Touch of Jackie Kennedy style adds to Heritage jewelry auction Sept. 26
Gold cuff bracelets by Van Cleef & Arpels, gifted by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to her step-sister. Estimate: $40,000-$60,000. Heritage Auctions image
DALLAS – Dazzling gold cuff bracelets by Van Cleef & Arpels, gifted by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to Nina Straight, her step-sister and maid of honor when she married John F. Kennedy in 1953, are expected to sell for $40,000 in Heritage Auctions’ Contemporary Designer Jewels Auction Sept. 26 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Kennedy Onassis surprised Straight with the pair of bracelets when she served as Straight’s maid of honor 21 years later.
Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.com.
“They were a gift from Jackie for my wedding to Michael Straight in 1974. We were married at St. John’s Cathedral in New York. Jackie gave them to me at the luncheon after the ceremony,” Straight said.
The cuffs matched a pair Kennedy Onassis often wore. “Jackie loved hers so much that she bought me a pair knowing I would enjoy them equally,” Straight said. “I always viewed myself as Jackie’s ‘Sancho Panza’ or sidekick. We had so much fun. Ours was a very close relationship.”
Jill Burgum, senior director of Jewelry at Heritage said there is no telling how the collecting public will respond to a pair of cuffs gifted by the First Lady to someone so special to her life. The pair Kennedy Onassis gifted to Straight are marked 47 and 48. A bracelet from Kennedy Onassis’ own pair sold previously is marked No. 50, so it is very likely that she purchased both limited-edition sets at the same time and gave Straight the earlier pair, Burgum said.
“Nina was Jackie’s step-sister so this was a very important and thoughtful gift by a former First Lady, who was known as an icon of American fashion,” Burgum said.
In addition to the gold cuffs, the auction’s 800-plus lots include the finest creations from artists ranging from Cartier to Harry Winston. A time-honored diamond, gold necklace by Cartier (below) weighs a total of approximately 25.45 carats set in 18K gold (est. $60,000) and a Cartier Panthère de Cartier diamond, emerald, white gold ring weighing approximately 6.50 carats, is enhanced by blazing pear-shape emerald eyes and carved black onyx accents (est. $50,000). An emerald-cut diamond, platinum ring by Harry Winston weighs 4.01 carats is flanked by beautiful tapered baguette-cut diamonds (est. $60,000).
Diamond necklace by Cartier, approximately 25.45 carats set in 18K gold (est. $60,000-$70,000). Heritage Auctions image
A Henry Dunay diamond, platinum bracelet (below) – as intricate as a snowflake – offers 9.45 carats set in platinum (est. $40,000). A diamond, white gold necklace by Boucheron (est. $40,000), features a collar in full-cut diamonds weighing approximately 18.30 carats.
Henry Dunay diamond bracelet, 9.45 carats set in platinum (est. $40,000-$60,000). Heritage Auctions image
Unsigned jewels include a stunning, Burma ruby, diamond, platinum ring featuring a cut-cornered rectangle-shaped ruby weighing 10.11 carats (est. $150,000) and also a diamond, white gold ring – a round brilliant-cut diamond weighing 10.05 carats – leads off a selection of large stones (est. $100,000).
