CHICAGO, IL.- Hindman will present its December 6 Important Jewelry auction, which will feature an array of important diamonds, rare colored stones and incredible jewelry from estates throughout the country. Included in the sale will be single-owner sessions from The Estate of Marguerite Hark of Chicago, The Estate of Linda O’Neil Porteous, and the historically significant Collection of Ernest and Ella Brummer alongside property from various private collections.

“This auction showcases an array of important jewelry, spanning centuries of jewelry history with a little something for everyone,” said April Matteini, Hindman’s Associate Director and Senior Specialist of Jewelry & Watches. “Each of the three single owner sections demonstrates thoughtful collecting across very different periods and preferences, giving the sale a delightful variety of exceptional pieces.”

Jewelry from an Adventurous Woman

Marguerite Hark was a giving woman in every sense of the word. She was a patron of many organizations throughout Chicago and beyond. She supported cultural institutions, hospitals, social service organizations, and non-profits dedicated to the furry and feathered friends in the natural world which she so cherished. She was an active member of the Service Club of Chicago for 67 years, a proud member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, and a generous supporter of Rush University Medical Center where her late husband, Dr. William A. Hark, practiced orthopedic medicine.

Hark also had an extraordinary passion for life. Nothing put a smile on her face more than making new friends or sharing a meal with old ones in beautiful new locations. She loved travelling, going on thrilling adventures to exotic locations around the globe even into her eighties. The jewelry offered in the auction represents the pieces she collected throughout her world travels and that caught her eye in her beloved Chicago.

Important and Rare




Headlining the auction are a selection of six important and rare gemstone and diamond pieces that are each estimated to reach six figures. Leading the group is an important Kashmir, unheated sapphire and diamond ring (lot 275; estimate: $300,000 - $500,000) from the Estate of Marguerite Hark. Having one cushion shape sapphire weighing approximately 8.90 carats, set in a Spaulding & Co. mounting. The firm, established in Chicago in the late 19th century is renowned for producing beautiful and refined jewelry of the highest quality.

The other top lots include:

• Lot 116 | An Important Diamond Ring, containing one emerald cut 4.45 carat diamond, D / VVS1 with letter stating diamond is Type IIa, Property from the Estate of Mary Jane Guth, Lake Forest, Illinois. Estimate: $200,000 - $300,000

• Lot 216 | An Important Diamond Ring, containing one emerald cut 10.05 carat , G / VVS1 from the Collection of a Lady, Atlanta, GA. Estimate: $200,000 - $300,000

• Lot 236 | A Harry Winston Diamond Ring, containing one brilliant cut 4.12 carat diamond from the Estate of Dorothy M. Press. Estimate: $150,000 - $250,000

• Lot 250 | An Unheated Burmese Ruby and Diamond Ring, containing one cushion cut ruby weighing approximately 5.70 carats from the Estate of Marguerite Hark. Estimate: $120,000 - $180,000

• Lot 117 | Van Cleef & Arpels, Ruby and Diamond ‘Mystery Set’ Flower Brooch from the estate of Dorothy M. Press. Estimate: $100,000 - $200,000

Unique Pieces of History for the Jewelry Connoisseur

Hindman is privileged to offer thirteen Renaissance through revival-style jewels and objects from the storied Ernest and Ella Brummer Collection. Ernest Brummer was a renowned art dealer who, along with his brother Joseph, founded the historically significant Brummer Galleries, which held a paramount importance in both New York and Paris during the early to mid-20th century. The galleries played a pivotal role in shaping the tastes and collections of art enthusiasts and museums alike. With locations in two of the world's artistic hubs, the Brummer Galleries became vital conduits for introducing European art to American audiences and vice versa.

The selection offers a rare opportunity for collectors to get their hands on not just beautiful, but historically significant pieces generally found behind museum glass. Among the many highlights is a Renaissance multigem and enamel pendant hand wrought from gold centuries ago (lot 20; estimate: $3,000 - $5,000) and a brooch in three-dimensional polychrome enamel depicting a pelican feeding her young (lot 26; estimate: $2,000 - $4,000). Symbolizing self-sacrifice, the Pelican and her Piety, is well known from its depiction in the sixteenth century portrait of Queen Elizabeth I; known as the Pelican Portrait, for the Queen’s pelican and her piety pendant.