An hourglass full of diamonds

Also: Pattie Boyd's love letters, a wee dog and a brooch I truly covet.

Hi all, I hope you’re well and not, like me, fervently daydreaming about a mid-life career pivot from creative director to truck driver. Fantasizing about long days spent behind the wheel, speaking with exactly NO ONE and answering exactly ZERO emails. I swear to god, if I win that Mega Millions jackpot tonight, I will drop off the face of the earth so quickly you won’t even have time to say “Lord Lucan.” I really should have listened to the high school career test that said the only job suited to my personality was “fire lookout.”

ANYWAY! Jewelry!

I’m going to start off with a piece that has lodged itself in my brain and won’t go away. A few weeks ago, London dealers S.J. Phillips posted this French ruby and diamond brooch on their Instagram. It’s not posted on their website, but I think they must still own it or they would have pulled it off Instagram by now.

Circa 1890, the brooch’s floppy bow design features a long ribbon of cushion-cut rubies with a lacy edge of rose-cut diamonds, all set in gold. One end of the bow is short, while the other drifts down in a long, languid spiral, intertwining with a single strand of rubies that is suspended from the center of the bow and capped with a diamond-accented tassel of additional ruby strands. I particularly love the alternating sizes of the rubies forming the tasseled ribbon, as well as the millegrain texture — that tiny beaded-edge detail added to the settings of the smaller stones.

The brooch is a substantial 5.25” long, and I can only imagine how beautiful and tactile it must be in person. Gah! This is the kind of piece that stops me dead and immediately reasserts my love of antique jewelry, particularly when I’m feeling like a burned-out, jaded husk, lol.

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I realize I’m always showing you guys random decorative stuff like this, but by now you MUST know I’m a complete sucker for beautifully rendered sculptural creatures. This is a 19th century bronze figural tazza — a wide, shallow bowl or cup supported by a stem — made by Jules Moigniez (French, 1835-1894). The centerpiece consists of a fox gazing down into the bowl, which is apparently covered with relief carvings of forest animals (unfortunately we can’t see it because they’ve been skimpy with the pictures).

Supporting the bowl is an absolutely gorgeous vulture perched upon a rocky pedestal, with a base embellished with leaves and berries. The whole thing is set on a slate plinth and measures just under a foot tall. It’s in the online European Decor & Design auction at Bonhams Skinner ending today, and it’s estimated at $700 - $900.

I have a fondness for vultures because they had a habit of congregating on the roof of my last job. Literally like 30+ vultures standing on top of a print publisher. Amazing.

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Another creature — sorry — but look at this gilt and pearl brooch! The natural shape of the baroque pearl inspired a jeweler to create a tiny dog resting in a patterned bed with tassels of green enamel and ruby. It’s not dated, but I think it might be quite old. It’s included in the Freeman’s | Hindman Jewelry Through the Ages: Georgian to Modern auction today and is estimated at $700 - $900, but as of time of writing, it already has 17 bids and is up to $1,600.

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This amethyst, black onyx and diamond bracelet is one of those seductive pieces that feels like it could completely reconstruct the wearer. If I slapped that thing on, would I instantly transform from a potato into a disdainful femme fatale with sleek hair and a bias-cut dress? Absolutely not, but it would be nice to try.

Not much info on the piece other than that it consists of 11 sugarloaf cabochon amethysts, single-cut diamonds and black onyx set in silver and yellow gold. It’s in today’s Jewelry Unlimited auction at Rago in Lambertville, PA, and it has an estimate of $3,000 - $4,000.

Note: Rago is holding an Art Nouveau | Art Deco Glass & Lighting auction the following day, and there are some really beautiful pieces included if that’s your jam.

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This delightful brooch is by New York designers Sophia D and features a pavé-set diamond octopus clinging onto some branch coral, with cabochon sapphire eyes and cultured pearl bubbles. It’s included in the online Spring Fine Jewelry auction ending tomorrow at Skinner Boston, and carries an estimate of $2,000 - $3,000.

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This mid-20th century diamond cocktail watch by Hamilton is notable for having belonged to Pattie Boyd, the model, photographer, muse and former wife of both George Harrison and Eric Clapton. Boyd is selling a collection of photos, letters and mementos from her life in The Pattie Boyd Collection, an online auction ending Friday at Christie’s London, and the whole thing is a pop culture treasure trove for nosy SOBs like myself.

Some of the stuff in the collection is intensely personal, including yearning love letters from Clapton prior to her break from Harrison. Christie’s asked Boyd if parting with these items was a cathartic experience, and she said yes: “I thought, ‘Do I need them? Do I need to keep going into Pandora’s Box?’ I’ve enjoyed them for many, many years, and now it’s time for other people to see and enjoy them. It’s only right I should pass them on.”

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Circa 1870, this ornate little butterfly brooch features wings that have been intricately enameled in blue with a body striped in black enamel. It rests on a floral perch within an oval frame, with seed pearl accents set throughout.

It took me a second look to realize this isn’t just a butterfly brooch, though. There’s actually a portrait miniature hidden beneath the butterfly, and the wings shift to reveal the face! Delightful. It’s in the Jewels Online auction ending at Bonhams London on March 26th; estimate £600 - £800 ($760 - $1,000).

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In case anyone out there is looking to become a cartoon villain, there’s an actual HOURGLASS FULL OF DIAMONDS in the Phillips Watches Online Auction: The Hong Kong Sessions, Spring 2024, also ending on March 26th. Made by DeBeers (no shit) and circa the 2000s, it’s edition 89 out of 500, and it features an engraved silver base with an illuminated silver and blue enamel stand. The hourglass is filled with over 2000 loose diamonds. (Estimate: $5,100 - $10,300.)

Says Phillips: “It would not fail to kindle enormous delight as one watches the shimming diamonds float through the hourglass under the blue light.” *HEAVY SIGH* Alright, let me get my edibles.

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There is sooooooooo much good stuff in the March 27th Fine Jewels auction at Sotheby’s Paris — literally the first lot (a snake’s head necklace with a big natural pearl drop) had me yelling “I WANT THAT” in my head. Other pieces I thought about highlighting include this lovely sugarloaf cabochon sapphire ring, and this Art Nouveau brooch by Georges Fouquet that features three stylized and intertwined crabs.

The piece I’ve settled on is the horn and glass paste necklace above by Elisabeth Bonté. Bonté was the only woman jeweler to emerge from the French Art Nouveau movement of the early 1900s, and she specialized in using carved horn as her primary material. She was greatly inspired by the work of René Lalique, and her designs usually featured natural themes — leaves, flowers, trees etc. — in the form of large pendants suspended on long silk cords.

The necklace above features a carved horn fuchsia flower pendant colored in red and green, with a silk cord embellished with glass paste beads and additional carved horn petals. The piece is finished with a glass drop. It’s around 20” long.

Photos never do Bonté’s work justice — the translucence of the horn has a depth and luminosity that seems impossible to catch on camera. If you ever have a chance to see her jewelry in person, take it.

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That’s it for me tonight! Sorry I’m such a misery boots these days. A number of things are overwhelming me, but I’m so glad you’re all still willing to read this silliness, and I especially want to say a very heartfelt THANK YOU to my paying subscribers for your support. If you weren’t out there, I’m 100% certain I’d have abandoned this newsletter at some point in the past year. I truly appreciate your…um, buttressing.

Oh and one final note — I have not had time to do any research on this wedding, but have you SEEN the EMERALDS on this family?!??!?

Ok bye. M xx