DALLAS, TX.- More than 600 bidders vied for just 125 lots Tuesday evening when Heritage Auctions presented The Susan Morrow Legacy Foundation Collection, led by a stunning Van Cleef & Arpels Zip necklace that sold for $507,000.

Proceeds from the auction, which realized a total of $1,723,350 — nearly $800,000 more than the event’s low pre-auction estimate — will benefit the Susan Morrow Legacy Foundation for ovarian cancer research. Susan, a longtime collector of fine jewelry and luxury handbags, lost her two-year battle with ovarian cancer last September. Before she died, she asked her husband, Ron, to sell her collections, including the third-largest Judith Leiber assemblage in the world, to fund their family’s foundation.

“She wanted to make sure that the things she loved would be used to help other people,” Ron said before the auction.

Susan’s wish came true Dec. 4 when bidders from around the world vied for her beloved collections, which achieved a remarkable 100 percent sell-through rate. Leading the way was a necklace Heritage’s Director of Fine Jewelry Ana Wroblaski calls “the epitome of innovation, imagination and inspiration.” Encrusted with approximately 13.00 carats of round, square and emerald-cut sapphires and 6.10 carats of diamonds, the 18k white gold Zip necklace by Van Cleef & Arpels that sold for $507,000, far exceeding its $150,000-$200,000 pre-auction estimate, is a modernized, sleeker version of the original created in 1950.

“The necklace was inspired by the Duchess of Windsor, who was intrigued by the invention of the zipper,” Wroblaski says. “It took almost 12 years for Van Cleef & Arpels to create the working Zip. This stunning iteration has a much more tapered and streamlined silhouette.”

Other precious jewels that performed well Tuesday include a clover leaf-inspired Van Cleef & Arpels Magic Alhambra necklace that realized $125,000. The necklace, which more than doubled its high pre-auction estimate of $60,000, features 488 diamonds weighing a total of 16.93 carats. Other standouts were a 6.25-carat Graff diamond and platinum ring that sold for $115,625, a 6.11-carat yellow diamond ring that realized $81,250, a diamond and 18k white gold Van Cleef & Arpels Pont des Amoureux — or Lovers Bridge — watch that realized $78,125 and a Van Cleef & Arpels Liane necklace that sold for $68,750.

Susan’s impressive assemblage of crystal-studded Judith Leiber minaudières also performed exceptionally well during the auction. The eye-catching pieces of wearable art, each of which takes up to two years and 20 artisans to handcraft, included two minaudières that broke a record for highest price achieved at auction from a non-celebrity estate. Bested only by pieces from the collection of Elizabeth Taylor, Susan’s Turtle minaudière and Lion Astor minaudière each sold for $11,875.

Several other Judith Leiber minaudières also set a record for highest prices achieved at auction for their respective styles: a Scallop Clam Shell minaudière that realized $8,750, a Polar Bear minaudière and pillbox that sold for $8,125 and a Wildcat Snow Leopard minaudière that sold for $8,125.

The auction’s $1.72 million result was also the highest result ever achieved by Heritage Auctions’ Luxury Accessories category for a single-owner sale.

“This auction was a wonderful collaboration between Heritage’s Luxury Accessories and Fine Jewelry departments,” says Diane D’Amato, Heritage Auctions’ Director of Luxury Accessories, Private Sales & The Boutique. “And it was for a wonderful cause. We applaud the Morrow family for their dedication to funding ovarian cancer research, and we are honored to be a part of their admirable efforts.”