DALLAS, TX.- Diamonds have long been revered for their strength and beauty. Fittingly, the same could be said for
Heritage’s Fine Jewelry auctions. The company’s May 6 Spring Fine Jewelry Signature® Auction is especially strong, featuring a bounty of big, beautiful diamonds.
“We have the greatest number of 5.00-carat — and larger — diamonds that we’ve ever brought to auction in a single sale,” says Jill Burgum, Heritage’s Executive Director of Fine Jewelry. “There is a shape for every taste and enough sparkle to light up a room.”
Among the standouts is a 5.01-carat flawless, colorless Type IIa oval-shaped diamond set atop an 18k gold ring. Less than 2 percent of diamonds are classified as Type IIa, making this gem among the rarest diamonds on the planet. Type IIa diamonds are also the most chemically pure diamonds known to exist. “It doesn’t get much better than this,” Burgum says. “This diamond is an exceptional example of perfection — the best color, the best clarity and a Type IIa. It is beyond rare.”
Other stunners in the sale include a show-stopping 8.54-carat marquise-shaped diamond in a classic white gold mounting; an exquisite platinum ring with a 5.00-carat emerald-cut diamond centerpiece flanked by trapezoid-shaped diamonds weighing a total of approximately 2.00 carats; a 5.03-carat round brilliant-cut diamond and white gold ring; a 5.49-carat pear-shaped diamond and platinum ring; and a 5.53-carat cushion-shaped diamond and 18k white gold ring.
Apropos of the season, nature’s beauty is also on display in the spring auction’s wonderful assortment of colored gemstones. Leading the pack is a divine cushion-shaped sapphire from the storied mines of Burma. The 17.61-carat untreated stone is set on an 18k white gold ring and surrounded by approximately 5.70 carats of emeralds and approximately 2.35 carats of diamonds. Many sapphires on the market have been treated with heat to alter their color and clarity, but this stone remains in its original unaltered state. “It’s incredibly rare to find a sapphire of this size with origin and no treatment,” Burgum says. “I cannot overstate the appeal of this gorgeous stone.”
The auction features another big and bold sapphire, this one in the form of a 24.73-carat Ceylon yellow sapphire, diamond and platinum ring. The centerpiece stone, which is flanked by approximately 2.00 carats of twinkling diamond accents, hails from Sri Lanka and has not been treated with heat. Other exceptional colored gemstones on offer include a 7.67-carat oval-shaped Colombian emerald, diamond and platinum-topped gold ring; a 1.01-carat unmounted no-heat Burma ruby; and a 2.95-carat unmounted and untreated Colombian emerald.
The auction also features a delightful single-owner assemblage of animal-inspired jewels from David Webb’s legendary Kingdom collection. Known for his bold and sculptural designs, Webb introduced his first animal bracelet in 1957, and the world was soon obsessed with his bejeweled and enameled pets. The Hollywood set was especially fond of Webb’s Animal Kingdom, with the likes of Elizabeth Taylor donning his creations on and off set. Highlights from the menagerie include brooches in the shape of an elegant leopard, a fierce tiger, a whimsical beaver, a playful gypsy monkey and, of course, Webb’s signature zebra — the jeweler’s longtime mascot.
David Webb’s well-heeled fans aren’t the only celebrity connections in this auction. Among the star-studded lots is a compact gifted to Carole Lombard by husband Clark Gable. Set in platinum with floral and bow motifs and encrusted with diamonds, rubies, sapphires and demantoid garnets, the exquisite Paul Flato-designed piece is a dazzling emblem of the Hollywood couple’s Golden Age love story, which began during the filming of 1932’s No Man of Her Own and ended tragically when Lombard was killed in a plane crash in 1942 at just 33 years old. The compact’s delicate inscription “LG” forever entwines Lombard and Gable, and its impeccable craftsmanship reflects the grandeur of a bygone era.
Jewels from the Collection of Mitzi Gaynor also make an appearance in the auction, including a beloved pair of circa 1950 diamond, platinum and white gold earrings. The actress, singer and dancer received the jewels as a gift from billionaire businessman Howard Hughes during the couple’s brief but glittering romance in the early 1950s. The earrings’ timeless elegance is evident from their well-documented moments in the spotlight. Over the decades, Gaynor has worn the glamorous pair during a performance with Bob Hope on The Jack Benny Hour in 1959, during appearances at the Cannes Film Festival in 1958 and at the 33rd Academy Awards in 1961, and, most recently, during a 2019 CBS Sunday Morning interview with Mo Rocca.
Another of the auction’s wonderful single-owner collections belonged to a woman whose name might not hold celebrity status but whose remarkable life and many contributions to American history and the arts community of El Paso, Texas, make her deserving of the limelight nonetheless. During the tumultuous times of World War II, Betty Jo Graham worked on the Cessna AT-17 training program, a crucial effort in preparing pilots for combat. Later, in 1956, she worked as an electrical wiring diagram analyst for Boeing Engineering Development on the iconic Enola Gay project.
After traveling the globe and living in cities across the country, Graham and her husband, Robert Morris Graham Sr., eventually settled in El Paso, where she served as a trustee of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and a board member of the El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestra and El Paso Pro-Musica. Though Graham had a lifelong passion for music and played a pivotal role in nurturing the musical landscape of her community, her philanthropy extended to various causes, including the El Paso Opera, El Paso Holocaust Museum and El Paso Museum of Art, showcasing her belief in the power of art and culture.
A patron of the arts, Graham was also a collector of fine jewelry, with a particular fondness for eye-catching, statement-making rings, necklaces, earrings and more, and Heritage is honored to present Property from the Estate of Mrs. Betty Jo “B.J.” Graham as part of its Spring Fine Jewelry Signature® Auction.
Highlights from Graham’s collection include an 18k gold ring featuring three pear-shaped yellow diamonds weighing a total of 10.35 carats, as well as a diamond, platinum and 18k gold ring with a 4.15-carat pear-shaped diamond as its sparkling centerpiece. The collection also features an impressive assortment of jewels by the prominent Brazilian jeweler and colored gemstone specialist Amsterdam Sauer. Among the Amsterdam Sauer standouts are an opulent 18k gold necklace bursting with amethysts, emeralds, aquamarines, yellow topazes, rubellite tourmalines, black onyx tablets and 15.65 carats of diamonds and a pair of 18k gold earrings featuring dazzlingly bright rubellite tourmalines surrounded by diamonds and accompanied by removable cultured pearl pendants.
