Christie’s Dubai announce the sale of the largest private collection of jewellery

Dubai – Christie’s announce the sale of the largest private collection of jewellery parures will come to auction on 27 October 2010 in Dubai. The Jumeirah Emirates Tower’s Hotel view will be ablaze with these sumptuous suites of jewellery, set with a total of 2,180 carats of rubies, 1,970 carats of emeralds, 1,630 carats of sapphires and 6,460 carats of diamonds from Sunday, 24 October until Wednesday, 27 October.

David Warren, International Director of Christie’s Jewellery department and Head of Jewellery Middle East says: “This is a significant opportunity for anyone who is passionate about jewellery. From Ancient Egypt through to 1950s Hollywood glamour and beyond, the parure provides the ultimate jewellery gift. Whether you wear a single ring or you wear the whole suite, a parure provides flexibility, variety and extravagance to last a lifetime.”

From Antiquity to 17th Century: The Historic Setting for Must-Have Jewellery

The word “parure” refers to a set of three or more matching pieces of jewellery, traditionally consisting of a necklace, bracelet, ring and a pair of earrings. The name was first applied in the 17th century although the fashion of matching suites of jewellery extends far further back, over 5,000 years, to Ancient Egypt and Rome, where women adorned themselves with sets of jewellery.

The story develops during the French Empire as the parure reached a height of popularity in the Neo-classical period (1760-1830), most particularly during the Napoleonic era (1800-1814). Napoleon Bonaparte restored Paris to its former glory and extended his patronage to the jewellery craftsmen in the city. His court jewellers designed expensive and elaborate parures for the court, made from the best gemstones available. Napoleon lavished expensive parures on the ladies of his court; predominantly for his first wife Empress Josephine and later for his second wife Empress Marie-Louise.

1950s Hollywood Glamour

A century later in the late 1950s, iconic Hollywood actresses such as Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe inspired a resurgence in the fashion-world’s love of parures both off and on screen. Classic films such as Cleopatra (1963), Gentleman prefers Blondes (1953) or Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend showcased the beauty and allure of matching jewellery. In Elizabeth Taylor’s most famous role, Cleopatra wears a collection of exquisite parures reflecting ancient Egyptian styles. The film sparked her personal fascination with jewellery and also led her to designing her own collection of parures for AVON. Most recently the Royal Families of Europe gathered for the wedding of H.R.H., Princess Victoria of Sweden to Daniel Westling. Many wore their suites of jewellery which were met with great admiration.

Christie’s Offers Unprecedented Opportunity

Christie’s October 27 sale offers 41 examples of parures. Never before has such a number been offered for sale at auction. All are signed by Chatila, Jahan and Mouawad. Each lot consists of earrings, a ring, a matching necklace and bracelet and will be accompanied by a certificate from its maker. Estimates range from $40,000 to $400,000 and all lots will be offered without reserve. This is not the first time that Christie’s are bringing spectacular parures to Dubai. In 2006, we showcased the Gulf pearl parure, by Harry Winston, which subsequently sold in Geneva for a record price of $4.1 million.

Emerald parures: The collection includes 13 emerald parures. The most outstanding include a necklace set with seven large pear-shaped Colombian emeralds weighing a total of 158.52 carats, each mounted within a brilliant-cut and pear-shaped diamond surround and suspended from a double diamond festoon; with bracelet, ear pendants and ring en suite, signed Jahan. The total weight of the emeralds is 261.47 carats and 129.58 carats of diamonds (estimate: $350,000-450,000).

Sapphire parures: A total of 10 sapphire parures will be offered and are led by an example which boasts 375 carats of sapphires and 164 carats in diamonds. This particular parure will be offered individually as a spectacular bracelet set with a fine Ceylon sapphire of 180.84 carats (estimate: $250,000-350,000); while a superb ring is set with an important Kashmir sapphire of 26.12 carats (estimate: $120,000-180,000); an important sapphire and diamond necklace, with a central cabochon Ceylon sapphire of 131.17 carats (estimate: $180,000-250,000), a matching pair of earrings (estimate: $30,000-50,000) and a watch en suite (estimate: $20,000-30,000) will also be offered.

Ruby parures: A Suite by Chatila is one of the stars of this section of 12 ruby parures. It features a necklace with five rows of oval-shaped rubies with diamond intersections, with bracelet, ear pendants and ring. The rubies weigh a total of 224.57 carats and the diamonds a total of 227.22 carats (estimate: $250,000-300,000).

Diamond parures: Four diamond parures are led by a demi-parure by Chatila, composed of necklace and ear-pendants, contains a staggering 340.09 carats of Marquise, pear and round brilliant cut diamonds (estimate: $250,000-350,000).