HONG KONG.- Following last December’s success, Sotheby’s Hong Kong Fine Jewels and Jadeite sale this year will take place on 27 November 2014 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery, featuring an array of coloured and colourless diamonds, gemstones, and beautiful signed jewels highlighted by the iconic Cartier “Tiger” brooch. The sale will also include a charity session featuring 11 lots of whimsical jewels and watches to benefit Operation Smile China Medical Mission#, a charity that provides free surgery to underprivileged children and young adults with cleft lips or palates in China. Including the charity session, the entire sale will offer a total of 180 lots with a total estimate in excess of HK$58 million / US$7.5 million*.

QUEK Chin Yeow, Deputy Chairman, Asia and Chairman, International Jewellery, Asia, says, “Following the success of the inaugural Fine Jewels and Jadeite sale last year, this November Sotheby’s is delighted to present another fun and exciting sale comprising a fine collection of coloured gemstones, diamonds and signature examples of signed jewels from the major jewellery houses. In honour of the charitable spirit of the festive season to come, Sotheby’s is once again pleased to feature a charity session to benefit Operation Smile China Medical Mission, which has changed over 26,000 smiles and lives by providing free surgery to underprivileged children with cleft lips or palate in China. By offering an excellent opportunity to acquire jewellery for the festive season we also invite our clients to join us in contributing to the transformation of these children’s lives and be their reason to smile.”

Highlights of the sale:

A Yellow Diamond, Diamond, Onyx and Emerald “Tiger” Clip- Brooch, Cartier Est. HK$1.2 – 1.6 million / US$150,000 – 200,000
Inspired by the brand’s director of haute joaillerie Jeanne Toussaint, Cartier’s portrayal of the tiger is a timeless classic, highly sought after by style icons and jewellery collectors, in particular Barbara Hutton - Woolworth heiress, renowned jewellery collector and original owner of the Hutton-Mdivani Jadeite Necklace which sold for a record-setting US$27.44 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in April 2014. One of the jeweller’s most loyal patrons, Hutton favoured the tiger over the iconic panther, and in 1957 commissioned Cartier to create a three- dimensional “Tiger” clip brooch set in yellow diamonds, striped with onyx, and a pair of earrings to match, which has become a celebrated motif from Cartier’s exquisite “Great Cat Jewels”.

The craftsmanship of this “Tiger” clip brooch, a later version similar to the famous example commissioned by Barbara Hutton, is likewise close to perfection, with piercing emerald eyes and legs and tail articulated to move with the body resting in a composed curl.

A Fine Jadeite and Diamond “Disc” Pendant Necklace Est. HK$1.3 – 1.5 million /US$165,000-190,000
This circular jadeite disc of extremely fine quality is carved as a simplistic circle with a hole in the centre, free from intricate carvings, symbolising the modest wish for a sense of peace. It is believed that this form bears similarity to the ancient ritual object bi (璧), granting its wearer blessings from heaven. The outer and inner circles are also the perfect representation of completeness and wholeness, ideals of supreme importance in Chinese tradition.

• Rare coloured gemstones remain at the forefront of Sotheby’s auctions, and the Fine Jewels and Jadeite auction features several stunning examples:

• A very fine Burmese Ruby and Diamond Necklace, Composed of Unheated “Pigeon’s Blood” Mogok Burmese Rubies totalling over 50 Carats Est. HK$5 – 6 million /US$640,000-770,000

• A fine 4.81-Carat Colombian Emerald and Diamond Ring with No Oil Enhancement Est. HK$1.5 – 1.8 million /US$190,000-230,000

• A fine 4.79-Carat Unheated “Pigeon’s Blood” Mogok Burmese Ruby and Diamond Ring, Cartier Est. HK$2.2 – 2.8 million /US$280,000-360,000

• Unique Pair of Sapphire and Diamond Pendent Earrings Composed of 25.62 Carats of Unheated Burmese Sapphires in a striking Three-Dimensional Articulated Design Est. HK$800,000 – 950,000/US$100,000-120,000