Sotheby's Sells Jewels of "First Supermodel"

 

Sotheby’s London is selling a private collection of rare Art Deco Cartier jewelry that once belonged to 1920’s “supermodel” Phyllis Frank (nee Francatelli).

She was an original model for The House of Lucile, the world’s first global couture brand and a groundbreaking British fashion house that was founded in 1894.

Francatelli (1892 – 1972) met and married New York financier, Jesse Frank, who showered her with Art Deco jewels that epitomized Cartier’s mastery of style and design throughout the Roaring 1920s and beyond.

Sotheby’s is offering seven lots, several featuring lapis lazuli, her favorite blue stone.

Highlight of her collection is a pair of diamond bracelets (pictured), circa 1925, millegrain-set with old brilliant-cut diamonds (estimate £ 20,000 to £ 40,000 (USD 27,000 to USD 54,000).

There’s also a diamond bow brooch, a sapphire and diamond bracelet and a lapis lazuli and diamond bracelet.

The House of Lucile, with salons in New York, Paris and Chicago, was founded by visionary British designer Lucy Christiana, also known as Lady Duff Gordon, who pioneered the modern catwalk and the concept of the fashion model.

Source: DCLA

26.36 Carat White Diamond Expected to Exceed $1 Million at London Jewellery Auction

 

A rare 26.36 carat round brilliant-cut white diamond is set to headline a major jewellery auction in London, where it is expected to sell for more than $1 million, highlighting continued global demand for exceptional natural diamonds.

The impressive stone will appear in the upcoming Fine Jewellery sale at Elmwood’s, carrying a pre-sale estimate of £800,000 to £1,000,000 (approximately $1.07 million to $1.34 million). The diamond features VVS1 clarity and I colour, placing it firmly within the category of high-quality investment-grade stones sought by collectors and connoisseurs.

To emphasise the diamond’s exceptional brilliance, the stone is set in a simple platinum solitaire ring, allowing the size and quality of the diamond to remain the central focus.

Of particular importance to collectors is the stone’s “Triple Excellent” grading—the highest possible standard for cut, polish and symmetry. The diamond also shows no fluorescence, a characteristic that helps preserve the stone’s natural brilliance and fire under a wide range of lighting conditions.

According to Joe Kendrick, Head of Sale at Elmwood’s, diamonds of this calibre rarely appear on the U.K. market.

“Stones combining this level of size, VVS1 clarity and triple excellent cut are extraordinarily rare in the United Kingdom,” Kendrick noted. “A diamond of this magnitude may only appear once in a decade. This solitaire is a remarkable example of why large white diamonds remain among the most prized gemstones in the world.”

The last comparable stone offered at auction in the U.K. was a 26.27 carat white diamond sold by Sotheby’s in 2017 for £656,750. Known as the “Tenner Diamond,” the stone gained international attention after it emerged that the owner had originally purchased it for just £10 at a car boot sale.

The upcoming auction marks an important moment for Elmwood’s, a relatively young auction house founded in 2017 and based in Notting Hill, London. The firm has positioned itself as a challenger in the international jewellery auction market by introducing a 0% seller’s commission, a strategy designed to attract high-value consignments that might otherwise be directed to the larger auction centres of Geneva or New York.

Large natural diamonds of 25 carats and above rarely appear at auction outside these major global hubs, making this London offering particularly noteworthy for collectors and the broader international diamond market.

For the global trade and collectors alike, the sale reinforces the enduring appeal of large natural diamonds with exceptional cut quality, a segment where rarity and provenance continue to drive value in the high-end gemstone market.

Source: DCLA