Editor’s Note
This preview of Wannenes’s Monaco auction highlights an exceptional pair of earrings, featuring unheated Burmese sapphires, as the centerpiece of a sale offering over 320 lots of high jewelry, watches, and luxury goods.
The Italian auction house Wannenes is organizing a new sale in Monaco on December 3 and 4, featuring over 320 lots of high jewelry, collector’s watches, and luxury leather goods.
On December 3, 172 lots of jewelry will be presented to bidders. Among them, the highlight of the catalog, estimated between 150,000 and 200,000 euros, is a pair of earrings in gold, silver, and diamonds (lot 153), adorned with two unheated Burmese sapphires totaling nearly fifteen carats.
Another major piece is a platinum ring set with a 15.60-carat octagonal Burmese ruby, without heat treatment (lot 152).
emphasizes Teresa Scarlata, director of the jewelry department at Wannenes, giving an estimate between 80,000 and 100,000 euros.
The catalog also holds beautiful surprises for lovers of unique gemstones. Lot 5 offers a gold and silver ring adorned with a 14.25-carat color-change sapphire from Sri Lanka. This stone, of rare curiosity, has the particularity of changing from blue to purple depending on the light, without any heat treatment.
Lovers of signed pieces will also find their happiness with several historical creations. Estimated between 60,000 and 80,000 euros, a Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet in platinum, gold, and diamonds (lot 100), made by master jeweler Louis Maruzzi, testifies to the excellence of the Parisian school.
the expert enthuses.
Cartier will also be honored with a rare 1924 watch in gold and platinum, adorned with pearls and diamonds (lot 163), as well as an emerald and diamond brooch (lot 165).
Lot 88 highlights the work of Orisa, a Turin-based jeweler active between the 1930s and 1960s. This gold and diamond bracelet, estimated between 10,000 and 15,000 euros, bears the signature of an avant-garde creator.
reveals Teresa Scarlata.
The sale on December 4 will open with about forty luxury bags, dominated by the most coveted Hermès creations. Among the star pieces are a 2019 Kelly Sellier 28 in Epsom leather in Rouge de Cœur color, new and never worn, and a multicolor Mini Kelly 20 II Limited Edition in Rouge Sellier, Mauve Pale, and Noir.
Then, still on December 4, it’s time for watches with 111 lots that will make collectors’ hearts beat faster. The 1979 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona “Big Red” Paul Newman is one of the masterpieces, with its black dial and famous red inscription. The example offered bears the engraving “Phoenix Soleil” on the back, a gift from this insurance company to its best agents.
Even rarer is a 1978 Rolex Submariner Milsub (lot 363), commissioned by the British Ministry of Defence in the 1970s. These military watches were usually destroyed or modified after being withdrawn from service. Finding an example in excellent condition and unrestored is a feat. It is estimated between 75,000 and 90,000 euros.
On the contemporary high watchmaking side, lot 380, a 2009 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Skeleton, of which only 156 examples are said to have been produced, is offered between 115,000 and 165,000 euros. A rare pair of 1975 Cartier Bamboo Coussin, available in Big Bamboo and Baby Bamboo versions, will appeal to lovers of bold designs.
Exhibition from November 30 to December 3, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the Salon Théâtre of the Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo. Sales on December 3 (jewelry at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.) and December 4 (bags at 11:30 a.m., watches at 2:30 p.m.). Bidding possible on-site, online, or by phone.