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| 362.45-carat emerald bloomberg.com |
Have you ever heard of a Carved emerald of 362.45 carats depicting a scene from the ancient Indian Hindu epic poem the Ramayana, round diamonds, consisting of 18k yellow gold and platinum? The 19th century emerald, is a rare one carrying the maker's mark (Jacques Timey. Size/Dimensions: pendant 8.2 cm; necklace 65.6 cm; Gross weight: 291.6 grams
Though it is of India origin, there are no details about its provenance - place of authentic origin, previous owner, etc. American jeweler Harry Winston had it and it was acquired by the last owner Mrs. Heidi. This necklace had a pre-sale estimate of $500,000 to $700,000. “To find a collection in Europe with such important jade is extremely rare,” says Fawcett.
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| Mrs. Heidi Horten. kurier.at |
Above image: Heidi Horten (née Jelinek; 13 February 1941 – 12 June 2022) was an Austrian billionaire and art collector. She was the widow of businessman Helmut Horten, whose wealth was famously rooted in Nazi profiteering. In May 2020 Forbes estimated her net worth at US$ 3.0 billion. she was a passionate and sensitive jewelry collector with discerning eyes, obviously her sophisticated jewelry collections included a variety of exotic and high quality jewels. She and her husband collected jewelry until Horten's death in 1983. Mrs Heidi was also the proud owner of 35. 56 carat blue Wittelsbach Diamond (wedding gift from her husband) of India origin from the famous Kollur mines of present day Andhra state. It was formerly part of the Crown Jewels of Bavaria Christi's sold the diamond in 2008 to another billionaire Lawrence Graff in 2008. He had the 35.56 Ct diamond cut to 31.06 Ct and renamed it Wittelsbach Graff.
It was one among the 700 items that were auctioned by the famous auction house Christi's in April-May 2023 at Dubai. The dazzling and rare collection of jewelry belonged to the late Viennese philanthropist and businessman Horton and his wife Heidi. Penchant for expense, but rare gemstones, jewelry the couple had amassed from the 1970s the world’s finest jewelry houses such as Boivin, Bulgari, Cartier, Kochert, Tiffany, Harry Winston, and Van Cleef & Arpels. rs. Heidi also owned some of the world’s most precious valuable diamonds, colored gemstones and jadeite.
The auction of a vast collection of jewelry fetched an unexpected large sum, no one could ever dream of - a record for the most valuable single collection of jewels, fetching CHF 180 million (US$201 million). Following controversy over the source of the Horten fortune, Christie's announced that a portion of the proceeds would be contributed to Holocaust education and related causes. the sale money was to be used to run the Heidi-Horten Foundation museum and other social causes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Horten
