Pablo Picasso was a world renown artist, sculptor, painter and little was known that he was also a jeweler. An auction was held at Skinners auction on March 18th with jewelry items that were created earlier in his career. The prices are much higher than they had anticipated. I had written a post about the auction this month. Here's the run down on the final hammer prices and they are head spinning! The original estimates for each piece was $15,000 - $20,000. Lovely pieces that were made earlier in his long career.
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| A silver brooch depicting Picasso’s son Claude as a boy in profile sold for $92,250 |
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| A sterling sun pendant sold for $140,000! |
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| A silver pendant, featuring the familiar Picasso satyr motif, sold for $153,000! |
Hailed as the most expensive watch in the world Graff unveiled a watch at Art Basel in Switzerland that contains 110 carats of colored diamonds that come from Laurence Graffs personal diamond collection. Its taken thousands of hours to create this amazing timepiece. It is stunning! But I'd love to see it on a wrist to see the actual size. No mention if its for sale or who would be interested in purchasing the watch. But it is breathtaking~
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| The world most expensive watch 110cts of colored diamonds |
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| Just superb!! |
And on the topic of watches at Baselworld in Switzerland Louis Vuitton showcased their watches for men and women. In 2011 Louis Vuitton acquired the La Fabrique du Temps manufacture intent on creating complex watches. The Louis Vuitton Escale Worldtime watch is hand painted and can give you the time in many countries.
"The dial itself is comprised of a series of rings integrated into the
movement. These rings are hand-painted with the names of the cities and
corresponding emblems inspired by the monograms used on vintage Louis
Vuitton trunks. There are 38 colors used on the dial and it takes over
50 hours for an artisan to hand-paint and fire the various rings. The
Louis Vuitton logo and the yellow arrow are actually applied to the
underside of the sapphire crystal and they sit suspended over the dial
rings." This stunner is priced at $67,000 and comes only in white gold. But this timepiece is truly a conversation starter!
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| Different countries enables the wearer to tell time anywhere in the world |
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| Back of this superb timepiece |
Other diamond encrusted watches also made their appearance at Baselworld. Enough diamonds to make a girls head spin also by Louis Vuitton. These incredible watches take hundreds if not thousands of man hours to compete. I adore that Louis Vuitton calls the watchmakers, watchmaking aeteliers. True because it is such an art to create the movements and to set the diamonds. they are truly extraordinary~
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| The watchmakers setting the diamonds in the dial of the Dentelle de Monograme |
This has to be the most incredible watch in the entire collections. This lovely creation is the white gold Damier Absolue Riviere watch. Diamonds on the band, on the bezel and the dial. a true masterpiece!~
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| The sparkle from this watch must be blinding~ |
A simpler watch that is just as striking in a more subdued way. Diamonds, Tahitian mother of pearl and satin band.
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| Dentelle de Monogram diamond and white gold watch |
With auctions always a popular event when historic and or large diamonds are on the market, the excitment can build! A remarkable and historic emerald and diamond brooch is being auctioned at Christies April 16th in New York. This brooch by Van Clef and Arpels features an emerald that was a part of Marie Louise, (Napoleons second wife) jewelry set that was given to her by Napoleon on the event of their marriage in 1810. After passing thru who knows how many hands the stone was sold to Van Clef in 1953.
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| Center stone belong to Marie Louise, Napoleons second wife |
A few other spectacular diamonds will also be showcase at the same auction on April 16th. This exceptional pair of D Internally flawless circular cut ear pendants with a total weight of 44.91cts. One stone weighs 22.60cts and 22.31cts. Round diamonds of this size are extremely rare. The estimate is from wait for it, $7 - $10Million!!! Just spectacular diamonds that must be divine when worn.
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| D Internally flawless diamond ear pendants 44.71cts |
A mind blowing D Flawless 50.50cts diamond briolette is also up for auction and is expected to fetch $5.5 - $7.5Million. It would be interesting to know where the stones came from, there history and who owned them. But what a beauty~
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| 50.50cts D Flawless Diamond Briolette |
April is shaping up to be a month for some great auctions. An auction that always has beautiful quality items for sale is London based Phillips Auction house. The items they have are extraordinary and unique! Here's a few of the ones that had caught my attention~
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| The highlights of the auction on April 30th at Phillips in London |
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| Art Deco Emerald and Diamond Pearl Earrings, Diamond and emerald bracelet |
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| Unheated Burma Ruby Bead and Diamond Dangle earrings |
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| Diamond Engagement Ring and an Intense fancy vivid yellow diamond ring |
India has some of the most beautiful, ornate jewels that were created for the maharajahs . There is a new exhibit featuring 300 sparkling jewels that span 500 years. Created just for the royalty of India. The gems are valued over $3.0 Million dollars and some of the items date back to the 17th century. They are going to be on display at the State Museum of Moscow Kremlin from April 12th - 27th.
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| Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patialahe was one of Cartiers top clients |
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| Historic diamond and pearl necklace worn by the Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala |
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| Polki diamond and gesmtone bib necklace~ the back is supposed to trail down the back |
If you are fortunate to be in Moscow or live there this is a once in a lifetime chance to see these historic jewels. Here is a link to the museum
http://www.kreml.ru/en/museums-moscow-kremlin/
An ad of all things had caught my eye while reading the latest trade magazines. The owner of a 17.48cts pear shaped natural fancy purplish/pink internally flawless diamond was stolen from its own in Switzerland in 2012. The stone is GIA certified and has significant value. There is also a $1.0Million dollar REWARD. Since this stone has been missing for 2 years any guess its been recut and set and sold already. But for the owners sake, I hope that they find their stone. Here is the link if anyone happens to know any information~ http://www.stolenswissdiamond.com/
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| 17.48cts Fancy natural Internally flawless diamond |
Until next time, keep sparkling!!
