Actress Mary Tyler Moore on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” in the ‘60s, left, and a pair of Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co. “Bone Cuffs” owned by the award-winning actress. Sotheby’s recently sold these and several other pieces of her jewelry across two sales.
New York—Jewelry belonging to actress Mary Tyler Moore was a hit at Sotheby’s online Fine Jewels sale Thursday afternoon.
Sotheby’s has auctioned a total of 21 lots from the late actress this month, with 10 lots being part of the Magnificent Jewels sale on Tuesday, and 11 in Thursday’s online-only Fine Jewels sale.
All 10 of her pieces offered in the Magnificent Jewels sale sold, totaling $315,700, surpassing its high estimate of $232,000.
In the online sale, all 11 lots sold for a total of $115,570, bringing the grand total to more than $430,000.
The top lot belonging to Moore in Fine Jewels was her gold and diamond Audemars Piguet “Royal Oak” watch, which sold for $21,590, soaring past its estimate of $4,000 to $6,000.
Moore's gold and diamond gold and diamond Audemars Piguet “Royal Oak” watch sold for $21,590.
Her gold Cartier “Panthère” watch sold for $12,700, well above its $3,000 to $5,000 estimate.
A platinum diamond ring, weighing 2.4 carats in total, set with three old European- and old mine-cut diamonds, accented with round, single-cut, and baguette diamonds, sold for $15,240, above its $5,000 to $7,000 estimate.
Moore also owned a collection of Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co.’s gold “Mesh” jewelry, gifted to her by her third and last husband, Dr. S. Robert Levine.
Mary Tyler Moore’s collection of gold Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co. jewelry
On the auction block was an open heart pendant necklace, a pair of earrings with bezel-set round diamonds and a “Scarf” necklace, and two pairs of earrings.
The Mesh jewelry sold for $19,050, more than tripling the high end of its estimate of $4,000 to $6,000.
A pair of Moore’s Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co. “Bone Cuffs” in silver, seen at the top of the article, sold for $5,334, more than five times the high end of its pre-sale estimate of $500 to $1,000.
Levine also gave Moore a steel and diamond Jaeger-LeCoultre “Rendez-Vous Classic Night and Day” watch. He gifted this to her because the larger numbers were easier to see as her eyesight worsened due to complications from diabetes.
The watch sold for $9,525, above its estimate of $4,000 to $6,000.
This steel and diamond Jaeger-LeCoultre “Rendez-Vous Classic Night and Day” watch belonging to Moore sold for $9,525.
Proceeds from the 21 pieces will benefit The Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative, a nonprofit that seeks to preserve and restore vision in people with diabetes.
Moore was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1969 when she was 30 years old. She later became an advocate for diabetes research and served as international chair for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
The Fine Jewels sale garnered $7.9 million in total with 81 percent of lots sold.
Its New York jewelry auctions in 2023 have totaled $184.7 million in sales, which is the highest across all auction houses this year, said Sotheby's.
The top lot was a fancy intense yellow-green diamond weighing 2.66 carats, which sold for $254,000, more than six times its pre-sale high estimate of $30,000 to $40,000.
