SOTHEBY S TO SELL MAGNIFICENT JEWELS AND NOBLE JEWELS IN GENEVA ON MAY 17, 2007

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1 1 PRESS RELEASE 13 QUAI DU MONT-BLANC 1201 GENEVA T F Press Office contact: Frédéric Leyat: frederic.leyat@sothebys.com SOTHEBY S TO SELL MAGNIFICENT JEWELS AND NOBLE JEWELS IN GENEVA ON MAY 17, 2007 The Donnersmarck Diamonds from a European Princely Family A magnificent cushion-shaped diamond weighing carats (Est. CHF 1,800,000-2,400,000 / $ 1,500,000-2,000,000*) A magnificent pear-shaped diamond weighing carats (Est. CHF 1,800,000-2,400,000 / $ 1,500,000-2,000,000) GENEVA, APRIL 2007 Sotheby s forthcoming jewellery sale of Magnificent Jewels in Geneva will take place on Thursday, 17 May 2007 in the reception rooms of the Beau-Rivage Hotel. In addition to the regular Magnificent Jewels sale, noble pieces of jewellery will also be on offer in a special sale this year - the 20 th anniversary of the sale of the Duchess of Windsor s jewellery collection. David Bennett, Chairman of Jewellery, for Sotheby s Europe & the Middle East, says: Continuing Sotheby s exceptional record of offering jewels with noble provenance, for instance the 1987 sale of the collection of the Duchess of Windsor, the 1992 sale of jewels from the princely house of Thurn und Taxis, the sale of pieces from the French Crown Jewels in 1997, and more recently, the Russian Imperial necklace which belonged to Catherine the Great, this May we will be offering a whole selection of jewels from various aristocratic collections. Along with our extensive sale of Magnificent Jewels, we are excited to be showing highlights from the sale of Noble Jewels at various Sotheby s locations around the world.

2 The Donnersmarck Diamonds from a European Princely Family The two top lots in the sale are the Donnersmarck Diamonds, exceptional yellow stones - one a magnificent pearshaped diamond weighing carats, the other a magnificent cushion-shaped diamond weighing carats. They are each estimated at CHF 1,800,000-2,400,000 ($ 1,500,000-2,000,000). The diamonds come from a European Princely Family. 2 Count Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck ( ) was the scion of a wealthy family from Silesia. In 1848, Guido, aged 18, took over the entire running of the family businesses. In the mid 1850s, he settled in Paris and encountered La Païva, one of the most celebrated courtesans of the Third Empire. By all accounts the Count was an extremely handsome and charming man, and although he was a number of years her junior, the Count was immediately fascinated by La Païva and fell deeply in love with her and soon they became a couple. La Païva was born in Moscow around 1819 and first married at age 17. Within three years she had left for Paris as Thérèse and on her own. She soon became a mistress to Henri Hertz, the famous pianist and began to grow into the legendary La Païva. In 1851, as Blanche, she married the Portuguese Marquess de Païva, thus in one stroke she gained a title and the respectability of a husband. Over the next two decades, Blanche de Païva continued her life in Paris entertaining in her Salon a dazzling mix of society names, the Emperor himself, politicians, industrialists, financiers, intellectuals, writers and artists. In 1855, she began to create one of the most lavish and magnificent hôtels on the Champs Elysées. Her love of jewels was equally legendary as the extravagance of her new residence. Once her marriage to the Marquess was annulled in 1871, the Count s desires were fulfilled and they were married. As Blanche de Païva she had already acquired some fabulous jewels, but her new and rich husband was to ensure that the gems and jewels she was now to receive were matchless; she would have jewels that rivalled, if not surpassed, those of the Empress. The Henckel von Donnersmarcks were ardent patrons of the fashionable jewellers Chaumet, from whom they commissioned and purchased many of their great jewels, in particular superb pearls and diamonds. Following La Païva s death, the Count remarried in 1887, and his new wife Katharina Wassilievna de Slepzoff, added La Païva s jewels to her own collection, since she too was a great connoisseur and admirer of jewellery. The two brides of Prince Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck acquired truly spectacular and important gems and jewels. The two important diamonds offered here were in the private collection of Princess Katharina Henckel von Donnersmarck (illustrated above). In 1878, Chaumet set the cushion-shaped diamond as part of an aigrette and the pear-shaped diamond as a pendant / bracelet center for la Païva. In 1888, the stones were remounted for Princess Katharina Henckel von Donnersmarck.

3 Jewels from the collection of Christian, Lady Hesketh There are two very attractive tiaras among the 26 pieces of the collection of Christian, Lady Hesketh ( ), which will be included in the sale. Known universally as Kisty, Lady Hesketh s family home was the magnificent Easton Neston in Northamptonshire. On the marriage of her eldest son, she moved into Pomfret Lodge in the Easton Neston grounds, from where her possessions were recently sold in a single owner sale at Sotheby s London. 3 The first tiara from Lady Hesketh s collection dates from circa It is composed of a series of sky-blue oval aquamarines, surrounded by similar stones set among diamond-encrusted leaves to elegant effect, and is estimated at CHF75, ,000 ($60, ,000* / illustrated above). The second, set with diamonds of various cuts, depicts the national flowers of three of the countries of the United Kingdom. England is represented by a single open rose, Scotland by a thistle and Ireland by a shamrock (estimate: CHF38,000-50,000 / $ 30,000-40,000 / illustrated right). Jewellery incorporating the emblems of the three historic kingdoms has been very popular, particularly for the occasion of coronations, since the Act of Union created the United Kingdom on 1 January 1801 by unifying Great Britain and Ireland. A further highlight of the collection is a beautiful diamond rivière from the 1850s, consisting of 36 old-cut diamonds in a closed setting (estimate: CHF100, ,000 / $80, ,000). From the collection of Count Henckel von Donnersmarck The tiara shown on the right dates from circa 1910 and takes the shape of a large crown of stylised flowers set with seven diamonds, each encircled by a garland of diamonds (estimate: CHF80, ,000 / $64, ,000). The piece comes from the collection of Count Henckel von Donnersmarck, whose family can be traced back to the 14 th century and has its roots in Central Europe. The tiara was acquired by an ancestor of the current count, who was a special envoy and minister plenipotentiary to the German embassy in Copenhagen. Each year, Kaiser Wilhelm II would spend a few weeks touring Northern Europe on board his yacht, the Hohenzollern, on his famous Nordlandreise trips. The tiara was most probably purchased in

4 1906 when the Kaiser combined his annual trip with attending the coronation in June of King Frederic VII of Denmark. 4 Formerly in the Countess Rosamond Courten collection The sale also includes a beautiful parure in carved coral, consisting of a necklace, bracelet, brooch, pair of earrings and hair ornament (detail illustrated left). Coral was at the height of fashion between 1840 and 1860 and was worn in all possible forms. Most coral on the market at the time was carved in Genoa or Naples. The colour of the coral in this case also suggests that it came from the Bay of Naples. Each item is decorated with a floral motif, and the set is magnificently presented in its original box (estimate: CHF8,000-12,000 / $6,500-9,500). It was a gift from Leo von Klenze ( ), to his wife, Maria Felicitas von Klenze, née Blangini ( ). Leo von Klenze had been an architect to the courts of both King Maximilian I and Ludwig I of Bavaria, and is regarded as the most important figure in neoclassical architecture in Germany. Leo von Klenze travelled extensively in Italy for many years, and this parure was almost certainly bought in Naples as a souvenir on one of these occasions. It has remained in the same family to this day. Formerly in the Marquis Gropallo Rocca Saporiti collection The important diamond cross being offered in the sale (illustrated left) belonged to the collection of the Marquis Gropallo Rocca Saporiti. It dates from the mid 19 th century and has been suspended from a chain covered in pearls since the early 20 th century (estimate: CHF 245, ,000 / $200, ,000). Marcello Saporiti, one of Napoleon Bonaparte s generals, acquired La Sforzesca, a historic estate just outside Milan, in It had been constructed by Duke Lodovico Sforza in 1486 as a present for his wife, Anna Beatrice d Este. On her death, La Sforzesca was left to the Dominican fathers of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, who retained the property for the next three centuries until the Napoleonic Cisalpine Republic confiscated the church s assets in As Marcello Saporiti had no children, the family line passed to his niece, Maria Rocco Saporiti, who married the Marquis Marcello Gropallo ( ). They had six children, the youngest of whom was Ippolito Gropallo ( ). There is a portrait of his wife, Marquess Adele Gropallo ( ) wearing the cross suspended from the original diamond rivière (illustrated above).

5 From an aristocratic Westphalian family The sale also contains another beautiful tiara set with an emerald and diamonds (illustrated left). Dating from circa 1910, the highly original design consists of two sections, one superimposed on the other. The first is composed of diamonds in a floral motif bordered by three round-cut diamonds, while the second has an octagonal diamond at the centre, surrounded by a range of organic and geometrical motifs (estimate: CHF 230, ,000 / $185, ,000). It comes from an aristocratic Westphalian family and has been worn by earlier generations at grand official dinners given at the court in Berlin. 5 MAGNIFICENT JEWELS: SOTHEBY S TRADITIONAL SALE OF FINE JEWELLERY The traditional spring sale of Magnificent Jewels organised by Sotheby s Geneva will take place on the same day, Thursday, May 17, 2007, also in the reception rooms of the Beau-Rivage Hotel. Sotheby s worldwide team of jewellery experts has assembled a spectacular selection of outstanding diamonds and coloured stones, as well as a vast variety of signed pieces by the most prestigious houses. The event will undoubtedly appeal to enthusiasts and collectors the world over. The top lot in the sale is an impressive carat step-cut diamond, D-colour, signed by M. Gérard, which can be worn either as a pendant or a ring. The accompanying certificate attests to its VVS1 clarity and indicates that it may prove Flawless once gently re-polished (estimate: CHF2,125,500-2,750,000/ $1,700,000-2,200,000 / illustrated left). By the same jeweller, is another D- colour step-cut diamond, weighing carats. Its clarity is VVS2, and it is potentially Flawless after re-polishing. This jewel, mounted in a ring, is expected to fetch CHF1,250,000-1,875,000/$1,000,000-1,500,000. The auction will also feature a superb Fancy Vivid Yellow oval diamond ring weighing 8.19 carats, which is estimated at CHF750,000-1,000,000/$600, ,000 / illustrated right). Two further dazzling D-colour diamonds, both mounted in rings, are included in the sale. The first, a carat marquise-shaped stone, is signed Van Cleef & Arpels (estimate: CHF750,000-1,000,000/ $600, ,000), while the second is step-cut and weighs carats (estimate: CHF470, ,000 / $375, ,000).

6 Another highlight will be an exquisite emerald and diamond parure, comprising a necklace, a pair of earrings, a ring and a bracelet. The necklace consists of seven graduated stepcut emeralds bordered by diamonds of various cuts and decorated with a fringe of diamonds in a flower motif. A removable pear-shaped emerald drop in a similar setting, suspended from the necklace, completes this spectacular piece (estimate: CHF800,000-1,050,000 / $640, ,000 / detail shown left). 6 The rubies on offer include two magnificent examples from Burma. The first, an carat cushion-cut stone mounted in a ring comes from the estates of Elly and Jock Elliott (estimate: CHF375, ,000 / $300, ,000). The second, also set in a ring, is estimated at CHF440, ,000 ($350, ,000 / illustrated below) and weighs 5.04 carats. Furthermore, the sale will include a cabochon emerald and diamond bracelet signed Van Cleef & Arpels (CHF60,000-90,000 / $49,300-74,000) and a very important natural pearl and diamond necklace by Cartier (estimate: CHF250, ,000/$200, ,000). Natural pearl jewellery is becoming ever rarer these days, as pollution of the seas and oceans is destroying pearl oysters, making this item all the more valuable in the eyes of connoisseurs. Highlights will be on view in Paris, New York, Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Rome For exact dates please call the Sotheby s Press Office MAGNIFICENT JEWELS AND NOBLE JEWELS Sales in Geneva Thursday 17 May 2007 at 11.00am, 2.30pm and 7.30pm (The Noble Jewels sale will start at 7.30pm) Pre-sale exhibition in Geneva Saturday 12 May 2007: 10.00am to 6.00pm Sunday 13 May 2007: 10.00am to 6.00pm Monday 14 May 2007: 10.00am to 5.00pm Tuesday 15 May 2007: 10.00am to 6.00pm Wednesday 16 May 2007: 10.00am to 6.00pm Thursday 17 May 2007: 10.00am to 12 noon (session 2) Thursday 17 May 2007: 10.00am to 4.30pm (session 3 and Noble Jewels) For further information, please contact the press office: press.swiss@sothebys.com IMAGES AVAILABLE BY ALL SOTHEBY'S PRESS RELEASES ARE PUBLISHED ON * Estimates do not include the buyer s premium