Jonathan Ive and Marc Newson designed an all-diamond ring for charity

Renowned designer Marc Newson and Jony Ive, Apple’s Chief Design Officer, have joined forces. Exclusive to (RED) by Diamond Foundry, Newson and Ive designed a unique diamond ring. The (RED) Diamond Ring will go up for auction at Sotheby’s auction house in Miami on December 5. This will also be the third (RED) auction, with proceeds going to a charity fighting AIDS.

Apple design head Sir Jonathan Ive and renowned industrial designer Marc Newson created a ring entirely from a single diamond for sale at a charity auction. Produced exclusively for an upcoming (RED) charity auction at Design Miami on December 5, the ring will be completely diamond without the traditional metal band.

The (RED) Diamond Ring was created from an unusually sized stone, allowing the ring to be made entirely of diamond. To achieve this, the solid stone has been faceted several thousand times. In order to create the shape of a ring, the inside was removed by means of a micrometer thick water jet with a laser beam inside. The result is a ring size with an inner diameter of 15.6 mm. All this makes the (RED) Diamond Ring the first finished ring to contain between 2000-3000 facets – according to auctioneers Sotheby’s..

The (RED) Diamond Ring will be created by Diamond Foundry, a San Francisco-based diamond producer that uses proprietary technology and is certified carbon neutral. It will be crafted bespoke for the buyer and made to fit up to a US size 5. Sotheby’s estimate is that the ring will go for $150,000 to $250,000. They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend. If that’s the case, this ring ought to provide a lifetime of companionship.

Consistent with their mutual obsession with transforming raw material into objects of value, Ive and Newson’s design is singular, clear and un-compromised by the traditional metal settings and bands that have previously been required to create ‘diamond rings’

Sotheby’s

Jony Ive and Marc Newson are friends and frequent collaborators who have worked together at Apple, where Ive is chief design officer. They also curated the last (RED) auction in 2013, for which they designed a one-off Leica camera, and put their own spin on a Christmas tree for Claridge’s Hotel in London, in 2016.

Among the other pieces for auction on December 5 a red-tinted take on Zaha Hadid’s Liquid Glacial table, as well as unique metallic red versions of David Adjaye’s Washington Collection Corona Coffee Table and Skeleton Chairs for Knoll. 

This is the third such auction organised by (RED), the charity started by U2 musician and activist Bono to fight HIV/AIDS.

The live auction will be conducted on the evening of 5 December 2018 at the Moore Building in the Miami Design District. More than 50 works will be up for auction in total, and they’ll be exhibited publicly at the same location from 1 to 7 December.

Britain’s most expensive estate: Hackwood House

A 24 bedroom mansion is set to become the most expensive country estate ever sold publicly after is was put on the market with a guide price for more then 65 million pounds.

The Hackwood Park estate, near Basingstoke in Hampshire, is so exclusive, potential buyers will have to prove their financial status and sign a confidentiality agreement before viewing.

Built in 1680, the main house has 24 bedrooms and 20 bathrooms and is more than 50 times the size of the average family home

Hackwood House was previously owned by publishing ycon Vicount Camrore, William Berry, who loaned it to the Royal Canadian Army to usee it as a hospital during World War II. More than 16.500 troops were treated on the estate and, when the war was over, it was returned to Viscount Camrose, who died in 1954.

Steeped in history, Hackwood Park is a grand aristocratic residence that can also easily cater to family life.

The second Viscount Camrose, John Seymour Berry, owned the home until his death in 1995 when it was passed into the hands of his wife, Lady Camrose, Princess Tajuddawlah Aly Khan, formerly the Hon. Joan Barbara Yarde-Buller, the eldest daughter of the 3rd Baron Churston, mother of the present Aga Khan.

Lady Camrose, also known as Princess Joan and Princess Tajudaullah, and the mother of Prince Karim Aga Khan,

According to the electoral role, Lady Camrose was the last tenant at the mansion until her death in 1997.

Land Registry documents state that the house was last sld between 1999 and 2003 for around 14.5 million pounds. It’s current owner, rumoured to be a foreign billionaire, bought the house through a British Virgin Island-registered company. Over the past decade the estate has been impeccably maintained by its owner, who has carried out a substantial restoration of the main home.

Complete with original detailing and craftsmanship, Hackwood Park has been painstakingly restored to a state of 19th-century grandeur.

The botanical gardens and grounds hold as much historic interest as the house and have a rich botanical and architectural story to tell. The layout of the gardens dates back to the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries and their design is attributed to Charles Bridgeman and James Gibbs.

Hackwood Park, with medieval origins forms part of an impressive and natural landscape fit for a house of this stature. Today the grounds are a perfect balance of manicured lawns, avenues, walks and terraces, interspersed with specimen trees. Beyond the formal design are large expanses of pasture which join woodland and farmland in the far distance, as well as Hackwood’s own deer park and an ornamental eighteenth century woodland garden.

The main entrance is flanked by two substantial gatehouses and the 260 acres of grounds that includes a beautiful botanical garden, a stable yard and coach house, two detached guesthouses and two entrance lodges.

Spring Wood, thought to be the sole surviving example of a garden wood that is laid out in the French style has eight sectors divided by walkways, many of which hide historic wonders including a temple, a fountain and an amphitheatre. In the spring, the woodland is a picture of colour filled with bulbs and wild flowers. Hackwood Park enjoys stunning, uninterrupted views of the surrounding countryside.

 

It is now on the market with a strict ‘price on appliaion’ (if you have to ask for the price, you can’t afford it), with both Sotheby’s and Savills refusing to reveal what it can be bought for.

If you are interested in purchasing this property or to request more information, UK Sotheby’s International Realty, or please contact John Fisher at Sotheby’s International Realty on +44 (0)1932 860537 or email john.fisher@sothebysrealty.co.uk.

Please note that due to the sensitive nature of this property, prospective purchasers may be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement prior to further information being released and provide references and evidence of their financial standing prior to a viewing being arranged.

 

HH Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan III estate auction

Born Yvette Labrousse in 1906 in Sete near Marseilles, France. Begum Om Habibeh was the fourth and last wife of the late Sultan Mohamed Aga Khan III, the 48 hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims in direct descent from the Profhet Muhammad through his cousin and son in law Ali and his daughter Fatima. The couple were married in Switzerland on October 9th, 1944.

The late Begum, following travels to Egypt, had already converted to islam before her marriage. Throughout her life she demonstrated a strong attechment to the faith and to its traditions of philantropy and concern for the less fortunate.The Begum took a particular interestin issues affecting woman and children’s welfare.

HH. Begum Om Habibeh Aga Kahn III (Photo made and signed by Sam Levin, Signed to Roger Flor, 1er coiffeur Elizabeth Arden by HH. Begum Om Habibeh Aga Kahn III, 1959, private collection).

Following her husband’s death in 1957, the late Begum moved between Le Cannet, Paris, Geneva and Aswan. In Le Cannet she was held in particular esteem and was known for her generosity towards the eldery, through the establishment of a retirement home.

Before her death, the late Begum arranged that all her estate, other than certain bequests, be donated to the Aga Khan Foundation, Geneva, to the Bellerive Foundation, Geneva, and to her own Om Habibeh Foundation. Today, 15 years ago, on November 15, 2000 Sotheby’s held the auction of Her Highness’s jewels posthumously, with respect to her wishes.

HH Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan III, her famous 5 row pearl-diamond neckless.

HH Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan III, wearing her favorite 5 row pearl-diamond neckless, and  Harry Winston 51.85 carat diamond ring.

Highly important diamond ring by Harry Winston. Claw-set with a  step-cut diamond weighting 51.85 carats, between tapered baguette diamond shoulders, mounted in platinum

Magnificent diamond necklace. The front is decorated with a profusion of marquise and pear shaped and brilliant and tep-cut diamonds, continuing to the back with graduated step-cut diamonds, spaced by clusters of marquise and pear shaped and brilliant cut diamonds.

French fine pair of cultered pearl and diamond earrings. The cluster surmounts set with pear and marquise shaped and brilliant cut diamonds, each supporting a cultured pearl dropmeasuring approximately14.8mm in diameter, and are mounted in platinum and 18k gold. The pearl pendants are detachable. Her Highness the Begum was wearing them very often, in both ways, with and without its pearls. 

Another favorite pair of earrings for her where these pair of French diamond pendent earclips. The surmounts decorated with a cluster of pear and marquise shaped diamond, supporting tassels of graduated pear shaped diamonds. The clips are mounted in platinum 

 HH the Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan III attends the ‘My Fair Lady’ ball, hosted by Hélène Rochas in the Bois de Boulogne in 1965. HH the Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan III wore a gown of white lace and her favorite, also in her estate auction, her Bvlgari diamond and turquoise set. The set contains a  necklace, earclips and a bracelet that she is wearing in her hair, as the ‘first’ woman to do so, long before Princess Diana of Wales.

The auctions results totalled to SF41,249,800 – US$23,340,809 – £16,303,619 to benefit the aforementioned philanthropic in…stitutions in overseeing and supporting major international programs in health, education and rural development in some of the poorest regions of Central and West Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as initiatives for the protection of the environment, conservation of natural resources and the safeguarding of human and animal rights.

Come into the beautiful world of Sotheby’s.

World’s most expensive diamond sold

The ultimate gift! On November 4, Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau won the Sotheby’s auction for the ‘Blue Moon’, a cushion shaped fancy vivid blue diamond, for US$48.4 million and has renamed the 12.03-carat stone the ‘Blue Moon of Josephine’ in honor of his 7 year old daughter. It is the most expensive jewel ever sold at auction, and also the highest-ever price per carat of well over $4 million.

The previous record for the most expensive jewel bought at auction was for a 24.78-carat pink diamond dubbed the ‘Graff Pink’. It sold for $45.6 million in 2010 to Laurence Graff, a London jeweler.

Lau, a 64 year old property tycoon, also paid $28.5 million for a 16.08 carat pink diamond earlier this month, that he renamed the ‘Sweet Josephine’, also named after his daughter. Lau bought a blue diamond in 2009 for $9.5 million, naming it the ‘Star of Josephine’.  That adds to a growing beautiful collection for young Josephine.

Come into the beautiful world of Sotheby’s.

Sotheby’s to offer jewels from the Collections of Mrs. Estée Lauder & Mrs. Evelyn H. Lauder

Sotheby’s announced that it will offer jewels from the collections of Mrs. Estée Lauder and Mrs. Evelyn H. Lauder as part of its Magnificent Jewels auction in New York on 9 December 2014. Thirty-three pieces from the collection of Evelyn H. Lauder will be sold to benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, an organization that she founded and championed, while 11 pieces from the collection of Estée Lauder will be sold to benefit the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. Sotheby’s previously auctioned jewels from the Collections in December 2012 and 2013 to benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

The jewels on offer this December include designs by Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, David Webb, Buccellati, and Oscar Heyman & Brothers, one of Evelyn H. Lauder’s favorite New York jewelers, and are led by one of Cartier’s rare and iconic Tutti Frutti bracelets, made circa 1928 (est. $750,000 / 1 million). A lovely group of wearable evening and daytime jewels estimated under $20,000 complements the impressive selection of more formal pieces. Highlights from the collection will be on view at Sotheby’s Geneva from 8–11 November, before returning for exhibition in Sotheby’s New York headquarters beginning 5 December.

Mr. Leonard A. Lauder, Chairman Emeritus, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., said:

My family and I are excited to partner with Sotheby’s on this special auction. Each piece of jewelry is unique and was designed to be timeless. My mother, Estée, and my dear wife, Evelyn, would be thrilled and honored that these much-loved items of theirs are being sold to raise funds for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. Our family’s goal has been, and continues to be, to help make those diseases a thing of the past.”

Mr. Leonard A. Lauder is deeply involved with both nonprofit organizations, serving as Co-Chairman of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation.

Estée Lauder

A visionary entrepreneur who believed all women could be beautiful, Estée Lauder (1906-2004) instinctively understood the power of beauty. Her dedication and hard work transformed the business she launched in 1946 with just four products into today’s global leader in prestige beauty. Mrs. Lauder got her start selling skin care products developed by her uncle, a chemist, in local beauty salons and hotels. She believed in the power of word of mouth and that sampling products sealed a sale, pioneering personalized beauty consultation and Gift with Purchase promotions. She was the recipient of many prestigious honors, including France’s Legion of Honor in 1978 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004. She traveled and entertained extensively, and socialized with world leaders, Hollywood royalty and celebrities.

Evelyn Lauder

Evelyn H. Lauder (1936-2011) was the Senior Corporate Vice President and Head of Fragrance Development Worldwide for The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Her life is a remarkable American success story: born in Vienna, Austria, her parents fled from Europe at the outset of World War II, eventually settling in New York City. She was proud to have attended New York City public schools and Hunter College, where she met Leonard A. Lauder as a freshman. The two married in 1959, and Mrs. Lauder began her more than 50 years with the family company, contributing her invaluable insights into fashion trends, consumers’ changing needs, and new approaches to the development of innovative skin care, makeup and fragrance products.

Mrs. Lauder was perhaps best known to the public for her work in bringing global awareness to the importance of women’s health. In 1992, Mrs. Lauder co-created the now-ubiquitous Pink Ribbon with SELF magazine, and launched The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign (BCAcampaign.com). Mrs. Lauder was also Chairman of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which she founded in 1993. She was passionately committed to preventing and finding a cure for breast cancer.

Highlights from the collections from the collection of Estée Lauder, sold to benefit the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation

Pair of Platinum and Diamond Clip-Brooches, circa 1935. Designed as leaves and set with diamonds weighing approximately 14.45 carats. Estimate $20/30,000.

Pair of Platinum, 18 Karat Gold, Colored Diamond and Diamond Earclips, Van Cleef & Arpels Centering two Fancy Brown-Yellow diamonds weighing 8.08 and 7.74 carats. Estimate $100/150,000.

From the collection of Evelyn H. Lauder, sold to benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation

Platinum, Colored Stone, Diamond and Enamel ‘Tutti Frutti’ Bracelet, Cartier, New York, circa 1928. Estimate: $750,000/1 million.

Platinum, Colored Stone, Diamond and Enamel ‘Tutti Frutti’ Bracelet, Cartier, New York, circa 1928. Estimate: $750,000/1 million.

This magnificent, very rare ‘Tutti Frutti’ bracelet is featured in Hans Nadelhoffer’s seminal book, Cartier: Jewelers Extraordinary. Boasting ripe rubies and emeralds interspersed with spherical onyx berries issuing from diamond-set stems, the piece’s organic qualities are balanced by a symmetry that is both elegant and sophisticated. The focused color palette, absent of sapphires, suggests the piece may have been a special commission. The telltale zig-zag of black enamel, however, is tantamount to a signature, making this piece at once a masterpiece of Art Deco design and quintessentially Cartier.

Pair of Platinum, Diamond and Mystery-Set Colored Stone Pendant-Earclips, Van Cleef & Arpels. Estimate $200/300,000.

 

Pair of Platinum, Diamond and Ruby Mystery Pendant-Earclips, Van Cleef & Arpels. Estimate $200/300,000.

The tops of feathered design set with round diamonds weighing approximately 5.00 carats. With two pairs of interchangeable pendants, one pair set with calibré-cut sapphires accented by round diamonds weighing approximately 1.30 carats, the second pair set with calibré-cut rubies accented by round diamonds weighing approximately 1.25 carats.

Platinum, Diamond, Sapphire and Emerald Bracelet, Oscar Heyman & Brothers, circa 1925.

Set with three marquise-shaped diamonds weighing approximately 1.95, 1.80 and 1.80 carats, accented by smaller marquise-shaped diamonds weighing approximately 6.30 carats, further set with round, old European and single-cut diamonds weighing approximately 15.00 carats, decorated with cabochon sapphires as well as calibré-cut sapphires and emeralds.