Bonhams Paris Fine Jewelry Sale Features 182 Lots in March

An 18k gold necklace set with step-cut emeralds and rose- and old brilliant-cut diamonds, catalogued as property of a Greek princess and estimated at $17,000 to $23,000, is among the more quietly striking lots at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr's Fine Jewellery Paris sale on March 19. It is the kind of piece that reminds you provenance is its own gemstone.

The 182-lot live sale opens at 2 p.m. Paris time at the auction house's Avenue Hoche address, with a catalogue that spans Art Deco antiques, signed maison jewels, and a collection of colored stones that Marine Girardet, Bonhams' Head of Jewellery in France, described as exceptional in scope. "The forthcoming sale offers a remarkable selection of jewels, many sourced from private collections," Girardet said in a statement. "The lots highlight exceptional craftsmanship across eras, from antique and art deco masterpieces to contemporary designs, featuring an abundance of colorful gemstones, including a significant collection of emeralds and playful, vibrant creations."

Leading the sale by estimate is an articulating diamond necklace composed of a series of links each set with old brilliant-cut diamonds. Jewellery Outlook lists it at €60,000 to €70,000, while Rapaport puts the upper end at €80,000, equivalent to roughly $92,937. The difference across sources may reflect pre-sale catalogue revisions; the Bonhams lot page should be treated as definitive.

Among the colored stone highlights, a Sri Lankan oval-cut sapphire weighing 25.56 carats, set within a brilliant-cut diamond surround, carries an estimate of €25,000 to €35,000. A 16.82-carat Colombian emerald, also ring-mounted with a diamond surround, is flagged by JCK as a notable colored stone lot, though no estimate has been separately confirmed for that piece across the sources reviewed.

Signed maison work appears throughout the catalogue. A pair of Graff drop earrings set with two rectangular cut-cornered fancy yellow diamonds, each weighing just over 3 carats, is estimated at $46,000 to $69,000. A Van Cleef & Arpels brooch designed as a bow carries an upper estimate of €40,000, or approximately $46,468. Signed pieces from Cartier, Boucheron, Bulgari, Chaumet, Tiffany & Co., and Buccellati are also represented across the 182 lots.

One of the more covetable vintage lots is a circa 1980 Bulgari "sprung" bracelet set with pink and green tourmalines, amethysts, blue topaz, and citrine cabochons, estimated at $14,000 to $21,000. Girardet called it "a modern piece poised to captivate collectors worldwide." At the antique end of the spectrum, a 19th-century hinged snake bangle with ruby eyes and rose-cut diamonds set on a blue guilloché enamel body could achieve up to $8,000.

The breadth of the sale, from a sub-$10,000 Victorian serpent bangle to a six-figure articulating diamond necklace, reflects how deliberately Bonhams has constructed a Paris offering that courts both established collectors and buyers acquiring their first signed piece. The Greek princess collection, in particular, adds the kind of layered biography to individual lots that no amount of gemological certification can replicate on its own.