Royal Jewels
Queen Mary was one of the great royal jewel collectors, and pieces with her name still draw buyers worldwide.
View the auction at Phillips ↗
Queen Mary as a collector
Queen Mary, consort of George V, built one of the most important royal jewel collections of the twentieth century, buying from families who had lost their fortunes and commissioning pieces of her own. Jewels that pass out of the royal collection are rare at auction, and a documented link to her is a strong selling point. Phillips lists the necklace as formerly in the collection of Mary, Queen of the United Kingdom.
The rest of the sale
Phillips' highlights also include a diamond 'Feuille de platane' brooch by René Boivin of about 1948, a pair of Harry Winston emerald and diamond earrings with Colombian stones of 9.67 and 10.29 ct, a sapphire and diamond ring with a 16.40 ct Kashmir sapphire, and an emerald and diamond bracelet by René Lalique. Before Geneva the highlights toured Hong Kong, New York, Singapore, Paris, London and Taipei; they were on view at Phillips, 30 Berkeley Square, from 22 to 24 October.
A royal name adds value only when the paperwork proves it.
Pearls then and now
By the late 1920s cultured pearls had become widely available and were set in fine diamond jewellery by leading houses. Today a strand is judged on lustre, matching, size and surface, and on the clasp, which on period pieces is often a jewel in its own right.
If you own a pearl or period necklace
Keep any box, receipt or family letter: provenance is only as good as the evidence for it. Do not restring a period necklace before it has been seen. Send us photographs of the strand and the clasp for a free valuation.
View the auction at Phillips ↗
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