Another fabulous jewellery auction this month has seen show-stopping jewels once owned by the artistocratic Wimborne family sell at Christie’s, alongside a trove of other fabulous pieces.
Christie’s London Jewels sale, which ended on 25th November, featured a variety of important antique and period jewels, plus coloured gemstones, diamonds and contemporary signed jewels from renowned houses such as Bulgari and Cartier.
The highlight of the sale was a collection of precious jewels from the noble Wimborne family, especially associated with the 1st Viscountess Wimborne (1880-1948), who was a celebrated society beauty and one of the earliest and grandest subjects of photographer Cecil Beaton.
The former Hon. Alice Grosvenor was the wife of Ivor Churchill Guest, a cousin of Winston Churchill. The Wimbornes, then without title, were married in 1902 when the-then Captain Ivor Guest was serving as a Conservative MP for the constituency of Plymouth. From 1915 to 1918 he served as the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and on his retirement in 1918 was created first Viscount Wimborne by King George V.
Lot 155 in the sale, a magnificent Art Deco ruby and diamond pendant, was worn by Viscountess Wimborne on a diamond chain (lot 161) in a portrait taken by Cecil Beaton in 1928 and published in Tatler Magazine. It showcases a dazzling 8.92-carat, cushion-shaped ruby and a similarly shaped 21.02-carat pink sapphire framed by further baguette and calibré-cut rubies and old circular and single-cut diamonds. It sold for £304,800, over three times its low estimate of £80,000.
Another later Beaton portrait from the 1930s depicts Lady Wimborne in the ballroom of Wimborne House in London (a mere stone’s throw from the current Christie’s office), wearing her Art Deco emerald, natural pearl and diamond pendant (lot 158) hung on the same diamond chain. The piece features a pair of carved Colombian emerald drops, three natural saltwater pearls and an array of old circular, sing and carré-cut diamonds and dates from around 1925. The pendant sold for £635,000 – again, over three times its low estimate.
The highest achieving lot of the sale was Viscountess Wimborne’s Art Deco period Cartier emerald and diamond bracelet, which took £1,079,500 – over three and a half times its low estimate of £300,000. According to Christie’s, the auction was the highest-selling ‘London Jewels Sale’ since 2016.
“It’s rare to have one or two pieces from an important aristocratic collection appear at sale, so to have nine striking jewels from the Wimborne family in our London Jewels Sale is very special indeed,” says Henry Bailey, head of Christie’s jewellery department in London.
Other jewels from the Wimborne family collection in the sale included a rare Cartier bangle set with coral beads, pearls, diamonds and emeralds and a spectacular Kashmir sapphire and diamond brooch.
“It’s always exciting when jewels of this calibre come up for sale with such a great story behind them. Lady Wimborne was an established society hostess, a very astute political spouse, and a muse and great supporter of the famous composer William Walton,” continues Bailey.
“She was a remarkable character and a very glamorous lady, so to have the combination of extremely fine coloured gemstones and natural pearls set within beautiful jewellery designs with that kind provenance, seen in photos by Cecil Beaton – who is himself the subject of an exhibition currently at the National Portrait Gallery – is really the dream for any collector and appreciator of Art Deco jewels.”
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