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AuctionsJul 20, 2016
Christie’s to Auction Jewelry Owned by the Reagans
Among the lots are a Bulgari ring designed to look like the American flag and a Van Cleef & Arpels suite Nancy Reagan wore on a state visit to the U.K. in 1988.
This 18-karat gold and diamond lion suite from Van Cleef & Arpels is predicted to top the jewelry sales at Christie’s upcoming auction of the late Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
New York--Christie’s will bring some American history into the spotlight this fall when it puts the estate of a former president and first lady up for auction.
On Sept. 21 and 22 in New York, the auction house will offer The Private Collection of President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan to coincide with its “Americana Week” sales series.
Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States, serving from 1981 to 1989. He died in 2004 at the age of 93. His wife, Nancy, died earlier this year at 94.
The Christie’s sale of their estate includes a number of pieces of jewelry.
Expected to lead the jewelry sales is a Van Cleef & Arpels suite--a diamond and gold lion pendant-brooch necklace and an accompanying diamond and gold lion ear clips that the First Lady wore on a state visit to the U.K. in 1988.
The Reagan sale also encompasses furniture, decorative works of art, books, memorabilia, paintings, drawings and prints from their home in Los Angeles.
The collection will be sold in both live and online auctions. Estimates on individual items range from $1,000 to $50,000, and the sales are expected to realize more than $2 million in total.
This 18-karat gold, platinum and diamond Bulgari bracelet was worn by Nancy Reagan at state dinners. It is expected to sell for between $5,000 and $7,000.
A Bulgari ring, octagonal in shape and set with square-cut sapphires, rubies and diamonds in an American flag motif, could garner up to $8,000. It was worn by Nancy Reagan on July 4, 1986, on board the USS Iowa for Liberty Weekend, the celebration of the restoration and centenary of the Statue of Liberty in New York City.
Each of the ear clips in this Van Cleef & Arpels pair was designed as an 18-karat gold lion’s head with circular-cut diamond eyes and a suspended textured gold hoop. Worn by Nancy Reagan during a visit with Margaret Thatcher in 1988, they could go for between $15,000 and $20,000.
The matching Van Cleef lion pendant-brooch necklace with 18-karat gold and diamonds, worn on the same occasion, is expected to sell in the range of $30,000 and $50,000.
Other notable items in the sale include personal mementos with exceptional provenance, such as a Tiffany American Marine Chronometer given as an inauguration gift from Frank Sinatra and his wife that could sell for up to $10,000, and a pair of Elizabeth II silver beakers from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her husband, Denis, with an inscription.
The complete catalogue will be available in late summer.
Proceeds from the sale will benefit The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, a nonprofit, non-partisan organization created by Reagan that maintains the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, the Reagan Center for Public Affairs, the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Presidential Learning Center and its Discovery Center, and the Air Force One Pavilion.
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