Ruby and diamond necklace and a brooch, circa 1935
The necklace set with variously shaped rubies, highlighted with baguette diamonds, the geometric side clasps set with circular-cut and baguette diamonds, length approximately 440mm, French assay and partial maker's marks, separates into two segments, together with a brooch; the brooch could be worn as a pendant at the back of the necklace, one ruby in the brooch synthetic.
Accompanied by a gemmological report.
Provenance: This necklace and brooch are mentioned in a 1943 insurance valuation by Chaumet and have remained in the family ever since.
Bibliography: Cf.: The Magnificent Jewels of Hélène Beaumont, Sotheby's Geneva, 18 May 1994, lot 523.
Cf.: The Jewels of the Duchess of Windsor, Sotheby's Geneva, 2-3 April 1987, lot 88, for the illustration of the ruby and diamond necklace by Van Cleef & Arpels in its present form by Renée-Sim Lacaze in 1939.
Cf.: Evelyne Possémé, Van Cleef & Arpels, The Art of High Jewellery, Paris, 2012, pgs. 100 - 101 for other examples of 1930s ruby necklaces.
Note: This magnificent ruby and diamond necklace could be compared to two remarkable necklaces, both made by Van Cleef & Arpels in the 1930s.
One was commissioned in 1936 by the Duke of Windsor, then King Edward VIII, from Van Cleef & Arpels and offered as a gift to Mrs. Simpson on her fortieth birthday, 19 June 1936. The first version of this necklace, which was later altered, consisted of a triple festoon of rubies with diamond set motifs at the sides. The Duchess of Windsor, was photographed by Cecil Beaton in 1937 wearing the ruby and diamond necklace in its original form, as illustrated above.
The Duchess of Windsor by Cecil Beaton © The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby’s
The other necklace, also by Van Cleef & Arpels, was part of the collection of Hélène Beaumont, and was offered at auction at Sotheby's Geneva in May 1994 (lot 523, illustrated to the left). Three rows of rubies at the centre are highlighted with diamond baguettes, similar to the piece offered in this sale.
Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, Genève, 15 nov. 2017, 10:30 AM