Marlene Dietrich’s Ruby and Diamond Cuff Bracelet Heads to Auction
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PARIS — A Van Cleef & Arpels “Jarretière” ruby and diamond cuff bracelet that will go up for auction at Christie’s in June has the kind of pedigree that gets collectors hot under the collar.
Not only was the cuff made by Louis Arpels in 1937 for Marlene Dietrich out of several jewels she owned, but it was immortalized on the silver screen in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1950 murder mystery “Stage Fright.” After the actress’ 1992 death, it belonged to interior designer and philanthropist Anne Eisenhower, who was also the granddaughter of 34th U.S. president Dwight Eisenhower and Mamie Doud Eisenhower.
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The cuff is part of the “The Magnificent Jewels of Anne Eisenhower“ collection, which goes under the hammer on June 7 in New York as part of Christie’s Luxury Week. Other pieces from the group will be shown in Paris in April as part of a worldwide tour before the auction.
“When you discover the pieces someone collected throughout their life, you’re delving into their inner self,” said Violaine d’Astorg, head of the jewelry department at Christie’s France. “Through the soul of a collection appears the soul of the collector.”
Eisenhower, who died in 2020 at the age of 73, was “a woman of taste” who was named among Architectural Digest’s Top 100 designers in 1990 for the residential interiors she imagined. Of the 30 jewels offered in the June 7 sale, it’s the late designer’s refinement and taste that shines through but also her knowledge of jewelry history.
Case in point: a Cartier Panthère brooch in colored diamonds and onyx with emerald eyes, estimated between $100,000 and $150,000.
According to Astorg, this “piece is very important because it shows that she went into the history of jewelry to choose meaningful designs,” particularly as the panther represented Cartier director of fine jewelry Jeanne Toussaint.
“It shows she had knowledge that went far beyond purchasing sizable pieces, important diamonds and cascades of rubies and sapphires,” said the expert. That said, there is a D-colored internally flawless 20.54-carat diamond, estimated between $1.2 million and $1.8 million.
As for the ruby and diamond “Jarretière” cuff bracelet, it is a sculptural design that captured the actress’ larger-than-life presence. “Marlene Dietrich had the whole of Hollywood at her feet, men who gave her many jewels but here, it is she who is ordering. That’s no doubt why [the cuff] is so impressive,” said Astorg.
The combination of the “Jarretière” design, already famous in Van Cleef & Arpels’ history since Wallis Simpson wore a sapphire and diamond version for her wedding to the Duke of Windsor, with the double provenance of Marlene Dietrich and Anne Eisenhower is “the perfect equation to get the best sale and a future record,” for Astorg.
Purchased anonymously by Eisenhower at auction at the dispersion of Dietrich’s estate for $990,000, three times its then-estimate of $300,000, it is now estimated between $2.5 million and $4.5 million.
At a moment where consumers are looking for “more stories, more meaning” in their purchases, “history, rarity are things that don’t have a price tag today,” said Astorg. “People don’t want to have pieces coming from retail, they want to buy a piece with history, a piece of history and that reaches unimaginable sums.”
Other highlights in the sale include a Van Cleef and Arpels sapphire and diamond “Waterfall“ necklace Eisenhower commissioned and a supple Tiffany & Co. diamond and multi-gem “Moonlight Rose“ bracelet, dated around 1925.
The “Jarretière” cuff bracelet will be among pieces on display in Taipei, Taiwan on April 22 and 23, while other pieces from “The Magnificent Jewels of Anne Eisenhower“ will be exhibited at the auctioneer’s Paris outpost at 9 avenue Matignon until April 25. The collection will then be shown in Geneva between May 14 and 17; Hong Kong from May 24 to 27, and finally New York from June 2 to 6, ahead of the June 7 auction.
A further 25 pieces from Eisenhower’s collection will be featured in the auctioneer’s Jewels Online sale from May 30 to June 8.
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