Christie’s

Christie’s New York Auction featured exceptional diamonds and pearls in their fall jewelry auction on October 16. It was Christie’s first auction of the autumn season and featured a dazzling array of magnificent jewels from rare gemstones to flawless diamonds, natural pearls and signed pearls, considered some of the best to come up for sale in the last five years.

Rahul Kadakia, Head of Jewellery for Christie’s America and Switzerland, explained: “Our team of jewellery specialists has spent the summer months gathering the finest gems to match current collecting tastes, including top-quality diamonds, natural pearls, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, rare vintage jewels and highly coveted, contemporary creations from the best designers.”

Stunning diamond jewels weighing more than 50 carats each and exceedingly rare double strand of large natural pearls were among the scores of top-quality gems offered from the finest makers. Diamonds in excess of 50ct each achieved in excess of $35 million from 369 lots. Selling for $3.1million, the 68.35ct fancy oval-cut intense yellow diamond is internally flawless and a magnificent sight.

Even more exquisite was a pear-shaped D-colour impeccable diamond pendant necklace going for an astonishing, $9.5million. This stunning necklace goes well with the diamond ear pendants that went for $4.7million. The stone is mounted in platinum and may be worn dangling from a necklace with a 2.28 carat, circular-cut D-color diamond surmount, available with a GIA certificate noting the stone’s exceptional polish and outstanding symmetry.

Although diamonds are a girl’s best friend, it wasn’t all about diamonds. Made up of 120 large pearls, ranging in colours from white to light creams, a rare double strand of natural pearls, complete with a 3ct D-colour diamond clasp signed by Cartier, reached its estimate of $3.5 million.

Also up for auction were a range of signed jewelry by Van Cleef & Arpels … the more colourful of these were two mystery-set pieces. Tripling it’s estimate with a $278,500 sale, the “honeycomb” motif ruby and diamond bracelet uses the exclusive setting technique to great effect – the hexagonal stones create a brilliant contrast with the curve of the bracelet. A pair of ruby and diamond ear clips with matching brooch, also by Van Cleef & Arpels, in the form of a flower blossom with diamond pistils and leaves, went for nearly three times its estimate, selling for $260,500.

Rahul Kadakia commented soon after the sale: “Private collectors and dealers reacted more than positively to a 369-lot auction that was finely-tuned in terms of prices and selection of gems to current market conditions. Natural pearls, colorless flawless diamonds, and colored diamonds of high quality once again dominated the day, making for a vibrant atmosphere in the saleroom.”

Read full article: Luxury Society

Breguet No. 2667

Montres Breguet has rapidly moved into the world number one position in luxury watchmaking since it was acquired by the Swatch Group in 1999.

Now Breguet achieves another major milestone by acquiring two exceptional Breguet watches.

The two Breguet antique watches were bought by the Breguet Museum and its President, Marc A. Hayek at Christie’s auction in Geneva Switzerland on May 14th.

The two stunning Breguet watches made their mark on Fine Watchmaking history, by setting a record purchase price of nearly 7 million Swiss francs.

These two Breguet masterpieces are the most expensive ever purchased in Breguet’s history, and the costliest Breguet antique watches ever sold at auction to date.

The first watch (shown above) , no. 2667 dating from 1814, was sold for a staggering price of over 4 million Swiss francs. This thin pocket watch with two movements is based on the chronometer principle (resonance) and is an extremely rare timepiece that was made in 18-carat yellow gold and features unsurpassed delicacy and elegance. The antique watch is an extraordinary timepiece that reflects both Breguet’s refined aesthetic sense and his innovative inventive genius.

Breguet No. 4111

The second antique timepiece, no. 4111, is a thin flat equation-of-time and repeater watch, built on the chronometer principle. The Breguet watch repeats hours, half-hours, quarter-hours, and half-quarters. This “Grande Complication” watch dates from 1827 and was purchased for more than 2.5 million Swiss francs. It has an annual calendar as well as a manual perpetual calendar, and also displays mean and apparent solar time. This antique Breguet watch was manufactured extremely thin, a fascinating technical feat in a “Grande Complication” watch.

“Christie’s Green Auction: Bid to Save the Earth”

Christie’s will host another celebrity-studded charity auction to celebrate Earth Day.

Christie’s has proudly partnered with luxury charity auction site charitybuzz.com by offering over 200 coveted auction packages.

Between now and April 7th, both Christie’s and Charitybuzz plan to raise funds for Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, Conservation International and Central Park Conservancy.

This will be the second annual “Christie’s Green Auction: Bid to Save the Earth.”

An incredible combination of international celebrities, creative icons, industry leaders and conservationists have teamed up to donate these exclusive packages and experiences to the auction.

This year, designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Ralph Lauren, Tory Burch, Marc Jacobs, Diane Von Furstenberg, Carolina Herrera, Michael Kors and more have joined together with the sole goal of raising funds to preserve and sustain our planet.

Win style consultations with Vogue’s André Leon Talley and Diane Von Furstenberg or maybe a night backstage with Lady Gaga. How about a day around town with President William J. Clinton? It’s all possible as the Green Auction provides bidders amazing access to the world’s leading influencers.

Here’s a sample of some of the fashion highlights in this year’s “Christie’s Green Auction”

• Fly to Paris for the full Chanel Couture Experience, including: front row tickets to Chanel’s 2011 Couture Show, meet Karl Lagerfeld, take a private tour of Coco Chanel’s apartment, receive a handbag and stay five nights at The Ritz-Carlton
• A style consultation with Vogue’s André Leon Talley and Diane Von Furstenberg
• Meet Michael Kors and Heidi Klum on the ultimate New York Fashion Week experience, with inside access to the Project Runway fashion show finale
• Meet Marc Jacobs, with two VIP tickets to his New York Fashion Week fashion show and after party
• The ultimate Carolina Herrera bridal fashion experience: $10,000 toward a Carolina Herrera bridal gown, two tickets to her spring 2012 bridal show and meet Carolina Herrera backstage
• Design your own Bottega Veneta handbag with a one-on-one appointment with an expert from Bottega Veneta
• A custom Fendi bag altered by visionary artist Damien Hirst, entitled Spot Fendi
• Meet with the Miriam Haskell design team at a private appointment to create a custom piece of jewelry

Supporters can make a Bid to Save the Earth at www.charitybuzz.com/BidtoSavetheEarth.

A companion invite-only event and live fantasy auction will be held at Christie’s New York on March 29 in partnership with Vogue’s “Runway to Green.” The event will feature a fashion show sponsored by Tiffany & Co. on the night of the live auction, with designer collection selections available online through NET-A-PORTER.COM.