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Tiffany & Co. Pearl and Diamond Sautoir with Natural Pearl and Diamond Pendant, estimated at $60,000-80,000, will be sold at Doyle New York in October. This platinum, gold, and diamond brooch is estimated at $20,000-30,000 in an October auction of important estate jewels at Doyle New York. Doyle New York's Upper East Side auction house. Jewels are displayed during a press preview for the “Magnificent Jewels” sale at Sotheby's April 20, 2009 in New York City. The flawless 32.01-carat Annenberg Diamond, mounted by David Webb, is estimated to fetch between $3 million and $5 million at Christie's this fall. |
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Fasten an Edwardian pearl pendant around your neck or an elaborate Victorian bracelet on your wrist, and it’s easy to imagine yourself living in a more gracious era. Such is the appeal of vintage and antique jewelry, whose allure goes beyond the value of intrinsic materials or rarity of design.
Enter the high-flying estate auction of the present, with rapid-fire lots selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars, online click-of-the-mouse bids, and anonymous buyers swooping in to scoop up the rarest of gems. The excitement of buying at auction stems from the proximity of so many rare pieces that are fresh to the market, and the opportunity, with the flip of a paddle, to bring one home. From small estate sales throughout the country to global companies with a pedigreed staff, auctions are one of the most popular ways to obtain these rare pieces.
“Many people find auctions intimidating before they participate, but they’re not at all,” says Daphne Lingon, senior vice president of Christie’s Americas and senior jewelry specialist, as she opens an unassuming box on the top of her desk at the company’s Rockefeller Center headquarters one recent afternoon. Nestled inside the velvet interior is the astonishing headline act in the global auction house’s upcoming October estate jewelry sale—a flawless, emerald-cut, D color (the highest rating of a colorless stone), 32-carat diamond ring designed by jeweler David Webb, courtesy of the Leonore Annenberg estate.
It is these kinds of rare and exquisite jewels that both entice and scare away would-be auction-goers. After all, not just anyone can bid on a bauble expected to fetch between $3 million and $5 million. But with roughly 350 other pieces ranging from antique (which, by definition, are at least one hundred years old) to contemporary, the auction offers a wide range of prices and eras (see sidebar).
The key to feeling comfortable at auction is spending time with the collection in person at the preview exhibitions, says Ann Lange, vice president and director of jewelry at Doyle New York, which boasts a collection from the estate of Hugh J. Grant and Lucie Mackey Grant in its October estate jewelry auction.
At these exhibitions, held for several days prior to auctions, you’ll have a chance to ask questions of experts, obtain condition reports, look at high and low price estimates, and, most important, try the jewels on.
“We have people who stay for hours trying on pieces,” says Lange. And who wouldn’t want to drape around their neck Doyle’s October showstopper—a Tiffany & Co. pearl-and-diamond sautoir, estimated from $60,000 to $80,000? Or fasten that circa-1900 platinum, gold, and diamond brooch (estimate: $20,000 – $30,000) onto their lapel?
Experts also advise conducting research about eras, specific designers, and jewelry houses via Web sites and publications specializing in the market. The more you know about a particular period, the more informed your actions will be, they say. And it’s probably a wise move to attend an auction before ever casting a bid.
“Auctions are incredibly fun and educational,” says Beth Anne Bonanno, an antique jewelry specialist and president of Elizabeth Anne Bonanno Consulting. “Try to be a part of the experience before you participate in bidding.” One way to do so is via live, online auctions. A relatively new option offered by the major auction houses, online auctions occur in real time where viewers see the auctioneer (though not the audience of bidders), and can follow the action as it happens.
At the estate sales by the major houses, you’ll be able to submit a written bid (your maximum price), bid by phone via an onsite staff member who relays information back and forth, or bid with a click of your mouse while watching the auction online. But with up to one hundred lots or more per hour, these sales move at a steady clip, and keep in mind that you’ll not only be paying the hammer price, but a buyer’s premium on each lot and additional charges, such as VAT, when applicable. So get the facts and stick with the plan before the hammer falls.
“There’s a little bit of risk in it all,” admits Bonanno. “The biggest mistake some people make is thinking they’re buying for investment. Instead, find what you love, and do the research.”
The same rules apply when it comes to the smaller, local estate sales that don’t have the global brand awareness and may not have the depth of jewelry experience of a Sotheby’s, Bonhams & Butterfields, or Skinner, say dealers. If anything, smaller estate auctioneers may undervalue their jewelry offerings if they lack depth of jewelry expertise. While it sometimes takes the experienced eye of a professional to spot such diamonds in the rough, private collectors and enthusiasts are becoming more savvy.
“We have had someone tell us they picked up a piece for $1,000 at a small estate sale and we valued it at $30,000,” says Christie’s Lingon. “It’s having that eye and knowledge. The smaller houses often err on the side of being too conservative.”
Still, some dealers recommend sticking with signed pieces (stamped by the likes of Cartier or Van Cleef & Arpels, for instance), and suggest forging relationships with both auction-house specialists and respected vintage jewelry retailers, who scour the globe in search of the best examples of various periods and are another valuable source for knowledge and exquisite works.
In the intimate Madison Avenue boutique of vintage retailer Stephen Russell, for instance, co-owner Stephen Feuerman gingerly lifts a turn-of the century René Lalique necklace from its display. Feuerman says the choker, ringed with more than seventy carats of diamonds in cloudlike loops, is one of the best examples from the period. Ultimately, he says, it’s not a piece’s age or era but the craftsmanship and design that make something truly valuable. That’s where the eye of an experienced jeweler comes in. “I really believe so many of the best antique pieces are undervalued,” says Feuerman, delicately fingering a Georgian emerald necklace he’s retrieved from his display window. “A lot of these pieces can never be made again.”
Donna Marino Wilkins is a freelance writer based in Manhattan. She is the former senior editor at Zagat Survey, and has written and edited for publications including Leisure Travel News, Travel Agent, Bridal Guide and the New York Times.
Photography credits:
- Courtesy Doyle New York
- Courtesy Doyle New York
- Courtesy Doyle New York
- Mario Tama/Getty Images
- Christie's Images LTD, 2009
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