Editor’s Note
This article previews the Phillips Geneva Jewels Autumn Sale, highlighting the Vanderbilt family’s Belle Époque collection as a key reason for the auction’s significant anticipation.
The upcoming Phillips Geneva Jewels Autumn Sale, “Magnificent Jewels: Geneva V,” scheduled for November 10 at the Hotel President on the shores of Lake Geneva, will feature antique jewelry from the collection of the renowned American Vanderbilt family. The collection focuses on iconic antique pieces from the Belle Époque period, embodying timeless elegance and exquisite detail.
This diamond brooch is one-eighth of a diamond tiara, which was a wedding gift from her mother, Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt, to Countess Széchenyi in 1908. The tiara featured a detachable design of eight lily clusters, set with interchangeable pear-shaped amethysts and similarly shaped diamonds, and has been passed down to different descendants. The brooch presented at Phillips, from the left side of the tiara, is set with a 4.55-carat old-cut pear-shaped diamond. Its estimated price is 80,000-120,000 Swiss Francs.
The “Vanderbilt Sapphire” brooch is set with a 42.68-carat sugar-loaf cut royal blue Kashmir sapphire, crafted by Tiffany & Co. and set with old-cut diamonds. The piece comes with certificates from three authoritative gemological laboratories: AGL, SSEF, and Gübelin. It was originally a gift from Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt to her daughter, Countess Széchenyi. Its fluid, winding floral motifs and bow-ribbon diamond lines perfectly interpret the exquisite taste of Belle Époque antique jewelry. The estimated price is 800,000-1,200,000 Swiss Francs.
Also featured is a pair of extremely delicate small purses. One is crafted with a gold mesh design, adorned with gold bead tassels, measuring 6×4.5 cm. The second, even more精巧, measures only 4.2×3 cm and is intricately set with diamonds, rubies, and pearls.
Phillips’ Global Head of Jewelry, Benoît Repellin, specially introduced another antique piece in this “Magnificent Jewels: Geneva V” sale. It is a necklace created in the late 1950s by Tiffany & Co.’s legendary designer Jean Schlumberger for Baroness Fiona Campbell-Walter Thyssen-Bornemisza. The “Feather” necklace, set with sapphires and rubies in gold, has an estimated price of 240,000-400,000 Swiss Francs, fully showcasing the designer’s original and wild jewelry charm from that era.