Three-Color Gold, Ruby and Diamond Purse, France

Sothebys is honored to offer a selection of jewels from the Estate of Eleanor de Limur, now property of descendants Christina, Charles and Philip de Limur, pieces of timeless style and impeccable workmanship that recall the families fabled histories. These stunning Cartier Art Déco diamond jewels evoke the glamor, romance and international interest of the courtship in Paris in the 1920's and subsequent marriage of the distinguished french Count André de Limur to Ethel Crocker in 1917. Ethel Mary Crocker was a descendant of the visionary Charles Crocker, one of the 'Big Four', founder of the western section of the first US transcontinental railroad, the Central Pacific Railroad. Crocker built a mansion in 1880 atop Nob Hill, where Grace Cathedral now sits, that was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. Their son, Alexander Charles Crocker 'Charlie' de Limur from Paris, met and married Eleanor Spreckels Walsh 'Nonie' while in San Francisco. Eleanor, also a descendant of a storied family of the West, was the great granddaughter of Claus Spreckels the 'Sugar King'. Their union brought together the three legacy families, Crocker, Spreckles and de Limur, and with it a dazzling collection of exceptional jewels that had been passed down through generations.