Brooke Astor's Jewels to Go on Sale at Sotheby's
Photos courtesy of Sotheby’s
An 18-karat gold, diamond, coral and ruby lion brooch (left); an emerald and diamond ring and necklace (right).
If Christie's Elizabeth Taylor auction this past December didn't whet your appetite for baubles, never fear. This fall at Sotheby's, Brooke Astor's jewels will be on the block, along with decorative and fine art culled from her New York City apartment and her Westchester estate, Holly Hill.
The socialite was known for her love of adornment, even while doing her charity work. “If I go up to Harlem or down to Sixth Street, and I’m not dressed up or I’m not wearing my jewelry, then the people feel I’m talking down to them," she once said. "People expect to see Mrs. Astor, not some dowdy old lady, and I don’t intend to disappoint.”
The auction, which takes place on September 24 and 25, will not disappoint either. Among the designers on offer: Van Cleef & Arpels, Verdura, Bulgari and Tiffany & Co. Pieces include a Van Cleef lion brooch (above, left) and a emerald and diamond necklace (above, right), that is valued at $250,000-300,000.
Time to practice that paddle arm!
