Concluding a transformative year for the auction world and the jewellery market, Sotheby’s London Fine Jewels Online sale (10-17 December) showcases a selection of fascinating heirlooms, steeped in the stories and legends of their custodians.
At the core of the sale is a spectacular group of jewels from the collection of Flora Sassoon (1856-1936), charting the epic history of the Sassoon dynasty through the centuries and across continents, from Iraq and India to China and England.
Picture courtesy of Sotheby’s
Further highlights include a gem-set, pearl and diamond necklace, circa 1800, that belonged to Emma Hamilton (1765-1815), Admiral Nelson’s famous lover and one of the greatest celebrities of her time, and an early 19th-century amethyst and diamond necklace, gifted by Alexander I (1777-1825) to a German Countess and reminiscent of the opulence of Tsarist Russia.
