September 13, 2018: Auction house Sotheby’s has announced a new sale dedicated to Jewellery and Watches in Paris this autumn. This new date in the auction calendar, entitled Joaillerie Paris, will coincide with a double-anniversary this year for Sotheby’s in France: the auction house’s 50 years on French soil, and 20 years in the historic Galerie Charpentier.
To mark the occasion, Sotheby’s is presenting jewels and watches from the late 19th and 20th century, alongside a small selection of contemporary creations, by France’s illustrious jewellery houses such as Boucheron, Boivin, Cartier, M. GeÌrard, SterleÌ, Van Cleef & Arpels and Chaumet, including jewels set with important diamonds, Kashmir sapphires and Burmese rubies.
The new sale will also highlight two celebrated French stars, offering several Art DeÌco jewels from the collection of star dancer and fashion icon Zizi Jeanmaire, as well as an evening bag given by actor Alain Delon to his longtime co-star and partner, New Wave muse, actress and director Mireille Darc, in the 1960s.
A diamond ring set with a Kashmir sapphire weighing 6.45 carats from around 1980 (estimate: €200,000-400,000) and a diamond solitaire, featuring a 5.17-carat pear-shaped stone, signed by Cartier (estimate: €250,000-350,000), are among the stand-out pieces.
Exclusive to Cartier’s prestigious Paris branch, a model A, pendule MysteÌrieuse clock, will be among the most highly anticipated lots in the sale (estimate: €350,000- 550,000). Embellished with agate, enamel and diamonds, it dates from the 1930s. Named for the secret mechanism cleverly hidden in their design, these clocks known as pendules MysteÌrieuses have long been a source of fascination: they bring together precious materials and ingenious design, the result of many long months of careful craftsmanship.
