Christie's France to Offer Select Vintage Jewels from Legendary Jewellers

From 21 June to 5 July, Christie's France Jewellery Department will offer a selection of vintage pieces by the great names in jewellery including Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Boivin, Boucheron, Bulgari and David Webb among others. Collectors will have online access to over 270 lots, which compete in finesse, craftsmanship and history, with estimates ranging from €1,000 to €420,000.

The sale will open with a selection of 19th and early 20th century jewellery, including a beautiful "Dragonfly" brooch by René Lalique, one of the leading exponents of Art Nouveau, estimated at €30,000-50,000. In 2019, collectors showed interest in these historic and poetic pieces, acquiring a necklace with such a dragonfly for €72,500, and a magnificent gousset watch sold for €93,500, tripling its initial estimate.

The Jewellery Department is thrilled to offer a unique and rare piece, the flagship lot of the sale, a necklace by Jean Fouquet made in 1925, which had been lost since its creation (ill.on front page). This is a museum-quality piece that will appeal to collectors and jewellery enthusiasts worldwide. This necklace represents the finest example of the creation of modernist jewellery influenced by the artistic movement of the UAM (The French Union of Modern Artists) of which the Fouquet family was a member. It was also the year in which Jean Fouquet received the prize at the 1925 Exhibition of Decorative and Industrial Arts, which was so important for the Art Deco period. He symbolises the transition from fine jewellery to sculptural jewellery, juxtaposing geometric shapes. Here he uses white gold and silver, creating a dialogue between flat and chiselled surfaces, the striated disc of the necklace evoking the work of the painter Fernand Léger, Les disques de la ville (1918). The stones are now imposing, such as the aquamarine chosen here for its weight and shape.

Another fine illustration of the Art Deco period in jewellery is a rare and delicate Jabot pin by Cartier set with Colombian emeralds and diamonds, estimated at €30,000-40,000 (ill.above). Also from Cartier, the Jewellery department is pleased to offer two lovely brooches, colourful and refined creations from the famous Tutti Frutti collection. They should easily find buyers, the demand being very high for these pieces made to order and only when the number of beautiful stones could be gathered, like this brooch which offers a real show of colours, composed of sapphires, emeralds, rubies and diamonds, estimated at 30,000-40,000€. Another colourful creation is this sumptuous Cartier bracelet made of sapphires, turquoise, lapis lazuli and diamonds, estimated at 40,000-80,000€.