GLEN COVE, NY — Baroness Gabriele Langer von Langendorff was no stranger to the spotlight — or controversy — during her storied life as a New York socialite. Von Langendorff owned a fortune in Harry Winston jewelry, much of it given to her by beguiled suitors. She passed away in the summer of 2023, and a number of items from her estate will come to market at Roland New York on Saturday, May 4 as part of the house’s May 2024 Estates Sale, the catalog for which is now open for bidding and review at LiveAuctioneers.
Born in an undetermined year, she was raised in both Germany and The Netherlands and emigrated to to the United States after World War II. She began her social climb in the early 1960s when she married William Klopman, the founder of Burlington Textiles. He was a pioneer in the booming postwar synthetic fabric industry and, as a consequence, was beyond wealthy. So taken with his new wife was he that he built the 40-acre Villa Riele estate on the shore of Lloyd Harbor in Long Island, New York. Langer’s jewelry collection got off to a splashy start when Klopman purchased for her the fabled 77-carat Lesotho Diamond from Harry Winston. (The other half of the original jewel ended up with Elizabeth Taylor, herself no stranger to both high-end jewelry and controversy.)
Klopman passed away in 1974, and Langer didn’t miss a beat, marrying her late husband’s longtime friend, a perfume manufacturer known as ‘Baron’ Peter Langer ‘von Langendorff’ (he was neither nobility nor a von Langendorff, but adopted the title and surname as part of a professional nom de plume). Langer is best remembered as the creator of White Shoulders perfume, a popular postwar brand that he and his first wife dreamed up.
Gabriele went on to lead a jet-set lifestyle in New York, Palm Beach, and Monaco. Her clothes and jewels – she favored extravagant emeralds that complemented her red hair – were featured in society columns around the world. She maintained a lifelong friendship with Harry Winston, who helped create many of the items in her collection.
Alton S. Tobey (1914-2005) is best remembered as a muralist (he did WPA post office murals early in his career), but at some point he received a commission to paint a portrait of Gabriela. Resplendent wearing a huge emerald necklace and Harry Winston diamond earrings, she is depicted sitting regally before a window that likely overlooks Villa Riele’s gardens. The painting is estimated at $3,000-$5,000.
And those very same Harry Winston earrings she wears in the Tobey portrait are also included in the sale. Designed to resemble doorknockers, the pair is set with 182 round brilliant-cut diamonds, has been tested for 18K gold, and is estimated at $30,000-$35,000.
Gabriela’s Harry Winston diamond, emerald-simulant, and gold necklace features a foliate design. The band has graduating pendants set with a whopping 886 round brilliant-cut diamonds and a simulated emerald. The piece is accompanied by a photo image from the Harry Winston archives, and it has an estimate of $60,000-$80,000.
This Harry Winston pendant necklace features 151 round- and pear-shaped brilliant-cut diamonds and square- and baguette-cut sapphires. The pendant is detachable, and, like most pieces in the sale, comes with its signed Harry Winston box. It is estimated at $30,000-$40,000.
The final preview highlight is a Jacques Timey for Harry Winston pair of diamond, emerald, and gold earrings. Set with 146 round brilliant-cut diamonds totaling approximately 10.50 carats, the pair includes a maker’s mark for Jacques Timey. With a signed Harry Winston box, the pair is estimated at $15,000-$20,000.
