Bonhams Paris Fine Jewellery Sale Features 182 Lots of Antique and Signed Gems

Three days before Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr opens bidding at Avenue Hoche, the 182-lot Fine Jewellery Paris sale is already drawing attention for the depth and range of its catalogue. Spanning mid-19th-century antiques through Art Deco masterpieces to signed contemporary pieces, the 19 March live auction brings together private collection jewels alongside works by eight of the most storied names in high jewellery.

The sale's headline lot is a diamond necklace designed as a series of articulating links set entirely with old brilliant-cut diamonds, estimated at €60,000 to €70,000. The articulating construction, each link engineered to move with the wearer, is a hallmark of the finest 19th-century diamond work, demanding far greater technical precision than a rigid collar. Close behind it is a sapphire and diamond ring carrying a 25.56-carat oval-cut sapphire of Sri Lankan origin, set within a brilliant-cut diamond surround and estimated at €25,000 to €35,000. At that weight, an unheated Sri Lankan sapphire of fine colour would command multiples of that figure at major international sales, making the estimate worth noting.

Among the signed jewels, a Boucheron diamond clip brooch dating to circa 1930 is estimated at €10,000 to €15,000. The scrolling design, set throughout with old brilliant, circular and baguette-cut diamonds, is precisely the kind of Art Deco Boucheron that has become increasingly competitive at auction as collectors reassess the house's interwar period. The full roster of signed maisons represented includes Cartier, Boucheron, Bulgari, Chaumet, Graff, Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arpels, and Buccellati.

Marine Girardet, Bonhams Head of Jewellery, France, identified the circa-1980 Bulgari coloured gemstones sprung bracelet as a particular standout. "A standout lot is a Bulgari coloured gemstones sprung bracelet, circa 1980, set with pink and green tourmalines, amethysts, blue topaz, and citrine cabochons, a modern piece poised to captivate collectors worldwide," she said. Bulgari's late-20th-century chromatic exuberance, the house's willingness to pile gem varieties that classical jewellers would never have combined, has found a committed collecting base. No estimate for that bracelet appeared in catalogue materials available ahead of the sale.

The antique section of the sale extends to a mid-19th-century enamel, ruby and diamond snake bangle estimated at €5,000 to €7,000. The hinged bangle, designed as a coiling serpent with royal blue guilloché enamel body, rose-cut diamond highlights, and ruby cabochon eyes, represents a category of Victorian sentimental jewellery that has seen renewed collector interest. An enamel and diamond openwork rosette brooch, mounted in yellow gold with black enamel and rose-cut diamonds, carries an estimate of €1,500 to €2,500, one of the more accessible entry points in a catalogue that otherwise skews toward five and six-figure lots.

Girardet noted that many pieces were sourced from private collections, which frequently accounts for the discovery-quality provenance that drives competitive bidding beyond pre-sale estimates. The breadth of the 182-lot offering, from a €1,500 rosette brooch to a €70,000 diamond necklace, suggests a sale constructed for range as much as headline spectacle.