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Sparkling Diamonds, Designer Jewels Shine in Heritage’s Holiday Jewelry Auction

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Published
01/05/2023 by

The holidays are meant to sparkle, so Heritage Auctions’ Dec. 12 Holiday Fine Jewelry Signature® Auction wouldn’t be complete without a trove of shimmering diamonds.

Among the noteworthy sparklers on offer are a fancy vivid pink diamond ring with a 1.03-carat pear-shaped pink diamond (estimate: $150,000-$200,000), a diamond and platinum ring with an emerald-cut diamond weighing 5.51 carats (estimate: $150,000-$200,000) and a Neiman Marcus fancy yellow diamond ring with an 11.94-carat yellow diamond from the estate of Fort Worth, Texas, philanthropist Mildred Fender (estimate: $100,000-$150,000).

Also bringing shine to the auction are jewels by sought-after designers. “This sale is chock-full of important designer name-branded jewels,” says Jill Burgum, Heritage Auctions’ Executive Director of Fine Jewelry, “from Andrew Grima, one of the most influential British jewelers of the 1960s-’70s, to Verdura, a premier name in fine jewelry circles.”

The Andrew Grima lots in the auction hail from the Harvey and Ruth Wagner Estate. The Wagners, of Pittsburgh, Penn., collected contemporary American paintings, many of which now hang in museums across the country, and also built one of the most comprehensive collections of Aboriginal art outside of Australia.

Their jewelry collection is equally artistic and includes several designs custom made especially for them by Andrew Grima, the only jeweler to have been awarded the Duke of Edinburgh’s Prize for Elegant Design. The Wagner collection also holds a striking druzy agate, diamond, platinum and 18k gold creation Grima made for his wife, Joanne, who later sold it to the Wagners. Both a brooch and a necklace, the piece, which has an estimate of $8,000-$10,000, exhibits Grima’s signature abstract and organic style and was featured in the Goldsmiths Hall London Collection brochure, dated 1966.

Other Andrew Grima highlights in the Wagner collection include a sculptural diamond and gold brooch from 1967 (estimate: $10,000-$15,000); a pink tourmaline, diamond and 18k gold ring from circa 1981 (estimate: $8,000-$10,000); an amethyst, diamond and 18k gold ring from circa 1976 (estimate: $8,000-$10,000); and an aquamarine, diamond and 18k gold ring from circa 1973 (estimate: $7,000-$9,000).

The auction also features several designs by Verdura, the celebrated jewelry house founded by Duke Fulco di Verdura, who designed jewels for the likes of Coco Chanel, Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich.

Among the offerings is a gorgeous 18k gold bracelet adorned with approximately 18.00 carats of emerald-cut diamonds (estimate: $50,000-$70,000). The bracelet was custom made by Verdura in 1965 for actress Jean Howard, who appeared in the 1931 edition of the Ziegfeld Follies. In addition to being a Ziegfeld girl, Howard was a contract player at MGM, the wife of movie superagent Charles K. Feldman and a professional photographer, publishing two books: Jean Howard’s Hollywood: A Photo Memoir (1989) and Travels With Cole Porter (1991).

Other Verdura lots include a diamond and 18k gold basketweave ring (estimate: $60,000-$80,000); a diamond, platinum and 18k gold heart-shaped brooch (estimate: $30,000-$40,000); and a pair of starburst-style amethyst and 18k gold earrings (estimate: $6,000-$8,000).

Van Cleef & Arpels is another big name in the December auction, which includes an extensive single-owner collection of jewels by the revered Parisian jewelry brand. Highlights include a diamond, malachite and 18k gold necklace (estimate: $25,000-$35,000); a diamond and 18k gold bracelet (estimate: $15,000-$20,000); a diamond, pink sapphire and 18k rose gold suite (estimate: $12,000-$15,000); and a diamond, sapphire and 18k gold ring (estimate: $10,000-$15,000), among many other standout pieces.

Other highlights in the 401-lot holiday auction include:

A Trio Burma sapphire, diamond and platinum ring that was gifted to Jean Howard by Cole and Linda Porter (estimate: $100,000-$150,000)

A round brilliant-cut 5.71-carat diamond (estimate: $80,000-$100,000)

An 8.91-carat diamond and platinum ring (estimate: $60,000-$80,000)

A Seaman Schepps Ceylon sapphire, diamond and platinum bracelet (estimate: $60,000-$80,000)

A Ruser Ceylon sapphire, diamond, platinum and 18k gold bracelet (estimate: $60,000-$70,000)

A Cartier 3.01-carat diamond and platinum ring (estimate: $40,000-$60,000)

A diamond and platinum ring with an emerald-cut diamond weighing 7.32 carats (estimate: $30,000-$40,000)

Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam, Brussels and Hong Kong.

Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet’s most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 1,500,000 registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of five million past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit.

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