Whitebook: Sotheby's | Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Spring 2014

“You have no idea how hard it is to live out a great romance,” are the words once ruefully uttered by American divorcee Wallis Simpson, who by falling for King Edward VIII of England played out one of the most controversial of love stories in history. Its glittering legacy sparkles on in her jewellery collection, a glimpse into the magnificence and splendour of decades past, so exclusive it has featured in just two Sotheby’s auctions. At the most recent one in autumn 2010, a 20-piece showcase chronicled an affair that enamoured a generation, a compendium of jewels as bold as the woman they once adorned. The evening’s most breathtaking sale was that of the onyx and diamond panther bracelet by Cartier from 1952, sold at a little over US$7 million. The Flamingo Clip brooch, also by Cartier and set with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, citrines and diamonds, was purchased by the Cartier Collection for more than US$2.5 million. Considering the Duchess of Windsor’s exuberant charisma and flair, it comes as no surprise that her style is canonized forever with a special place in the history of auction.

Jewels of Romance

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Gems of Philanthropy

Nothing comes close to the inspiring rush of an auction stage, where connoisseurs come face to face with the exhilarating chance of owning a piece of history. One such grand auction moment was the at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Autumn Sale 2011, where the pearl and diamond necklace and earrings by Gianmaria Buccellati worn by the canto-pop diva and award-winning actress Anita Mui Yim-fong was presented for the first time to the public eye. In an auction at Sotheby’s Geneva in April 2013, the legendary actress, artist and philanthropist Gina Lollobrigida announced she offered 23 outstanding jewels from her collection, including 1950s and 1960s Bulgari pieces that reflect landmark moments in her career, as well as an exquisite pair of natural pearl and diamond pendant earrings that took centrestage that evening, said to have belonged to the House of Habsburg that also honoured one of Hollywood’s golden era screen sirens. Through the auction, Lollobrigida was able to help fund international stem cell research, a cause she dedicatedly embraces, and give her beloved jewels new lives. She said after the sale, “jewels are meant to give pleasure and for many years, I had enormous pleasure wearing mine … It now gives me great pleasure to see that these jewels will create a legacy which will live on after me and continue to do good.”

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Simply Superlative

In spring 2014, the magnificence of Sotheby’s jewellery auctions once again exceeded expectations and unveiled yet more compelling moments, such as the suite of jadeite that once belonged to Empress Wanrong, the wife of Puyi, the last Emperor of China and the last ruler of the Qing dynasty. On the block was the Hutton-Mdivani Necklace, which the auction house declared the “greatest jadeite bead necklace of historical importance,” bearing an illustrious provenance that spans both Western nobility and imperial Chinese aristocracy. Since its discovery in the turn of the last century, it has been widely recognised as the most important piece of jadeite jewellery known to the world. With an innovative clasp designed and mounted by Cartier, it comprises 27 gigantic jadeite beads in the most gorgeous green tone and arresting translucency. Extremely fine-textured and majestically proportioned, this clinquant archival piece was presented by retail tycoon Frank Winfield Woolworth to his daughter Barbara as a wedding gift when she married Georgian prince Alexis Mdivani, and first worn publically by Barbara Woolworth Hutton at her 21st birthday in the same year. The lustrous piece remained in the Mdivani family for more than five decades until it was first auctioned in 1988 for US$2 million. Six years later, it was offered up for auction again, and fetched more than twice its price at US$4.2 million. In 2014, almost 20 years later, this spectacular necklace netted a historic US$27.44 million from the Cartier Collection at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong.

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Like any theatrical setting, the Sotheby’s auction stage is eternally disposed for electrifying intensity. In the words of Quek Chin Yeow, Sotheby’s Asia deputy chairman and chairman of International Jewellery, Asia, the Hutton-Mdivani necklace made for “one of the most thrilling salesroom competitions ever.” The drama unfolded between eight bidders both present

Dazzling History in the room and on the phone competing for a fully fraught 20 minutes, throughout which each competitor helped driving the final price to more than double its estimate, inciting waves of applause in the room. As the world’s oldest auction house with 270 years of experience, Sotheby’s incessantly pushes the boundaries of excellence in every sale, whether jewellery or renaissance paintings, jewellery, or porcelain. The long list of prestigious names, renowned jewellers and icons of style that have been associated with Sotheby’s jewellery auctions is perhaps the most entising illustration of man’s endless pursuit of style and beauty.

Text = Nicole Chan

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