International auctioneers Bonhams & Butterfields held its fall auction
of Salon Jewelry on September 21, during the company’s first
jewelry sale at The Venetian Las Vegas. Property from the 400-lot auction was exhibited and sold during a simulcast sale in the space
formerly occupied by The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum.
“Bonhams & Butterfields was pleased to offer Salon Jewelry at The
Venetian Las Vegas. During the well received auction, robust interest
was seen for several pieces from the Clavius Collection of Fine Wristwatches, gold items, and colored stones, while the market for
diamonds continues to remain strong,” says Michael Larsen, GG, jewelry specialist at Bonhams & Butterfields.
The marquee lot of the sale was a very fine and rare 18-karat gold Ulysse
Nardin automatic hour repeating wristwatch (est. $25,000-35,000) from
the Clavius Collection. The handsome piece featured 41-jewel automatic
movement with 22-karat gold engraved rotor and a lapis lazuli dial boasting
applied gold Arabic numerals. Following a round of competitive bidding, the remarkable timepiece brought $45,750.
“The Clavius Collection was undoubtedly one of the finest single owner
offerings of wristwatches to be featured at public auction in Las Vegas. Bonhams & Butterfields was pleased to offer several of the finest
contemporary examples of refined craftsmanship and technical mastery in
horology instruments during the fall sale,” says Larsen.
Additional highlights of note from the Clavius Collection included a
fine limited edition 18-karat white gold fly-back Glashutte chronograph wristwatch (sold for: $17,080); a fine stainless steel Ulysse Nardin
automatic perpetual calendar wristwatch (sold for: $8,540) and a fine
and unusual 18-karat rose gold automatic wristwatch boasting a Las Vegas-inspired roulette wheel indication (sold for $7,930).
Jewelry highlights from the September auction at The Venetian Las Vegas included a sapphire and diamond flower brooch (sold for: $10,370); a
Bulgari yellow sapphire and diamond ring (sold for: $8,540); a playful
multi-color sapphire and diamond necklace (sold for: $7,930) and a
classic diamond eternity band (sold for: $7,930), as well as several lots of extravagant gold bling, Vegas style.
Bonhams & Butterfields’ auction previews at The Venetian will continue
until the Natural History auction on October 3. The exhibition features approximately 50 lots of fossils and dinosaurian including one
of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex specimens ever discovered — a
rare 66-million year old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton — dubbed “Samson.”
