February 23, 2022: Replete with golden beads, delicate craftsmanship and regal style, a selection of costume jewels designed and worn by Shakira Caine, wife of the Hollywood star Sir Michael Caine, will be offered at Bonhams’ ‘Sir Michael Caine: The Personal Collection’ sale on March 2 in London.
Lady Shakira Caine modelling her jewellery.
Lady Caine was inspired to make jewellery after visiting ‘The Costumes of Royal India’, exhibition, curated by the late Diana Vreeland at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, in 1985-1986. Speaking at the time, Lady Caine had said, “Being Indian, I was inspired by all of the Mogul jewellery. Indian jewellery will always live on. It’s alive, vibrant, and always worn with pride. It gives you a spark, a lift. I love the vivid colours, the craftsmanship, the individuality, and the subtlety of stones… I’ve always been interested in fashion and accessories, and I was lucky. I happened to get interested in jewellery when an ethnic tendency was reawakening in fashion”.
Lady Caine designed pieces which were inspired by the ancient jewellery making techniques of India and evocative of a fascinating time in India’s history.
In the Textured Fringe Necklace, for example, each spherical bead has granulation and ropetwist detail, suspending a fringe of navette-shaped finials, with applied granulation in a variety of pear-shaped patterns.
She took a dozen samples of her jewellery to Harrods in London. The meeting was successful and led to an extensive line of accessories. During the late 1980s and 1990s, her jewellery was retailed at Harrods and Harvey Nichols in London, Bergdorf Goodman in New York, and Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills, together with her gold-embroidered shawls, bags, and belts, all made in India and Paris. Her jewellery line was quite extensive, consisting of 30 necklaces, 40 pairs of earrings and 20 bracelets.
Charlie Thomas, Head of Sale, said: “The bracelet and necklaces offered in this sale are from Shakira Caine’s personal collection, and they clearly reflect her taste and individual style during a very creative period in her life as a designer.”
The Gem-Set necklace has an articulated collar of circular and pear-shaped colourless paste, with pear-shaped red paste accents, mounted throughout in foiled and closed back settings, issuing a fringe of red glass beads.
Lady Shakira Caine in her jewellery.
Estimates for the jewellery range from £400 – 800. The collection also includes vintage film posters, furniture, delicate tableware, rare black and white photographs, Cartier and ST Dupont cufflinks, home décor, a Marc Chagall painting, and other rare artifacts.
