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The Cartier Tiger Jewels.

Two pieces of tiger jewellery by Cartier, formerly from the legendary collection of the Duchess of Windsor and given to Sarah Brightman by her then husband Andrew Lloyd Webber, are the early highlights of the upcoming Magnificent Jewels auction at Christie’s in Geneva on November 11. The two tiger pieces comprising of an onyx and diamond clip brooch and bracelet, with emerald eyes, were both made in the 1950s and are to be sold as one lot with a combined estimate of US$1,800,000-2,500,000. The Cartier Tiger Collection has been a highlight of 20^th century jewellery design since it first appeared in 1928.

They were bought at the 1897 auction of the duchesses jewels by Andrew Lloyd Webber as a present for Sarah Brightman to celebrate the huge London and Broadway success of The Phantom of the Opera. Sarah Brightman intends to offer a portion of the proceeds from the sale to the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation which supports various arts projects.

Calling all jewellery lovers.  There will be an auction of gems and silver at O’Reilly’s, Francis St., Dublin on September 24.  The catalogue is online. Here is a small selection:

A twist design diamond ring (3,000-4,000).

An antique two stone diamond ring (1,000-1,200).

A ruby and diamond dress ring (1,800-2,000)

A diamond and sapphire cross over ring (6,000-7,000)

Joseph Randall from Wexford and his Arctic and Crimean medals.  UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,600 AT HAMMER

For Whyte’s auctioneers the announcement from Canada’s Prime Minister this week that one of two ships from the Franklin expedition which vanished in the Arctic more than 160 years ago has been found proved timely.  Lot 578 in their sale collectibles sale in Dublin on September 20 is the Arctic and Crimean medals awarded to Wexford man Joseph Randall, who sailed on the HMS Herald in 1848  in a search for the lost expedition.  Joseph Randall’s medals are estimated at 1,000-1,500.

Sir John Franklin led the two ships and 129 men in 1845 to chart the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. The expedition’s disappearance shortly after became one of the great mysteries of the age of Victorian exploration.The loss of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, which was built in Topsham, Devon, prompted one of largest searches in history, running from 1848 to 1859. The search resulted in the discovery of the Northwest Passage, which runs from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Arctic archipelago.

The Canadian government began searching for Franklin’s ships in 2008 as part of a strategy to assert Canada’s sovereignty over the Northwest Passage, which has recently become accessible to shipping because of melting Arctic ice. Expedition sonar images from the waters of Victoria Strait, just off King William Island, clearly show the wreckage of a ship on the ocean floor.

UPDATE: THIS MADE 3,600 AT HAMMER

The unique one third scale model of Bond’s Aston Martin courtesy Christiie’s Images Ltd., 2014

The 50th anniversary of Goldfinger – which had its world premiere on September 17, 1964 – is being marked at Christie’s by an exclusive online charity auction in aid of the NSPCC.  EON Productions has commissioned a one off gold plated third scale replica of James Bon’s iconc Aston Martin DB5.  It is signed by legendary Bond Production Designer Sir Ken Adam, who designed the Q branch modifcations to the car for Sean Connery as agent OO7. Prop-makers Propshop, who manufactured the scale model DB5’s required for special effect scenes in Skyfall using 3D scans of the full size DB5, have created a one-off gold model with 24 carat gold plated detailing, complete with radio controlled machine guns, bullet proof shield and revolving number plate. The unique Goldfinger model is expected to sell for between £40,000-60,000.  Online bidding is underway and it runs to September 17. Another highlight is an Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra watch created to mark the anniversary of the film.