Biography
Carol Elkins has over 35 years of experience in the Jewelry department at Sotheby’s. Presently based on the West Coast, serving both Sotheby's Los Angeles and San Francisco offices, she is regarded by dealers and collectors as a leading specialist in antique and period jewelry. Ms. Elkins was responsible for the landmark exhibition and sale of over 150 Revivalist jewels by Castellani & Giuliano from The Judith Seigel Collection. She has also organized sales of Art Nouveau jewels by Rene Lalique from various private collections; another highlight of her tenure as a senior specialist includes the sale of a series of rare Art Deco Egyptian Revival jewels by Cartier from the estate of Iya Lady Abdy. She has facilitated loans of objects from private collections to museum exhibitions held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She also advises private collectors regarding acquisitions management.
Ms. Elkins’ chief responsibilities include promoting and contributing consignments to the New York Jewelry sales. Her role is to meet with clients to provide auction estimates as well as estate and fair market appraisals, not only in California but throughout the western regions of the United States including Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. In addition to conducting educational seminars on various aspects of evaluating jewelry, Ms. Elkins is a frequent lecturer at museums and jewelry conferences. She has also served as a thesis advisor at Sotheby’s Institute in New York.
Ms. Elkins is a former President and long-standing member of the American Society of Jewelry Historians and is also a member of the Gemological Institute of America Alumnae Association. She has contributed to the Gemological Institute of America’s quarterly journal, Gems & Gemology, and has written several articles on period Jewellery styles for Sotheby’s publications.
A graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a degree in Art History and Classical Civilization, she is also a Graduate Gemologist certified by the G.I.A. (Gemological Institute of America) and is also certified appraiser in U.S.P.A.P. (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice).
