last seen at a Geneva auction in 1996, offered by a European royal family, and has remained out of public view until now. Today, it has been reinterpreted by the legendary Parisian jeweler Joel Arthur Rosenthal (JAR) and set into a magnificent ring, a contemporary masterpiece imbued with centuries of royal history, elegance, and allure.
Among other notable jewels is an unmounted diamond weighing 66.74 carats, D color, VVS1 clarity (estimate: $3,200,000 – $4,200,000). Another highlight is a fine colored diamond ring set with a 17.98-carat pear-shaped light blue diamond, mounted in platinum (estimate: $1,000,000 – $1,500,000), from an important jewelry collection of a noble family.
The auction also includes several valuable signed jewels, such as a Cartier “Panthère” brooch set with onyx, emeralds, and diamonds (estimate: $250,000 – $350,000), a Cartier Art Deco shoulder brooch set with gemstones and diamonds (estimate: $100,000 – $150,000), and a rare Van Cleef & Arpels ring set with sapphires and diamonds (estimate: $400,000 – $600,000), as well as an important Chaumet ring set with colored diamonds and sapphires (estimate: $500,000 – $700,000).
Among the jewels with exceptional provenance is a “Plastron” necklace by Suzanne Belperron, set with star sapphires and sapphires (estimate: $250,000-350,000), from the collection of Elsa Schiaparelli. A second piece once owned by Schiaparelli is Suzanne Belperron’s “Torsade” diamond bracelet (estimate: $100,000-150,000), where sections of diamonds and platinum intertwine to create a dynamic, sculptural shape.
