EMAIL TO A FRIEND  

VIEW GALLERY

JEWELRY DESIGNER INTERVIEWS

Christies photo

Sapphire, ruby and diamond pin by JAR, estimated at $40,000 to $60,000 U.S.

Christie's NY

Jewelled rockettes and a poppy that will never die go up for auction

(Nov. 25) Signed, wearable pieces of jewelry are still in demand, comments a representative of Christie’s as the auction house prepares for its New York Jewels sale on Dec. 11.

“People are looking for pieces that are going to hold their value, which signed pieces do,” comments Leslie Roskind, an assistant vice-president of Christie’s America. Roskind was speaking in Toronto recently at a fundraiser for the Canadian Friends of the Israel Museum. The event featured a preview of lots from the upcoming New York sale.

They included a stunning pink-hued poppy brooch by JAR made in 1987 and exhibited at The National Academy of Design. The pin’s central lilac-hued purple sapphire is surrounded by “petals” of pink sapphires with ruby accents and pave diamond trim. It is estimated to sell for between $40,000 and $60,000 (all prices U.S.).

A second JAR piece in the sale is a 10.28 carat diamond “Thread” ring. The E colour, VVS2 clarity stone is set within a two-tiered diamond threadwork gallery and hoop and mounted in platinum. It is estimated at $1 million to $1.5 million. The final hammer price for JAR designs is hard to predict, however, as the work of the Bronx-born Joel A. Rosenthal is so rare.

“His store is hidden in the Place Vendome and you need an invitation to go,” Roskind says. “He only makes about 60 to 70 pieces a year, and they are for those that he likes.” Several pieces of JAR jewelry in the 2006 sale of Ellen Barkin jewels were estimated at $40,000 to $60,000, but sold for $700,000, Roskind notes.

Also on tour with Roskind were several designs by John Rubel, a French designer who followed Van Cleef & Arpels from Paris to New York in the 1930s and established his own firm in the 1940s. “Being French and of Romanian descent, he really wanted to assimilate into American culture,” Roskind says. Rubel turned to American pop culture and the films of Walt Disney for inspiration. The Dec. 11 sale includes a “Rockette” brooch with the heads of six dancers in diamonds, and their gold skirts decorated with rubies and sapphires. The piece was made in 1945, and is estimated at $4,000 to $6,000. “It is not a high value, but it is a true piece of jewelry,” Roskind remarks.

One of Roskind’s personal favourite pieces in the sale is a natural pearl necklace with diamond clasp. “I find this exquisite because the pearls are natural, not manmade or cultured,” she says. “It probably took decades to assemble this necklace. The sources of natural pearls – India, The Persian Gulf and The Red Sea - are completely depleted due to tourism, fishing and oil. This one is relatively well-priced at $30,000 to $50,000.” In 2007 Christie’s sold a slightly larger natural pearl necklace that was owned by the Maharajah of Baroda for $7 million.