The Style List: Christie’s Private Sales

A diamond tiara, a historic family heirloom dating back to the 19th century, is currently being sold by Christie’s Private Sales.

The tiara is designed as an arched foliate spray with three flower heads mounted en tremblant. Courtesy: Christie's

The true value of a piece of jewellery is almost impossible to quantify. There’s the hardware, of course – the carats, the stones, the weight of the metals and the intricacy of the settings – but what of the skill and know-how of the artisans who crafted it, or the creativity of the person who conceived it? Not to mention the all-important but largely immeasurable matter of provenance. Who wore it? Where to? What is its story?

Much of the magic of the piece pictured here lies in what is not known. A historic family heirloom dating back to the 19th century, the diamond tiara consists of an arch foliate spray with three flower heads mounted en tremblant, and can be dismantled to create three spray brooches or hair ornaments. Mounted in silver and gold, the old-cut diamond clusters quiver almost independently, catching the light in mesmerising ways.

The piece, which is valued at about €220,000 (Dh855,000), is currently being sold by Christie's Private Sales. "It was made for a noble Italian family and has always been in the family," says Julien-Vincent Brunie, the international general manager for Christie's Private Sales. "I love this piece," he adds passionately.

While Christie’s is most commonly associated with auctions, its private sales arm now does about US$1.5 billion (Dh5.5bn) of business around the world. “But we do it quietly,” notes Brunie.

For sellers, this route offers the benefit of privacy – you may not want the world to know what’s in your vault – but also the flexibility of transacting quickly and outside the auction calendar. And for buyers, whether you want to create a bespoke piece from scratch or are looking for something specific – from the rarest Cartier Tutti Frutti bracelet to a vintage piece featuring a specific type of coloured diamond – Christie’s Private Sales has the know-how and network to make it happen.

Currently on the books is everything from a pear-shaped fancy purple-pink diamond of approximately 10.06 carats, worth $8 million (Dh29.4m), to sapphire, ruby and diamond earrings from Bvlgari and classic Van Cleef – a stunning sautoir consisting of 19 vari-cut sapphires and brilliant-cut diamonds that can be deconstructed to create seven or eight different pieces is going for $2m (Dh7.3m). “This is exactly the kind of very appealing vintage piece that people are looking for,” says Brunie.