March 5, 2014: Sotheby’s has announced that it will present The Hutton-Mdivani Necklace, an important piece of jadeite jewellery, in its Hong Kong sale of Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite on April 7, 2014. Estimated in excess of HK$100 million (US$12.8 million), this masterpiece of jewellery comprises 27 gigantic jadeite beads of a magnificent green and majestic proportions (diameters ranging from 19.20 mm to 15.40 mm). By repute, these beads belonged to a member of the Qing Imperial court in the 18th century.
Created by Cartier, the brand’s archive records the jadeite beads being in their possession in 1933, when an innovative clasp was designed especially for the Hutton family. The necklace was then presented as a wedding gift in the same year to Barbara Hutton from her father on the occasion of her marriage to Prince Mdivani.
Socialite and heiress Barbara Woolworth Hutton was among the few Western fashion icons known for her love for jadeite. Heiress to the retail tycoon Frank Winfield Woolworth, she became one of the wealthiest women of her time when she turned 21. Her collection encompassed unique pieces commissioned from celebrated jewelers, as well as important royal and noble jewels, among them a pearl necklace formerly in the collection of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France.
