My Top 3 Pick From Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels This Spring

Following what I’ve recounted about my journey as a beginner gemstone faceter in the latest story, I thought of sharing with you my recent visit to the Taipei’s preview of Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels where the items on display will be up for auction on April 20th in Hong Kong.

This time around, a selection of marvellous jewellery pieces and rare gemstones makes up nearly half of what Sotheby’s upcoming Spring Sales has to offer. One of the preview’s highlights is none other than a diamond and rock crystal bracelet-bangle by Cartier from its high jewellery collection “L’Odyssée de Cartier — Parcours d’un Style”.

A diamond and rock crystal bangle-bracelet by Cartier
Courtesy of Sotheby’s

This stunning piece by Cartier features a D-colour, Internally Flawless (IF), diamond weighing 63.66 carats. This prominent pear-shaped diamond found in the centre of the bangle-bracelet is flanked by calibré-cut rock crystals and brilliant-cut diamonds, its visual effect akin to a continuous ring of ripples found on the surface of the water, caused by this exceptional mineral dropping into it. These curves, united by the marriage of rock crystals and diamonds, seem gentle but powerful.

At first sight, I was curious to find out what is the articulation like for this bangle-bracelet . Luckily, I had the chance to handle the piece and examine the it from inside out. Given that it took nearly 2,000 hours to create this piece, it is hard to imagine the amount of attention that the craftsmen has given to the details — be it visible or invisible. With this one single piece, it’s clear that the Maison excels in striking a perfect balance between clean design and extravagance.

Another piece of jewellery that caught my attention at Sotheby’s is a sapphire ring by the legendary Joel Arthur Rosenthal, also known as JAR. The appealing roundedness of this bombé ring features an oval-shaped sapphire weighing 18.62 carats. The ring, together with the four prongs that secures the main gemstone, is pavé-set with sapphires of different sizes. The jeweller’s choice of blackened gold imbues the ring with an air of mystery, making it irresistible to anyone who dares to set his or her eyes upon it.

“ … when I put on this ring, I felt as if a silent conversation between the Parisian-based jeweller and I has been created across time and space.”

Sapphire Ring by JAR
Courtesy of Sotheby’s

JAR has always been a legendary figure that I look up to since I was a student in jewellery design. I greatly admire the burst of creativity and innovation that underlies his jewellery creation. Whenever I stumble upon a JAR piece, I would not let the chance of trying it on to slip away. That being said, I seized the opportunity to try this sapphire ring, only to find out that the ring size was so tiny that it could only fit my little finger. Nevertheless, when I put on this ring, I felt as if a silent conversation between the Parisian-based jeweller and I has been created across time and space.

Transformable citrine and diamond clips/bangle, Cartier
Courtesy of Sotheby’s

Besides the pieces from Hong Kong’s Spring Sales, a selection of pieces from the Geneva’s “Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels: Part I” was also on display. In particular, I was attracted to a transformable clips-bangle piece also made by Cartier, presumably in the 1940’s. This open bangle is adorned with a pair of paisley (or boteh motif) set with citrines of various earthy tones, accented by single-cut diamonds.

When handling the piece, I tried to detach the paisley fittings, which can be worn individually as clips. The colour combination of the citrines seems to evoke the season of autumn, as if capturing the moment of leaves falling from the trees. In my view, the clips by itself look nicer than when they’re attached to the bangle, but the transformability of this piece does make this jewellery more special than without.

Pair of citrine and diamond clips detached from the bangle, Cartier
Courtesy of Sotheby’s

Though the number of pieces offered by Sotheby’s seems to have decreased this spring, the intimate experience of handling these three jewellery pieces is one of the most memorable. I can’t wait to see at what prices will these jewellery be sold at the upcoming auction. To all the curious readers — do keep an eye out for the auction results to find out more!

Shaopeng