Scott Reyburn
Bloomberg News Columnist
Jewels that once belonged to the richest woman in England sold for $2.9 million at auction today as collectors buy gems with historical value. A pearl-and-diamond tiara worn by Rothschild heiress Hannah, Countess of Rosebery, sold for 1.2 million pounds with fees. It was estimated at as much as 1.5 million pounds at hammer prices. Her bracelet and brooch sold for 577,250 pounds, beating an estimate of 400,000 pounds at Christie's International in London.
Sellers of diamonds are offering them at auction again as the stones fetch higher prices than those achieved before the 2008 financial crisis.
"The Rothschild connection adds to the value," Duncan Semmens, a director at the London-based jeweler Hancocks, said in an interview before the sale. "Buyers at the top end of the market want quality pieces with a history that can be traced."
The Rosebery pieces have been in an unidentified private collection for more than 130 years. The Countess (1851-1890) was the granddaughter of Nathan Mayer Rothschild, the founder of the English branch of the banking business. The Christie's sale totaled 7.5 million pounds from 286 lots, 74 percent of which were successful.
Bidding was selective for modern jewelry with unidentified provenances at a Phillips de Pury & Co. sale last night. The auction raised 1.6 million pounds with fees against an upper estimate of 12.2 million pounds with 32 percent of the 370 lots finding buyers.
The auction coincides with a week of Russian-art sales in London -- Phillips was acquired by the Moscow-based luxury retail company Mercury Group in 2008.
Claridge's Shop
It was the first of two events that Phillips plans to hold each year at Claridge's, a five-star hotel in London's Mayfair.
"It is the first jewels sale after several years in London and we are very pleased with the set-up and structure at Claridge's, which we aim to build on as we knew the return to the jewels market would take time to develop," Giulia Constantini, Phillips's head of communications, said in an e- mail after the event.
The New York- and London-based auction house has leased a 750-square-foot (69 square meter) retail space behind a shop front by the Art Deco hotel's Brook Street entrance.
Finn Schouenborg Dombernowsky, Phillips's European managing director, wouldn't specify the lease's length or cost. The space will alternate between auction previews and selling displays of contemporary design.