Lot 1
FRENCH, ANTIQUE, SILVER-TOPPED GOLD, RUBY, PEARL AND DIAMOND SET
Sale 929 - Important Jewelry
Sep 13, 2021
10:00AM CT
Live / Chicago
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Estimate
$2,000 -
3,000
Price Realized
$10,000
Sold prices are inclusive of Buyer’s Premium
Lot Description
FRENCH, ANTIQUE, SILVER-TOPPED GOLD, RUBY, PEARL AND DIAMOND SET
Consisting of a brooch containing one cushion mixed cut ruby measuring approximately 6.70 x 6.35 x 3.35 mm, two lozenge and four square step cut rubies, 12 round mixed cut rubies, eight pearls (origin not tested) and numerous mixed cut diamonds, together with a necklace containing four oval and 28 square and rectangular step cut rubies, 18 pearls (origin not tested) and numerous mixed cut diamonds. Brooch: 4 3/4 inches x 1 inch. Necklace: 14 1/2 inches long.
Brooch pin back stamp: 14K.
Necklace stamp: (French hallmarks for gold and silver) (obscured maker's mark) 3089.
36.75 dwt.
Brooch pin back stamp: 14K.
Necklace stamp: (French hallmarks for gold and silver) (obscured maker's mark) 3089.
36.75 dwt.
Pauline Nunan left Ireland to teach English in Odessa, Russia in the early 1900’s. There she met Ernest, an American working for the International Harvester Company. While they were courting in Russia, Ernest gave Pauline this lovely pearl and ruby necklace and brooch. They married and were moved by International Harvester to Novosibirsk in Siberia, where they lived until the beginning of the Russian Revolution.
When Ernest wired for assistance to evacuate Russia with his young family, he received a telegram from International Harvester with the words: “Good luck.” The family spent days sleeping in their clothes, hoping for a train to carry them East to the coast. They leapt onto a crowded Trans-Siberian Railway bound for Vladivostok. There they needed passage on a ship to Japan. Ernest tried bribing the authorities with rubies, but they were rejected. Russian rubles were worthless. Finally gold coins secured tickets to board a ship for Japan. From Japan they went to Hawaii and finally to the continental United States.
This necklace and accompanying ruble note survived the above journey and were given to the current owner, the granddaughter of Pauline. May they bring love and luck to the wearer.
Property of Alexandra Barrazone
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