Bonhams: the Van Cleef & Arpels jewellery hunt

Vintage jewellery lovers will not have missed the news of the exceptional Bonhams auction held at the end of September where several items, all highly coveted by collectors and fine jewellery enthusiasts, were sold at the bidding.

These include a series of jewellery items by Van Cleef & Arpels which all feature a generous use of rubies. These items are part of a collection purchased around 1990 which includes a ruby and diamond bracelet made with the Maison’s patented Mystery Set technique. The bracelet contains 177 perfectly matched rubies, each one cut and set without spaces or claws.

Another strong point of this auction were the sapphires mounted on two rings. To be more precise, the first was set with an oval, 5.16 carat sapphire flanked by two brilliant cut diamonds, while the second had a 4.46 carat sapphire and diamonds, dated at about 1900. These two extraordinary sapphires come from Kashmir.