Christie’s to Auction Copper Heiresses’ Art Deco Jewelry Estate

A 9-carat cushion-cut fancy vivid purplish pink diamond from the estate estimated at $6-$8 million Photo: Christie’s

(IDEX Online News) – Christie’s New York is to auction the estate of Copper heiress Huguette M. Clark on April 17. While the jewelry itself, which include signed jewels by Cartier, Dreicer & Co. and Tiffany, would be enough to get any collector excited, what makes the sale extra special is that the collection is believed to have been stored in a bank vault since the 1940s.

The complete collection of 17 jewels is expected to fetch $9-$12 million when it comes up for sale. The estate includes a rare 9-carat cushion-cut fancy vivid purplish pink diamond ring mounted in a Belle Époque setting by the French jeweler Dreicer & Co. It is estimated at $6-$8 million. Based on the date of the stone’s setting – circa 1910 - the ring is believed to have originally belonged to Clark’s mother, the former Anna Eugenia La Chapelle.

Huguette Clark’s collection also features an exceptional colorless, 19.86-carat diamond ring by Cartier, estimated to sell at $2-$3 million. The GIA certified the diamond a D color and with potentially internally flawless clarity and was discovered in its original Cartier box from the 1920s.

The collection also includes an array of signed jewels by the finest makers of the Art Deco era, including an intricately detailed diamond bracelet by Cartier circa 1925 (estimate: $300,000-$500,000) and a diamond and multi-gem charm bracelet by Cartier circa 1925 (estimate: $20,000-30,000).

Another item is a ruby, sapphire, emerald and gold bracelet possibly designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, of Tiffany & Co. circa 1915 (estimate: $30,000-50,000). 

“In the world of fine jewelry, this is truly a fairytale collection,” says Rahul Kadakia, Head of Jewelry for Christie’s Americas. “The iconic Art Deco design and exceptional craftsmanship of these meticulously preserved jewels are emblematic of the great Gilded Age in American history.”

Born in Paris in 1906, Huguette Clark was the seventh and youngest child of Gilded Age industrialist William A. Clark, who at the time was one of the richest men in America, with a fortune said to have rivaled that of the Rockefellers.