At Auction - Emeralds From An Empress

Coming up at Sotheby's Geneva a magnificent emerald and diamond tiara that belonged to the Spanish born Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III.

From National Jeweler
The tiara was created with 11 pear-shaped rare Colombian emeralds that collectively weigh over 500 carats, and is estimated to sell for between $5 and $10 million.

The emeralds are thought to have been included in the personal collection of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, before the tiara was created for Princess Katharina Henckel von Donnersmarck circa 1900.

As was fitting of an Empress, she had an extraordinary collection of jewels including spectacular natural pearls, such as those shown in her coronation tiara which is now at the Louvre.

In spite of her exquisite collection we can see from this early pastoral portrait that the young Eugenie had a simpler side.

Later, painted in full Romantic pose contemplating the sea at Biarritz , we see her without jewelry when away from the court at Paris. (thank you Dash for the image)

Her splendid royal life of the Second Empire came to an abrupt end after the defeat of France in the Franco Prussian war. Eugenie and Napoleon III spent the rest of their lives in England.

Jewelry Biz - The Windsor Jewels At Auction...Again

Thank God Tabitha reminded me that today is the Sotheby's auction for the Windsor jewels...
I hadn't been paying attention.
Here's the famous 1952 Cartier onyx and diamond panther bracelet
which has estimates of 1 million to 1.5 million pounds.

That is pretty pricey for a panther...even one with provenance

Here's another view

Not only is it a great bracelet, it is iconic Cartier

But there is something, to me at least, not fresh about this collection.

In addition to the fact that the collection is so famous

haven't we seen all these items at auction before?

And would it be catty of me to say that these pretty panther pieces get around?

And what do we have here?

Oh it's a past  Beladora homepage photo with a panther bracelet.

And we have another perching panther from the past gracing the homepage of Beladora?

This one, in sapphires and diamonds sitting on a huge sapphire, had serious provenance too.

Don't get excited people, it's sold.

Now if you want to know about a woman with a jewel collection that put the Windsor's to shame

Dash has a post about the amazing Maharani Sita Devi of Baroda

Now this Baroda babe not only had an incredible life, she had some serious bling.

OK, bear with me just a little longer please because I just have to brag.

All of the photography for Beladora is done in house by the very talented Elizabeth Kollar.

Here's a link to the past homepage cover art for Beladora.

It's a good as anything that would come out of a fancy pants Madison Avenue advertising agency,

Don't you agree?

Pretty In Pink Part 2 - At Sotheby's Geneva A Precious Pink Diamond For Sale

There is lots of excitement in jewelry land about the 24.78 carat pink diamond that is coming up for auction at Sotheby's Geneva.  This diamond was sold by Harry Winston to a private clients some 60 years ago and hasn't been on the market since then.  Freshness counts in terms of sales for important gems such as this pink and anything that hasn't been seen in 60 years is indeed fresh.
And not only is it fresh, it is beautiful
"What makes it so immensely rare is the combination of its exceptional colour and purity with the classic emerald-cut -- a style of cutting normally associated with white diamonds," he added.

I can't post a photo because I'm still waiting for my new trophy computer

but you can view the photo here.
Sublime, isn't it?
It is valued at some 38 million dollars, we are anxious to see if it will sell for more.