A 36 Million Dollar Pearl?
What Do You and Marie Antoinette Have in Common?
It is truly amazing the kind of prices that rare jewelry can fetch, especially when the name Marie Antoinette is attached to it. This 18th century pearl and diamond pendant, which once belonged to the notorious French queen, recently sold at Sotheby's in Geneva for $36 million, setting a new record for a natural pearl.
"No other queen is more famous for her love of jewels, and her personal treasures, pearls and diamonds that survived intact the tumults of history," said Sotheby's chairman for jewelry in Europe, Daniela Mascetti. And while I probably wouldn't suggest transforming this pendant, it certainly has inspired me to think about creating a fabulous ring with diamonds and rubies!
The Story Behind an Elegant Transformation
This gorgeous five-row coral bracelet with its center rose gold clasp set with orange sapphires and pink rubellite began life as a rather tired two-row coral bead necklace. Together with my client, we created something elegant and unexpected. This is how it happened: Marie B. came to see me at my Fifth Avenue office. She had been thinking for some time about what to do with a coral necklace her aunt had given her many years before.
Marie and I discussed various ways to reimagine the necklace. I arranged for my jewelry sketcher Michelle to be present since I like to visualize concepts through drawings. Eventually, we settled on something a little radical, but timeless: transforming the outdated necklace into a fabulous bracelet.
Once that was decided, we discussed the different options based on style and budget. I submitted a color rendering of the design to Marie. She loved it, but opted instead for sapphires in the orange/pink family, rather than the green one from the sketch. The rose gold clasp was handmade under my supervision in my Manhattan studio.
In reimagining the necklace, we had created something vibrant and new, while also incorporating the elegance of the past and honoring the family tradition of passing down jewelry from one generation to the next. C'est parfait!
Let's Collaborate
Please contact me at 212-575-8886 for a free consultation so we can reimagine some of your jewellery, paying homage to the past while creating something chic and very now.
Best,
- Yves Ringler