Lot 357
  • 357

'The Donnersmarck Diamonds' Two magnificent and historic fancy intense yellow diamonds

Estimate
8,810,000 - 13,700,000 CHF
bidding is closed

Description

  • Diamonds
The cushion-shaped fancy intense yellow diamond weighing 102.54 carats; the pear-shaped fancy intense yellow diamond weighing 82.47 carats.

Provenance

Blanche Thérèse Lachman, dite la Païva, Countess Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck (1819-1884),

Katharina Wassilievna de Slepzoff, Countess Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck (1862-1929),

Thence by descent.

Sotheby’s Geneva, May 2007, lots 437 and 438.

Literature

Cf.: Vincent Meylan, Archives secrètes Boucheron, Paris, 2009, pgs. 14-36.

Condition

Accompanied by GIA report no. 15814849, stating that the old mine brilliant-cut diamond weighing 102.54 carats, measuring 31.23 x 30.72 x 16.17mm, is Fancy Intense Yellow, Natural Colour, SI1 Clarity; and no. 15686487, stating that the pear-shaped diamond weighing 82.47 carats, measuring 35.97 x 25.67 x 13.94mm, is Fancy Intense Yellow, Natural Colour, VS2 Clarity. For more information on the diamonds, please refer to the GIA reports.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Please note that colour, clarity and weight of gemstones are statements of opinion only and not statements of fact by Sotheby's. We do not guarantee, and are not responsible for any certificate from a gemological laboratory that may accompany the property. We do not guarantee that watches are in working order. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue, in particular to the Notice regarding the treatment and condition of gemstones.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

These superb diamonds were once part of the collection of ‘La Païva’, one of the 19th centuries most famous courtisane. Born Esther Lachman in 1819 in Moscow, to a shoemaker and a seamstress, she moved to Paris in 1837 to seek a new life. She used her charms to enter Parisian high society. In 1851 she married the Portuguese Marquis de Païva and thus gained a title and was then known in the grand monde as ‘La Païva’. The marriage did not last long: she dismissed her husband one day after the wedding.

In 1855 she met Guido, Count Henckel von Donnersmarck. Their relationship was the talk of ‘tout Paris’. On 28 October 1871, Guido von Donnersmarck married one of the most renowned courtesans of the French Second Empire, Esther Pauline Blanche Thérèse Lachman, and gave her as part of her corbeille de mariage one of the most extraordinary jewels from Empress Eugénie of the French: a three row natural pearl necklace.

 

  

Guido, Count Henckel von Donnersmarck, later created Prince Henckel von Donnersmarck (1830-1916), was the son of Karl-Lazarus, Count Henckel von Donnersmarck, and Julie von Bohlen. The enormous estates of the family were renowned for their vast areas of forestry and agricultural land but also for their highly prolific silver, iron, zinc and coal mining industries. Following the untimely death of his eldest brother in 1848, Guido, aged 18, took over the running of these businesses.

When the Count first met ‘La Païva’ in Paris in the 1850s, he was immediately captivated by her seductive charms and her extraordinary mind and business acumen. In 1855, 'La Païva' purchased a plot of land on the Champs Elysées, engaged a young architect, Pierre Manguin, and set about the realisation of her dreams. She wanted to create one of the most lavish and magnificent hôtels particuliers ever built in Paris. It took ten years to complete and she commissioned Paul Baudry to paint the ceiling of the grand salon with a décor of Day chasing Night away; and it is believed that the model for Night was probably la Païva herself. The magnificence of this hotel was without borders: rooms were decorated with lapis lazuli panels, the staircase was carved from onyx. Around 1866, when Guido von Donnersmarck and la Païva moved to their new home, the Count also acquired a country house for his love: the château Pontchartrain, a 16th century castle located 20 miles west of Paris.

On 19 July 1870, France declared war against the Prussians and la Païva retired to Upper Silesia. In the park of Neudek, close to the old family castle, a new castle was created by the French architect Lefuel who had worked on the completion of the Louvre for Napoleon III. La Païva had instructed him to use the plans of the Palais des Tuileries as his inspiration. Soon after the war, they returned to Paris and were married on 28 October 1871.

 

La Païva’s love of jewels is legendary. She had by then already acquired some fabulous creations and was a frequent client of Boucheron and her new husband was to ensure that the jewels and gems she was now to receive were matchless. The Donnersmarcks were ardent patrons of the fashionable jeweller Chaumet.

The Boucheron archives, revealed in Vincent Meylan’s book, mentioned the 100 carat cushion-shaped diamond offered in this auction; it was bought by la Païva, now the Countess von Donnersmarck, in 1882 from the jewellery house.

La Païva, Countess Henckel von Donnersmarck, passed away in Neudek on 21 January 1884. In later years, the Count was to say to his children that whatever was said about La Païva, they should remember that he had always loved her. He remained a widower until 1887 when he married Katharina Wassilievna de Slepzoff (1862-1929), born in St Petersburg. The Count and Countess resided in Neudek and in a palace in Berlin. Pontchartrain was sold in 1888 and the Hôtel Païva in 1893; it is presently the Traveller’s Club. The new Countess was extremely jealous of her predecessor, and thus all personal effects and belongings, portraits or any images of la Païva had to disappear, with the exception of her jewellery, which was added to Katharina’s own collection.

 

These two exquisite diamonds, passed from la Païva, one of the most iconic figures of the Parisian Second Empire, to the second wife of Count von Donnersmarck and remained in the Donnersmarck family for more than a century, until 2007 when they were sold at Sotheby’s Geneva. Ten years later, celebrating the anniversary of our themed Noble Jewels sale, we are delighted to re-offer them.