antiquesandartireland.com

The Catherine Parr locket at James Adam in Dublin on November 23.  UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD

A locket of hair inscribed Catherine Parr and crested with a crown motif is one of the more unusual lots at the James Adam Sunday Interiors sale in Dublin tomorrow. Catherine Parr (1512-1548), the last of six wives of Henry VIII, was  Queen of England from 1543-47 and outlived her husband. The memorial glazed oval pendant which contains the hair  measures just 4.5 cms and  is estimated at 400-600.  It is lot number 153.

Catherine Parr was the first English queen to be titled Queen of Ireland.  She was also the most married, with four husbands.

Collectibles on offer include a collection of 1976 Montreal Olympics coins, a pair of Tiffany plated oil lamps and a 19th century Canton carved and stained ivory chess set. Furniture includes a late 17th century Antwerp inlaid curiosity cabinet on stand (5,000-7,000) and a suite of Louis Seize style gilt wood framed salon seat furniture (4,000-5,000).  More than 600 lots will come under the hammer.

(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for November 19, 2014)

This 9.75 carat blue diamond sold for a world record price.

A rare 9.75 carat fancy vivid blue diamond sold for a world record US$32,645,000 at Sotheby’s in New York last night.  That is US$3,348,205 per carat, a world record per carat for any diamond.  From the celebrated collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon it has gone to a private collector in Hong Kong, who has named the stone The Zoe Diamond. No less than seven bidders competed in a 20 minute bidding battle.

Gary Schuler, Head of Sotheby’s Jewelry Department in New York, commented: “From the moment I saw this diamond, I knew that it would be one of the most important stones that I will ever have the privilege of presenting at auction.  It was incredible to see each of my colleagues experience the diamond for the first time, watching as the blue hue warmed and intensified in front of them with every minute in natural light.  Mrs Mellon’s diamond absolutely deserves the place in the record books that it achieved tonight.”

The previous auction record for any blue diamond was US$24,311,191, set by the Wittelsbach Diamond at Christie’s London in December 2008. The previous per-carat auction record for any diamond was US$2,398,152, set by a 14.82 carat Fancy Vivid Orange Diamond at Christie’s in Geneva in November 2013. Sotheby’s New York auctions of the Mellon Collection continues through Sunday.

The Henry Graves Supercomplication.

The hammer came down at $24 million US dollars on the most expensive timepiece in the world at Sotheby’s in Geneva on November 11.  The Henry Graves Supercomplication re-established its supreme status as the most valuable timepiece in auction history beating the record of $11 million it established in 1999. Five bidders competed for the watch completed by Patek Philippe in 1932. It  went to an anonymous buyer in the room. It is the most complicated watch ever made by human hands – without computer-assisted technology.   In 1925, Patek Philippe was commissioned by Henry Graves, a prominent New York banker, to produce the most complicated watch in the world. The product of three years of research and five years’ effort by the most skilled technicians, this extraordinary timepiece is a gold openface minute repeating chronograph clockwatch with Westminster chimes.  It incorporates a perpetual calendar, moon phases, sidereal time (used by astronomers), power reserve, and indications for time of sunset and sunrise and the night sky of New York City.

Commenting on the results of the sale, Tim Bourne, Sotheby’s Worldwide Head of Watches, and Daryn Schnipper, Chairman of Sotheby’s Watch Division, said: “This evening’s stellar result confirms the “rockstar” status of The Henry Graves Supercomplication. It is more than a watch. It is a masterpiece which transcends the boundaries of horology and has earned its place among the world’s greatest works of art. The fascination it has attracted over the past few months, as Patek Philippe celebrates its 175^thanniversary, is a fitting tribute to the genius of the Swiss manufacturer.”

Celtic Torc

A c1200-500 BC Celtic gold torc was the top lot at Whyte’s sale of history, literature and collectibles in Dublin on November 8.  It made 8,000.  The dress uniforms of General Sir J.G. Maxwell, who command the British troops in Dublin after the 1916 Rising, sold for 6,600.  An Iron Age stone head made 6,000.

A c1770 Ibane and Barryroe Infantry cross belt plate made 1.400 at hammer.

A 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic sold for 5,600, a 1916 Service Medal awarded to William Partridge made 4,800 and the duty log of the Dublin fire brigade ambulance  service for the period from January to May 1916, covering the Rising, sold for 3,800. It went to an institutional archive. A series for letters from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle pleading for clemency for Sir Roger Casement sold for 2,400.  The auction realized 230,000 and was 84 per cent sold.

(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for September 1 and October 27, 2014)

Titanic in Belfast at Whyte’s auction.  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 250

A c1960 Aer Lingus Dublin Horse Show poster (100-150).  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 200

A set of seven celluloid photographic transparencies of the Titanic in Belfast is one of the highly collectible lots at Whyte’s in Dublin on November 8.  There are celluloid transparencies of the Titanic at Harland and Wolff shipyard together with prints of each photograph.   The estimate for the lot is 120-180.

Another nostalgic lot is a c1960 Aer Lingus Dublin Horse Show poster estimated at 100-150. The sale offers an enormous cross section of lots with everything from a fist edition of Brendan Behan’s The Borstal Boy (80-120) to a large collection of German World War II photographs (500-700), from ancient Celtic carved heads to a letter from Michael Collins to signed poetry books by Seamus Heaney.  The catalogue, with 494 lots, is online.

The Ricketts Apple-1 pc. UPDATE: IT MADE  $365,000

Discovered at a storage locker auction in Virginia the only known surviving Apple-1 documented to have been sold directly by Steve Jobs to an individual from his parents’ garage comes up at Christie’s in New York on December 11.  The American cultural icon The Ricketts’ Apple-1 Personal Computer will come up as part of Christie’s  inaugural Exceptional Sale at Rockefeller Center. It is named after its first owner Charles Ricketts.  The estimate is $400,000 – 600,000, the highest estimate yet for an original Apple-1 offered at auction.

It is fully operational.  23 years after Ricketts bought the Apple-1 from Jobs in Los Altos, it was acquired by Bruce Waldack, a freshly minted entrepreneur who’d just sold his company DigitalNation. The Ricketts Apple-1 was auctioned at a sheriff’s sale of Waldack’s property at a self-storage facility in Virginia in 2004, and won by the present consigner, the American collector, Bob Luther.

UPDATE: IT FELL SHORT OF ITS ESTIMATE TO SELL FOR $365,000.

The Graff Ruby.  UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR $8.6 MILLION US, A WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR A RUBY

A landmark single-owner sale of beautiful and highly important jewels from the collection of Dimitri Mavrommatis will come up at Sotheby’s in Geneva on November 12.  It is led by the exquisite “Graff Ruby”, weighing 8.62 carats which is estimated at 6.5-8.5 million Swiss francs.  The cushion shaped Burmese stone possesses the rare vivid red hue known as “pigeons blood”. This fine collection brings together very rare precious stones and avant-garde jewellery designs reflecting the unerring instinct of this consummate collector, and placing it among the most important ensembles of jewels and gemstones.  The sixteen treasures, to be presented on the occasion of Sotheby’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale on 12 November 2014, are estimated to bring more than 17 million Swiss francs.

“This outstanding collection presents exquisite gemstones, such as the sensational Graff Ruby, alongside stunning jewellery creations by JAR.  It is a testament to Dimitri Mavrommatis’ discerning eye and impeccable taste, and presents a rare opportunity to acquire gems and jewels of exceptional quality” said David Bennett, chairman, Sotheby’s jewellery division, Europe and the Middle East.

UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR $8.6 MILLION US, A WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR A RUBY