Christie’s to Auction Off World’s Most Expensive Ruby Ring; Part of Philanthropist Heidi Horten’s Collection 

Christie’s to Auction Off World’s Most Expensive Ruby Ring; Part of Philanthropist Heidi Horten’s Collection 

Edited by: Fern Sidman

For those out there who have a penchant for the world’s finest jewelry, you may want to consider a trip to Switzerland next month. According to a recent report in the New York Post, one can get a gander at the world’s most expensive ruby ring that is valued at up to $20 million smackers as well as a collection that is expected to bring in more than $150 million that consists of 700 glittering pieces. This is all courtesy of the iconic Christie’s auction house that plans to sell off unique pieces by such internationally renowned jewelers as Cartier, Harry Winston and Tiffany, among others. They are part of the collection of Austrian philanthropist Heidi Horten, who died last year.

The Post report, written by investigative journalist Isabel Vincent, the author of the 2022 book, “Overture of Hope” that focuses on the amazing story of two British sisters who spirited dozens of Jewish opera singers as well as personnel of the Austrian and German opera out of the country during World War II to escape the wrath of the Third Reich, wrote that Horten’s staggering wealth which includes her grand jewelry and storied art collection was obtained while married to her first husband.

Horten’s first husband, Helmut, managed to amass this wealth as a  member of the Nazi party and a business man who made his fortune from department stores confiscated from Jewish owners after the Nazis invaded Austria in 1938.

The May-December romance began when Helmut was 51 years old and Heidi only 19 years of age. The Post reported that the two met in a bar in 1959. They married seven years later, according to the Post report and set out to construct an art collection with pieces by such well known artists as Egon Schiele, an Austrian Expressionist, Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall. In a new Netflix seven part series titled, “Transatlantic” Chagall is portrayed as being ushered out of France in the early 1940s to escape Nazi persecution  by Varian Fry, am American journalist who lived in Marseille in order to rescue Europe’s brain trust from annihilation.

For her part, Heidi Horten inherited her husband’s $1 billion fortune in 1987 upon Helmut’s passing, the Post reported. From that massive inheritance, Heidi continued her penchant for purchasing unique and one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces from storied jewelers, the world over.

The Christie’s sale that is scheduled for next month is anticipated to break its own sales records,  the Post reported. There is a realistic expectation that the amount that could be fetched for the collection may even exceed the $116 million that was recorded in 2011 when actress Elizabeth Taylor’s extensive jewelry collection was sold by the auction house. The report also indicated that the amount brought in could also top the $109 million that Christie’s got in 2019 when they auctioned off the Indian royal jewels.

The Post report also said that the all time record for the sale of jewels, goes to Christie’s main competitor, Sotheby’s who in 2015 fetched $160.9 million at a single auction.

Included in the Horten collection is the Briolette of India, a 90-carat diamond necklace designed by Harry Winston and sold by Cartier in 1909, the Post reported.

A news release said that the estimate for the piece is available on request from the auction house, as was reported by the Post. In a statement,  Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s International Head of Jewelry said, “From a small personal memory piece to the Briolette of India, this is a collector’s dream. Mrs. Horten eloquently combined vintage and modern designs from the world’s leading jewelry houses that today represent some of the finest examples ever to come to market.”

The catalog that Christie’s publishes for these kind of auctions said that the Cartier’s 25-carat Sunrise Ruby ring, which is “of exceptional purity,” is expected to go for between $15 and $20 million, the Post said.  This rare gemstone is one for the history books as it is considered the most expensive among its kind and was originally mined in Myanmar, according to the report.  In Geneva, Switzerland in 2015, it was sold at a jewelry auction at Sotheby’s for a whopping $30.42 million.

Other pieces such as a Harry Winston designed triple strand of 175 natural saltwater pearls featuring a pink diamond clasp of 11.5 carats has an estimated value of $7 million to $10 million, the Post reported. Another piece designed by acclaimed jeweler Harry Winston, the Great Mughal emerald and diamond pendant has a pre-sale estimate of $500,000 to $700,000.

Heidi Horten definitely has an eye for rare gems and stones and in 2018 she plunked down a cool $36 million for a pearl that was once owned by Marie Antoinette, the last Queen of France before the French revolution.

The Post reported that the pearl was smuggled out of the palace in Versailles in a wooden chest by courtiers of Antoinette and had not been seen for centuries. The Post also reported that the pearl and diamond pendant is not part of Christie’s sale.

The first part of the two-part live auction series is scheduled to begin May 10 in Geneva, Switzerland and Christie’s has also included online sales that run through May 15, the Post reported.

Christie’s has said that the remaining jewels in the Horten collection will be sold in a second online auction in November, as was reported by the Post. Proceeds from the Christie’s sale will benefit Horten’s non-profit foundation, according to Christie’s.