Heidi Horten wearing a Harry Winston necklace and her 90-carat Briolette diamond from India. Christie’s
An English auction house is announcing the sale of 700 jewels belonging to a discreet Viennese billionaire as the “sale of the century”. And hopes to surpass the previous record of jewelry of Elizabeth Taylor, whose recipe exceeded 100 million euros in 2011.
Almost a year after her disappearance, the incredible jewelry collection of Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten, whose fortune was estimated at $3 billion in 2020, will be auctioned by Christie’s in May. Under the name “Heidi Horten’s Magnificent Jewelry World” is hidden the largest auction of a complete jewelry collection. Christie’s decided to organize this exclusive sale, i.e. 700 pieces from the best houses: Cartier, Tiffany & Co, Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels or Bulgari, in two phases. The first sale will take place on May 10 at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva, followed by the second on May 12. An online sale will also be open from May 3 to 15 for another round of coins.
Bulgari earrings set with 29.06 and 23.18 carats of sapphires, emeralds and diamonds Christie’s Press Photo:
Strong preference in the 1980s
Art collector Heidi Horten has also brought together some of the most beautiful ornaments, somewhere between elegance and sophistication. The esthete, who passed away last year, sharpened his eye with his engraver father from a young age. Then with her husband, businessman Helmut Horten, whom she married in 1966 at the age of 19 and from whom she would receive a huge inheritance after his death in 1987. This collection of jewelry also bears witness to the history of jewelry since the 1970s. to the present day with a pronounced preference for the 1980s embodied before our eyes between maximalist lines and XXL jewels. As proof, the many pieces from the Italian house Bulgari, known for its excess and extravagance.
A mesmerizing video of Thomas Szabo creating a charm gem
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Harry Winston 20.06 Carat Pink Diamond Solitaire Ring Photo credit / Christie’s
For the Heidi Horten Foundation
The sale features exceptional stones of majesty, including the incredible diamond, the 90-carat Briolette from India in Harry Winston or the Sunrise Ruby, none other than the world’s most expensive ruby, set in a Cartier ring. The case also reveals a particular flavor of cultured pearls present in different batches. Notable pieces include this colored diamond necklace acquired from Cecil von Croy in 2019, with an estimate of 2.7 to 4.5 million Swiss francs (€4.57 million) and a Bulgari signature brooch estimated at is 4.5 to 6.5 million euros. In keeping with the benefactor’s last wishes, the profits raised will be donated to the Heidi Horten Foundation, which was established in 2021 to support medical research, but also other causes such as Holocaust education.
Harry Winston ‘The Great Mughal’ necklace set with carved emeralds and diamonds. Christie’s press photo
Source: Le Figaro
