[Slraep]

Not really about La Regente, more about one of its famous owners...
A copy of a portrait of a pearl laden Zinaida Nikolaevna Youssoupova.

[Caitlin]

"Pearl Laden Portraits"
Sounds like the name for a new thread. We are onto something here. Get a thread each for portraits of pearl-laden people and famous pearls. There are some rich digs in researching how many we can find online......

We already have Princess Zinaida pearls, Princess Margaret pearls and Duchess of York pearls (How was Wallis addressed -as Lady Wallis?

I will ever be sorry I didn't get a portrait of that multi-strander of naturals in all colors and sizes that belonged to Ellen Barkin and got auctioned about a year ago. It was really nice. I wish someone would send us a copy of the picture....

[Slraep]

Hi Caitlin,

It was the "Duchess of Windsor" for the late Wallis Warfield Simpson.

After rereading this thread, I missed the paragraph below, which is actually in your first post where the auction house Christie's talks about the big-item necklace for sale:

"The collection also includes a superb modern natural pearl necklace of two parts, suspending a grand sapphire, diamond and pearl breast-piece covering the entire bodice, which was created to set off La Regente at its centre. This unique jewel includes more than 2,500 carats of pearls as well as 1,000 carats of diamonds and sapphires and is estimated at $1,500,000-2,000,000."

It has to be DBBB! It was up for auction in its awful entirety! And is no doubt a "modern" cobbling. See, it was a boob-acher! 2500 carats of natural pearl---can you imagine....

Slraep

[GemGeek]

Originally Posted by Slraep

See, it was a boob-acher! 2500 carats of natural pearl---can you imagine....
Slraep

It looks like you might have trouble breathing while wearing it! Clearly, it could be used as a human anchor. (Keeps that trophy wife from running away!)

Heh Heh,
Blaire

[Caitlin]

So they were sold in that auction as one piece.

I wonder who would wear it where? They probably need 2 people to help them stand up and walk

It was the "Duchess of Windsor" for the late Wallis Warfield Simpson.

Windsor-York - details details.........

[Valeria101]

Originally Posted by Slraep

Yes, who commisioned the big unit and who perpetrated the work? Those are the questions.

I think Town & Country had the story. The bodice/necklace doesn't have a name and I do not remember that of the owner, just that the thing resides somewhere in UAE.

[john675]

Originally Posted by Caitlin Williams

La Regente alone weighs almost 3/4 of a pound!

Really interesting thread! Just a quick clarification on the weight of the pearl, though. It is 302 grains, not grams - that's about 20 grams or 0.7 ounces. A pearl of 0.75 pounds would be quite the sight

[Caitlin]

Hi John
Thanks for bringing that to my attention. grains has no meaning for me but I saw at least two news stories that said it weighed 10.5 ounces!

abcnewsarticle
A single pearl, the drop-shaped "La Regente," sold for $2.5 million - three times the low-end estimate.
The pearl, which weighs over 10.5 ounces, was given by Napoleon Bonaparte to his second wife, Marie-Louise, in 1811, Christie's said.

And "news from Russia".com

Another record was set for the price of a single pearl, when the drop-shaped "La Regente" sold for 3.27 million francs (US$2.5 million; Ђ2.1 million), three times the low-end estimate.

That pearl, which weighs over 300 grams (over 10.5 ounces), was given by Napoleon Bonaparte to his second wife Marie-Louise in 1811, Christie's said.

Four decades later, Bonaparte's nephew, Napoleon III, had the pearl set in a corsage as a wedding present for his future wife, Eugenie de Montijo, who became Empress Eugenie of France, reports AP. O.Ch.

It was my sources that apparently thought 300 grains was 300 grams!! so it is good to have that correction here........

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by Valeria101

I think Town & Country had the story. The bodice/necklace doesn't have a name and I do not remember that of the owner, just that the thing resides somewhere in UAE.

UAE, well that would not be surprising. It does have that harem-girl theme going on. I was thinking it might have gone to Brunei. The royals there do no seem to mind wearing huge gems set into white gold. And they have money to burn.

I'm a bit sorry to find out that La Regente did not stay in Europe but as for the rest of the necklace, it's good that it has gone far far far away.

Slraep

[Perle]

Originally Posted by Caitlin Williams

I think it is far more likely that it was disassembled and sold in 2005 because it is unwearable and unsaleable in the big unit version. It would bring in far higher prices when sold individually. What do you Think?

Caitlin, your theory seems likely. The description of the modern two-part necklace designed to set off La Regente fits:

http://www.agta.org/gtc/20051122-pas...obscurity.html

There is an article (Rapaport) that says a piece that sold for the same amount at the same auction, with large diamonds and sapphires, was due to be taken apart by the group that purchased it:

http://www.diamonds.net/news/NewsIte...rticleID=13784

The latter description is a bit vague, though.

Perle

[Caitlin]

Hi Perle
Thanks!!! Yes. I saw the agta report and thought it too vague, but the other report makes it very clear. Here is the relevent paragraph in the agta news:

Sold as part of the same collection as La Régente was a unique jewel with more than 1,500 carats of pearls, along with almost 1,000 carats of diamonds and sapphires. It fetched SFr.2,148,000 ($1,653,960). This modern two-part natural pearl necklace was created to set off La Régente at its center. The collection totaled SFr.19 million ($14.7 million) for eighteen pieces, well ahead of pre-sale expectations of $8 million.

Here is the link again
This is the relevent part from Diamonds.net

private collection that included La Regente................and a dazzling sapphire and diamond corsage ornament. This latter lot was sold to a group of New York dealers for $1,653,960. The 18 diamonds, ten large and 20 smaller Ceylon and Burma sapphires should be out of the mounting by the time this article is published. This group was one of several small but important collections in the sale.

Even though it is called a corsage ornament, that is the correct number of sapphires and major diamonds- not to mention the other huge round pearl that maybe has a flat back- which looks almost important enough to have its own name.

That is a great buy for 1.7 million; they will realize far more than that from the dismantling, not to mention the pile of precious metal it will free up. Anall those other natural pearls in the swags, Wow, that piece is really a treasure trove. It is a relief, almost, to think that it will make many excellent smaller pieces.

Now my question is: who got La Regente between the Yousapovs' ownership and the current owners and put the conspicuous contraption together and when..

[Slraep]

Oh, wow, I guess it was disassebled after all. That's even better!!!
It really would make a lot more sense that way.

Maybe instead of the monstrocity being sold whole to someone in the UAE, it was the seller that was from the UAE. It would account for the odd harem-style of the thing. That would maybe mean it was put together in the UAE.

Okay, that would explain alot.

Hmm...Caitlin, I guess "Z" was way off track when she said she thought it was put together by Harry Winston for Jennifer Lopez. But then, she was way off track about a lot of things.

Slraep

[Caitlin]

That is what I was thinking too.....

[Slraep]

If the seller was from the UAE, it's possible that an Israeli jewellery house could have done the job. A lot of rich and royal arabs use them for jewel making and remodeling. Their name is YVEL.

Slraep

[Caitlin]

These little tidbits are great to know.

So we have an open investigation into the big unit created around la Regente and its (brief)provenance. When we are done, we should have enough info gathered here for someone to write an article -or for school reports.