Crystal Candy - National Gemstone of U.S. to Highlight Sale of Natural History
Bonhams will hold its spring auction of Natural History on June 1, 2009. The 525 lot sale offers a diverse group of high quality and distinctive mineral specimens, gold nuggets, lapidary works of art, gemstones and jewelry in addition to exceptional fossils.
Chosen to highlight the auction with a featured section of over 50 lots is the semi-precious stone tourmaline. Selected for its colorful, fresh spring-like qualities, the mineral derives its name from the Sinhalese word "turamali" and is distinguished by its three-sided prisms. Tourmaline can be found in Russia, Brazil, Madagascar, Mozambique, Afghanistan and San Diego County, California. Highly coveted by collectors, the stone is available in a wide variety of hues from across the color spectrum including green, red, yellow, candy pink, black and blue. Many shades of tourmaline are featured throughout the auction as examples of polished and unpolished minerals, unmounted stones and jewelry.
According to Claudia Florian G.J.G., Co-Consulting Director, Natural History “Interest in tourmaline among collectors has grown exponentially in the past several years. Made popular by its hardness level, it is the perfect stone for daily wear in the form of jewelry. Blue tourmalines, such as those examples featured in the June auction, are extremely rare and highly sought after by the public. Tourmaline is also the national gemstone of the United States, due to the once abundant deposits of pink stone in San Diego County, California.”
Leading the tourmaline offerings is a multi-color suite of jewelry comprised of 59 tiny, intricately hand-carved flowers by German lapidary master Manfred Wild (est. $28,000-35,000). Consisting of a necklace and pair of earrings, the ensemble is composed of a variety of tourmalines from several world localities. Done in hues of hot pink, red, yellow orange, bi-color, green and the highly sought after blue, each individual flower centers on a small white pearl to provide a natural look and elegant feel.
Known for his virtuoso work in rare, precious and semi-precious materials, Wild is one of the world’s most famous creators of objets d’ art. His vocabulary of carving and design excellence includes perfume bottles, animals, whimsical figures, flower studies and enameled eggs with concealed ‘surprises’ as well as objets de fantaisie.
Additional hand-carved tourmaline pieces created by Wild on offer in the spring auction include a transparent green Brazilian box trimmed in 18 karat gold (est. $15,000-18,000); a multi-color and sterling silver presentation box fitted with a rare Liddicoatite slice from Madagascar displaying brilliant concentric banding in red, candy pink, green and black (est. $12,000-15,000); a finely detailed, intensely pink Madagascar tourmaline carving of a mouse (est. $4,500-5,500) and an unusual bi-color pink and green tourmaline and 18K gold miniature sculpture of a grasshopper (est. $3,500-4,500).
The auction will also feature a group of carvings by another renowned Idar-Oberstein artist, Gerd Dreher. Notable highlights include a fish created from a massive slab of Madagascar tourmaline (est. $9,000-12,000) and a pair of dolphins made from nearly 6,000 carats of aquamarine (est. $25,000-35,000). Imaginative young designers, Syliva and Luis Quispe, also trained in Idar-Oberstein, Germany have produced an opulent hand-carved marine life chess set made of ruby and lapis lazuli trimmed with 18K gold and accompanied by an illuminated rock crystal and obsidian chess board (est. 90,000-110,000) which will also be featured during the June 1st sale.
The jewelry section of the auction boasts a massive 99-carat carved black opal and diamond pendant from the world renowned locality of Lightning Ridge, Australia. Dubbed “Aqua Profonda” by designer Jenni Brammall, the piece was created specifically for use during the Australian Masters of Fashion Awards 2008 in Melbourne, Australia, and stage worn by several models throughout the premier fashion design competition (est. $50,000-60,000).
Items for women by well-known jeweler Robert Wander will also be included. Wander is the originator of the term “Crystal Candy” and his line consists of brilliantly colored gems which are often left unpolished to showcase the natural beauty of the stone. Found at upscale department stores throughout the United States, several of Wander’s spectacular pieces have been selected for this auction to illustrate the tourmaline theme (estimates upon request). Also featured are several pieces of signed jewelry for men including a wonderful array of cufflinks made available to the public just in time for Father’s Day.
Auction: June 1, 2009 at 1:00pm, Bonhams New York
Preview: Friday-Sunday, May 29-31, 2009, Bonhams New York
