35 / 241
Maine Antique Digest, December 2016 35-CS
-
FEATURE -
35-E
Heritage Beverly Hills Top Lot of
Vintage Bracelets Has Storied Provenance
H
eritage Auctions sold a pair of 1953 Van
Cleef & Arpels gold cuff bracelets that had
been given by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
(whose identical pair sold at Sotheby’s in 2011
for $128,500) to her stepsister and JFK wedding
bridesmaid Nina Straight on the occasion of
Straight’s wedding to Michael Straight in 1974. The
bracelets brought $162,500 (est. $40,000/60,000)
in the Heritage September 26 contemporary
designer jewels signature auction in Beverly
Hills, California. According to Jill Burgum, senior
director of jewelry at Heritage, “The pair Kennedy
Onassis gave to Straight is marked 47 and 48, and
it is likely Kennedy Onassis purchased both limited
edition sets at the same time and gave Straight the
earlier pair.”
Straight said the bracelets were a surprise gift
from her stepsister and close friend. She told
Heritage Auctions, “Jackie loved hers so much that
she bought me a pair knowing I would enjoy them
equally.”
This pair of circa 1953
Van Cleef & Arpels gold cuff
bracelets, which had been given by Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis to her stepsister Nina Straight,
sold for $162,500 (est. $40,000/60,000) on September
26 at Heritage Auctions’ Beverly Hills, California, location.
This antique gold and
gem-set 16" long necklace,
suspending a gem-set
pendant section connected
with trace link and seed
pearl festoons, sold for $6150
(est. $2000/3000).
Also from the TMA collection, this circa 1820 gold
and rock crystal demi-parure, comprising a 16½" long
necklace with detachable pendant, 2" long earrings,
and 1¾" long brooch, came in the original fitted box.
It realized $7995 (est. $4000/6000).
Shinnick said of this Arts and Crafts
aquamarine, opal, and plique-à-jour
enamel pendant/brooch, “although
unsigned, it showed design and
construction features that
led many experts to
believe that it was
the work of Louis
Comfort Tiffany.
This led to very
competitive
bidding,” and it
sold for $7380
(est. $6000/8000).
This circa 1890 Renaissance Revival 18k gold bracelet made
by Falize Aine & Fils, with an interior circumference of 6
⅞
",
was designed as hinged panels of finely pierced scrolling
floral and foliate motifs. With the maker’s mark
“AF” and guarantee stamps, the bracelet
sold in the original box for $15,990
(est. $15,000/20,000).
Shinnick pictured this pair of circa
1835 gold and collet-set foil-backed
amethyst 2
⅜
" long earrings, with
later findings, in her blog post about
Victorian earrings and the TMA
segment of the auction. The pair sold
for $6150 (est. $1500/2000).
This signed Cartier Art Deco
1
⅝
" long gem-set flower
basket brooch composed of
a carved lapis basket with
pink and green tourmaline
flowers and foliage, with old
European- and old single-cut
diamonds, realized $24,600 (est.
$15,000/20,000).
This Tiffany & Co. Art Deco
platinum, ruby, and diamond
7" long bracelet, with an
approximate total diamond
weight of 5.60 carats,
sold for $20,910 (est.
$10,000/15,000).
Set throughout with old
European-cut diamonds with
an approximate total weight of
10.50 carats, this 7" long Art Deco
platinum and diamond bracelet sold
for $17,220 (est. $15,000/20,000).
This circa 1926 Art Deco 17" long
platinum, black opal, diamond, and seed
pearl necklace was among the top lots of
the auction. It is composed of a delicate
platinum and seed pearl chain with bezel-set
opals and foliate old European-cut diamond
melee links suspending a 4½" long opal
pendant drop. A note in the Skinner catalog
said, “According to family history, this necklace
was given by Ludlow Griscom (1890-1959) to his
bride Edith Sloan on their wedding day in 1926.
Griscom was known as ‘Dean of the Birdwatchers’
for his pioneering work in field ornithology. He
was the first proponent of watching birds as a
sport, and once hosted President Franklin D.
Roosevelt on a bird-watching trip in New York.”
The necklace sold well above its estimate
for $50,430 (est. $8000/12,000).
The pair of 2¾" long platinum, diamond, and ruby dress
clips seenabove, fromthe 1940s, has anapproximate total
diamond weight of 8.00 carats. Each designed as a floral
bouquet with circular-cut rubies and baguette- and full-
cut diamonds, the pair sold along with two gold frames
for brooch conversion (one shown below) for $15,990
(est. $6000/8000).