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Elizabeth Taylor’s Diamond Bracelet Outshines Estimate at U.K. Auction
The auction also featured the sale of a Cartier necklace made when Egyptomania was sweeping Great Britain.
This yellow diamond line bracelet (left), which Michael Jackson gifted to Elizabeth Taylor, sold for $147,480 at Woolley & Wallis’ recent jewelry sale, while the Cartier necklace seen at right sold for $85,218. (Photos courtesy of Woolley & Wallis).
Salisbury, England—A diamond line bracelet that once belonged to Elizabeth Taylor, gifted to her by Michael Jackson, sold for £118,750 ($147,480) Thursday at a jewelry auction in the United Kingdom.
Auction house Woolley & Wallis said the piece, which was estimated to sell for £50,000 to £70,000 (approximately $61,000-$86,000), attracted competitive bidding both on the phones and online, ultimately going to a phone bidder.
Said to be one of the Oscar-winning actress’ favorite pieces, the bracelet features 27 graduated step-cut yellow diamonds.
“It was a strong sale, and we are delighted that many pieces exceeded their higher estimates, demonstrating that high quality jewelry is still in demand and the market is buoyant,” said Marielle Whiting, jewelry specialist at Woolley & Wallis.
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Auction house Woolley & Wallis said the piece, which was estimated to sell for £50,000 to £70,000 (approximately $61,000-$86,000), attracted competitive bidding both on the phones and online, ultimately going to a phone bidder.
Said to be one of the Oscar-winning actress’ favorite pieces, the bracelet features 27 graduated step-cut yellow diamonds.
“It was a strong sale, and we are delighted that many pieces exceeded their higher estimates, demonstrating that high quality jewelry is still in demand and the market is buoyant,” said Marielle Whiting, jewelry specialist at Woolley & Wallis.
Also featured in the sale was an Art Deco necklace from a limited-edition Cartier collection of Egyptian Revival pieces.
The piece, featuring rubies and diamonds, sold for £68,750 ($85,218), more than twice its highest pre-sale estimate of £30,000 (approximately $37,189).
The necklace was rediscovered after being privately owned for a century.
The Cartier necklace features a pendant pavé set with circular-cut diamonds holding an abstract floral arrangement of cabochon rubies mounted in platinum and gold. It hangs from a chain of black onyx beads.
In their research, specialists from Woolley & Wallis matched the pendant to a Cartier necklace from a 1920s print ad for the special collection.
The jeweler had created the pieces in reaction to the wave of Egyptomania sweeping Great Britain at that time, the auction house said.
Two years earlier, British archaeologist Howard Carter had discovered of the tomb of Tutankhamun, the famous ancient Egyptian pharaoh better known as King Tut, inspiring interest in Ancient Egypt.
The ad ran alongside information about the discovery in a January 1924 edition of The Illustrated London News.
The specialists confirmed the necklace bore the same Cartier Londres signature and a similar number sequence (S.L7352) as two other pieces from the same ad that went up for auction in New York in 2013 (S.L7358 and S.L7353).
In the ad, the necklace features an Egyptian faience figurine of Nefertem. The distinctive U-shaped base with hooked motifs at each side was designed to resemble the silhouette of the beaded usekh necklaces that adorn mummies and sarcophagi, the auction house said.
While the pendant in the ad shows the necklace set with a figurine of Nefertem, the one offered at the U.K. auction features an abstract floral arrangement.
There are many reasons Cartier may have changed it, the auction house said, but it could have been an effort to tone down the Egyptian influence as desire for the style dissipated.
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