GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A man described by Swiss customs as a Russian, age about 20, was stopped in Presinge, Geneva, after he attempted to evade border checks by getting off a bus, then heading through fields with a large collection of jewels of “dubious origin”.
Border guards noticed the odd behaviour of the man who got off at bus stop Les Bornes, from a line C Malagnou – Monniaz bus.
Sun-drop yellow diamond discovered in 2010 goes for CHF11.28m at its first-ever sale in Geneva
James Bond and his amazing Rolex watch adapted in 1973 for "Live and Let Die" (source: Christie's Images Ltd, ©2011)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Going, going, gone! For CHF11.28 million, the world’s “largest known pear-shaped fancy vivid yellow diamond”, a rarity for colour at its size and a newcomer on the market, went to an individual who wishes to remain anonymous, says Sotheby’s. The diamond was the hottest item in the auction house’s semi-annual Geneva fine jewels sale Tuesday night 15 November.
It kept great company this week, with jewels (not, of course, just baubles) that could tell tales and watches to match every fantasy. Wednesday night Christie’s holds its fine jewels sales, expected to fetch CHF49 million in total.
A watch sale by the auction house Monday night sold more than CHF26m in timepieces, including a 1968 Patek Philippe pink platinum watch that went for CHF2m, twice its estimated sale price.
Roger Moore's James Bond Rolex (click on image to view larger): Oyster Perpetual, 660ft=200m, Submariner, manufactured in 1972 and then converted. Movement removed to allow customization, black dial, luminous baton and dot numerals, luminous mercedes-style hands, tonneau-shaped case with calibrated rotating black bezel with saw-tooth edge, modified screw back, the inside case back signed Roger Moore 007, screw down crown, stainless steel Rolex Oyster expandable bracelet with deployant clasp stamped 7-72, a small hole in the end links used to attach an invisible wire to unzip Miss Caruso's dress, case and dial signed (source: Christie's Images Ltd, ©2011)
Journalists oohed and aahed over the Taylor collection, struggling to capture the sparkling jewels with cameras
Geneva’s “palaces”, or five-star hotels, hosted visits by James Bond’s electrifying watch (not literally, one of the few things it doesn’t do), which was also sold Monday night. fpr CHF219,000, as well as a collection of astonishing jewels from the star-studded world of Hollywood’s last “real star”, Liz Taylor. The Taylor collection then moved on to Paris and soon heads for New York where Christie’s will hold a four-day special auction in December, linked to a number of Elizabeth Taylor events.
The Wednesday night Christie’s sale features one of the largest selections of BVlgari jewels ever seen at auction, it says, as well as 40 jewels that Welsh actor Richard Burton gave to Susan Hunt Burton, his third of four wives, from 1976-82; Burton, was famously earlier married twice to Taylor.
Burton, who moved to Celigny in 1957 is buried in the village, not far from Geneva.
For Russian friends in Geneva, a parure as rich in historical and emotional value as beauty, was the highlight of the week’s shows, but it failed to find a buyer Tuesday night at Sotheby’s despite strong interest.
The jewels in the diamond necklace with earrings and brooch, whose asking price was not published, are reputed to have been part of the ransom offered by Catherine I of Russia, wife of Peter the Great, to Ahmed III, the 23rd Ottoman Sultan after the Pruth River battles in 1711. The battles were a key point in the war upon Russia by the Sultan, undertaken with the encouragement of Sweden’s ruler Charles XII. Russian forces were surrounded and in desperate straits when Catherine, who had accompanied her husband to the Pruth River for the final battle, gathered her jewels in secret and sent them with a last plea for peace from her husband to the sultan. A treaty was thus negotiated and, popular history has it, Catherine saved her husband and the empire.
The jewels went on to have a rich history, ending up in Egypt and eventually, in 1963, on the market. Christie’s notes that they are probably the most “important suite of antique coloured diamond jewels to appear at auction in the past 50 years”.
La Peregrina by Cartier, with 16th century drop-shaped pearl pendant, detachable from necklace designed by Taylor herself; a gift from Richard Burton, 1972
Fine jewels have value because of their intrinsic beauty and/or their rarity, but also often because of their history, as in the case of Empress Catherine’s peace offering. But glamour counts for much and Geneva has seen plenty of it, or at least the acoutrements of it, in the past week.
The Taylor jewels in particular, were accompanied by non-stop film footage of the star wearing her glamorous pieces, who went from National Velvet to Cleopatra, but who also lived her private life very much as a star. She was one of the early entertainment world celebrities to set up house in the Swiss ski resort of Gstaad, where she was a familiar sight, wearing her extraordinary and often over-sized jewels on a daily basis.
“She was the last of the great Hollywood stars”, said Christie’s Jonathan Rendell, deputy chairman of its Americas division, when presenting the collection to the press. She understood, he said, that “when she stepped outside her door she was no longer Elizabeth Taylor the private person, but the Hollywood star.”
Christie’s will not say how much of the money from the sale will go to support Taylor’s humanitarian work, but Rendell did make clear that she selected the pieces before her death and asked that Christie’s handle the sale. She died 23 March 2011, age 79.
GenevaLunch will be adding a photo album of Elizabeth Taylor’s jewels, from the Geneva exhibition, Wednesday afternoon.
Top Sotheby's watch 15 May was a nearly 50-yer-old Patek Philippe
CHF1.15 million for the most expensive Rolex ever sold at auction, by Christies (source: Christies Ltd)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – This is a week where spending your spare millions will be very easy in Geneva, the week when auctions are offering rare watches, an extraordinary emerald tiara and a bottle of Château Lafite-Rothschild, vintage 1887, Pauillac, 1er cru classé that would make grandfather sit up in his grave and ask for a glass.
Christies and Sotheby’s are outdoing themselves during the usual mid-May Geneva sales week. Sotheby’s, not too long before the British royal wedding when minds were on crowns and other state jewels, sent around a photo of the rare tiara that will be offered for sale Tuesday evening 17 May.
Most expensive auction Rolex goes for CHF1.04 million
But the week of rarefied goods began with Sotheby’s and Christies’s Important Watches sales
When the gavel went down Sunday evening 15 May on the final item at Sotheby’s, the firm could claim CHF7.75 million in sales, with a Patek Philippe watch alone going for CHF722,500. The 1960 watch, sold in 1962, belonged to a “distinguished gentleman” and is described as: “an extremely rare 18K yellow gold perpetual calendar, chronograph wristwatch with registers moon-phases and tachometer scale.”
The second most costly watch was just over CHF300,000, a 2007 Greubel Forsay watch.
They were overshadowed by the sale nearby at the Christies auction of a Rolex watch that set a new world record price for any Rolex wristwatch ever sold at auction, a “legendary, ultra-rare, split-seconds chronograph reference 4113″, sold for CHF1.035 million ($1.16m).
Elizabeth Taylor, whose called Gstaad, Switzerland a second home, died in Los Angeles Wednesday, age 79, of congestive heart failure. She soared to fame in 1944 as the violet-eyed beauty in the film National Velvet at age 12, but she starred in numerous other films, including the critically acclaimed Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
She was equally famous for her eight marriages, glamorous lifestyle and her jewelry collection, but in later years she gained a reputation as one of the earliest and most forceful allies of the fight against Aids.
Links to other sites: Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post
Christmas countdown, gift suggestions: number 40
GenevaLunch begins its countdown to the winter holiday season, with 40 gift options for buyers rich and poor, in the Lake Geneva region
Suggested sales price: starting at CHF27 million
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The excitement is building inside the long room with its tidy rows of chairs and a bank of TV cameras, at Beau-Rivage, the elegant old hotel on Lake Geneva where Sotheby’s holds it Geneva auctions. Those bidding are well-dressed and discreet, and the security guards try to blend in. Outside, the air is chilly but it’s not yet really fur weather, although that will not stop women from slipping them on once the auction is over.
This is the night when one of the most “important”, not to mention expensive, diamonds to be sold in over 30 years goes up for auction. The Fancy Intense Pink Emerald-cut Diamond weighing 24.78 carats is described by Sotheby’s, which is not noted for understatement about its gems, as among the “rarest and most beautiful gemstones ever offered at auction”.
It comes from the Cullinan mines owned by Petra in South Africa and was last on the market 60 years ago. David Bennett, auctioneer and longtime precious gems expert, says this beauty, nearly perfect in its natural state before cutting, is one of nature’s deepest secrets.
The auction room and phone-in bidders, Sotheby's, Geneva
Pre-auction estimated price: CHF27-38 million (from $27.4m). To put this in perspective, Sotheby’s has, in the past two years, had a number of record-setting diamond sales, including one in May 2009 where a blue diamond went for CHF10.5 million.
The entire lot of gems sold for about CHF40m.
Size: 55-1/2
Details: set in shield-shaped shoulders, notable for the curved corners.
Who will not be buying this ring, we guess: Prince William (Kate should have her ring by now), Governor Schwarzenegger of California, whose budget can’t cover the bid, Michael Moore, whose pinky isn’t small enough.
Suggestion: if this is not in your Christmas gift budget but you have at least a million to spend, you might still be interested in the other Sotheby’s gems for sale Tuesday evening, but you’ll have to hurry to put in your online bids. They include jewels from the collection of Cristina Ford, some jewels formerly owned by Christina Onassis, a ruby and diamond bracelet by Petochi which was once in the collection of Countess Mona Bismarck, and a diamond cuff bangle made by Cartier in 1938 for HH Abbas Hilmi II Bey, the last Khedive of Egypt and Sudan (1874-1944).
Lausanne police provide images of stolen jewelry to help victims identify missing pieces
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) – If you have jewelry that went missing in 2009 or early 2010, you would do well to contact the city of Lausanne, which is working with city police to identify the owners of a spectacular haul of jewels made in February.
Lausanne police seized 900 items of gold jewelry at the time, most of it stolen from homes in the region, including 150 items from Geneva.
The investigation, carried out with Vaud police, that led to the haul took several months, but resulted in the arrest of two thieves and two jewelers who were receiving some of the stolen goods, police say. Several kilos of goods were discovered at a gold foundry in Bienne, where one of the jewelers had sent the items to be melted down.
What to do if you think your missing jewels are part of the haul
Victims who believe their jewels are part of the collection will need to send an e-mail to eurojud@lausanne.ch with the number of the item from the police photo page (see image at left) and contact information.
The police will then get in touch. Alternatively, they can phone Lausanne police at 021 315 4000, from 08:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00.
Links to other sites: 20 Minutes (Fre), Vaud Police
52-carat diamond ring for sale in Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – An auction sale in Geneva is expected to draw collectors from all over the world interested in purchasing rare diamonds, emeralds, and watches made for kings.
One of the most impressive pieces that will be auctioned off at Sotheby’s in Geneva is a 52.82 carat emerald-cut diamond ring estimated on $7 million.
Read the full story and see the pictures.
Christie's unmounted flawless 62.3 carat diamond sold for CHF8.01 million (click on image to view larger)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Forget the girl’s best friend, diamonds that investors love are dazzling the jewelry world this week. Christie’s big November precious gems and jewelry sale in Geneva Wednesday 18 November ended on a high note, with the sale of a 62.3 carat diamond going for CHF8.01 million at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues.
Overall, the sale brought in CHF32.28m, another strong sign that the market has recovered, after Sotheby’s sold CHF37 million in jewels Monday. The buyer was Aleks Paul of Essex Global Trading in New York, a dealer who also walked off with two other lots of diamonds worth more than CHF5m.
And down the street at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel the Antiquorum sale of fine watches set a record price for watches sold in 2009: CHF5.12m for the Patek Philippe Yellow Gold Calibre 89, one of only four in the world, each unique.
Diamonds remain a wealthy person's best friend (Geneva auction 2008)
Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - There are 12.6 percent fewer of them: in 2008 Switzerland could boast only 185,300 millionaires if you counted their fortunes in dollars, but the drop in their numbers was smaller than worldwide, where the average decline in their numbers was 15 percent and their wealth slipped by nearly 20 percent. Those are among the findings of the 13th Annual World Wealth Report published by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Capgemini.
Hardest hit were the super-rich, whose incomes are above $30 million a year without counting their houses and cars: 2008 saw their numbers fall by 25 percent and the value of their holdings by an equivalent amount.
The report measures the number of high net worth individuals in the world and the sizes of their fortunes. It also tracks trends in their spending.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Fears that the jewelry market might be floundering in this economic crisis appear to be unfounded, with Sotheby’s selling CHF40 million worth of diamonds, rubies and other fine jewels as rings, necklaces, bracelets and tiaras Tuesday 12 May.
The rare fancy vivid blue diamond ring that was the centrepiece of the auction went for CHF10,498,50, ($9,488,754), comfortably above the estimated CHF6.8-10 million pricetag. The diamond was found in 2008 in South Africa’s famed Petra Diamonds’ Cullinan mine.
Rare "Vivid Blue Diamond" to be auctioned 12 May 2009 at Sotheby's, Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland (Genevalunch) – The shining star of the show when Sotheby’s auctions off its next batch of jewels 12 May in Geneva will be a rare “Fancy Vivid Blue” 7.03 carat diamond from a rough stone of 26.58 carats, never worn. The new owner will have the privilege of naming the stone, which is expected to fetch CHF6.8-10 million. The diamond was found in 2008 in South Africa’s famed Petra Diamonds’ Cullinan mine.
Another Fancy Vivid Blue diamond failed to sell in November 2008 in Geneva, raising questions at the time about the impact of the financial crisis on the fine jewels market.
Deep blue diamond, Sotheby's November 2008 in Geneva
New York, USA and Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The art markets and in particular fine jewels auctions were being watched closely at the end of 2008 for signs that they were suffering from the global economic crisis, but a new report from Art Market Review suggests that the jewelry market in particular has been more stable than expected. The review was prepared for Sotheby’s by industry observer Art Market Monitor.
Geneva, Switzerland (Tribune de Geneve, Fre) – The Tribune carries a story today about a concierge in Eaux-Vives who lost the family jewels and well over CHF3,000 when thieves took the family safe, a 110kg box that was bolted to the ground and wall. According to the paper, a safe is no safe place for valuables in the city, where thieves steal 5 to10 of them a week.
Title: Magnificent jewels for auction
Location: Geneva
Link out: Click here
Description: Jewelry auction begins at CHF 4,000
Date: 19 Nov 2008
Zermatt, Valais, Switzerland (Le Matin, Fre) – In a robbery worthy of a film script, three man wearing black masks arrived in the centre of car-free Zermatt in a car stolen the previous day in Lucern and broke into the Schindler jewelry store at 22:15 while passersby stared in amazement. MInutes later they fled with thousands of francs worth of jewels, according to Le Matin, and they fled on bicycles with no lights, disappearing into the darkening mountain night.
