Fascinating facts
Chloë Collin knows better than most that jewelry can have more than one life. France’s youngest auctioneer (La Saint Glinglin on social media), she shares three stories of jewels brought to her for valuation. We’ve added two anecdotes from the archives.
A CARTIER PENDANT, A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME Chloë received a call from a family requesting a valuation for an unexpected find. They arrived with a red Cartier box, complete with a handwritten invoice dated 1910, headed 13, Rue de la Paix. Inside the box was a finely worked platinum pendant that transformed into a brooch. One of Louis Cartier’s Garland designs. Estimated between €10,000 and €20,000, it sold for €61,100. /public-objects/f8fbdb15-ba3e-42e7-a879-364a75046a6f-a5d68ee9-e47e-4cff-a050-f98b800f4fd3-02_1.webp Image sélectionnée /public-objects/55b4e206-8f3f-45d8-a7ab-c53dd37412ba-daf62dce-1d49-4d76-9ac2-63685424a105-04_1.webp Image sélectionnée A HIDDEN MESSAGE A woman, together with her siblings, came to Chloë’s office with some items to sell. In among the gold coins and jewelry was a blue leather case, containing a 1950s sapphire daisy cluster ring. Seeing that the velvet cushion didn’t quite fit, Chloë lifted it out and, hidden underneath, found a neatly folded paper. Time stopped. It was a message from their grandmother. “I may not be here when you read this note, but I would like you to keep this.” They took the ring home. MIKIMOTO, A YOUNG MAN ON A MISSION The son of an udon restaurant owner, Kōkichi Mikimoto left school at 15 with one idea in mind: recreate what an oyster produces spontaneously. In 1893 he presented his first five cultured pearls. Today, 99% of the pearls sold worldwide are cultured. /public-objects/f0fea191-1f7b-4a7f-9b14-acba0bf5b613-3db292d7-c071-4505-9d07-c31338e3d42e-03_1.webp Image sélectionnée /public-objects/3973923f-fa06-4007-90e0-80ad1ea67bfc-56762422-7ee5-42f9-9be5-938701baffeb-05_1.webp Image sélectionnée THE QUEEN’S NECKLACE In 1772, two jewelers created the most spectacular necklace ever seen, its 674 diamonds totaling 2,842 carats. Marie-Antoinette refused to buy it. Too ostentatious. Using forged letters, a countess convinced Cardinal de Rohan to secretly purchase the necklace, allegedly for the queen. It was then taken apart and the stones sold in London. When news of the transaction broke, on August 15, 1785, the public suspected Marie-Antoinette of organizing the whole thing when the kingdom’s finances were in ruins. For some historians, this was the first spark of the French Revolution, four years later. LALIQUE, A REVELATION A letter opener. A woman, her hair extending along the blade. Chloë’s first encounter with Lalique. She was overcome by the beauty of the designer’s parures, adorned with female figures straight out of a Dalí painting or an Avatar movie. Lalique favored artistic merit over commercial value. He introduced volume and sculpted forms. He revolutionized glassware with his marqueterie de verre. Jewelry—“as complicated as buildings”—that would set Chloë on the path to her future career. /public-objects/2c6361bf-8020-4018-adc9-af14492d96a0-30777014-f65e-4dc3-9c50-00034c186f2c-01_1.webp Image sélectionnée