Van Cleef & Arpels

The Uta Ortiz-Patiño Collection of Magnificent Jewels

The Ortiz-Patiño name looms large in the worlds of art and culture. At Sotheby’s, it holds particular resonance, especially for those who have made their careers here. Over the course of five decades, we have presented nearly twenty stand-alone sales from the Ortiz-Patiño family. The collection of Luz Mila Patiño, Countess de Boisrouvray, comprised an astonishing selection of impressive jewels—including a Kashmir sapphire necklace and a 32-carat Burmese ruby ring—that brought $31 million when offered in 1989. For comparison, the 1987 auction of the Duchess of Windsor’s jewels achieved $50 million, but across a far greater number of pieces.

The Patiño family fortune was built by Simón Patiño (1860-1947), the “Tin King” of Bolivia. During World War II he was one of the wealthiest men in the world, earning him the additional sobriquet of the “Andean Rockefeller.” As pater familias, Simón ensured that connoisseurship and an appreciation for quality and provenance became dynastic. These priorities extended to jewelry, and in the 1930s he acquired the “Andean Cross,” a jewel set with a 45-carat emerald carved from a single crystal that had passed through the collections of Queen Isabel II of Spain and Empress Eugenie of France. 

Simón’s beautiful daughter, Graziella (1895-1980), married Jorge Ortiz Linares (1894-1965), Bolivia’s post-war ambassador to France. Graziella formed an exquisite collection of 18th-century decorative art while Jorge collected rare books and manuscripts. They raised their two sons, George (1927-2013) and Jaime (1930-2013), in France and the brothers later built two of the greatest art collections of the 20th century. George developed a passion for antiquities and Jaime acquired Impressionist paintings, books and 18th-century French and English silver. Jaime was also an accomplished sportsman: he competed in the French and Italian Opens, was an avid golfer and became a World Bridge Federation World Life Master.

It was into this rarified world that Uta Krebber entered when she married Jaime Ortiz-Patiño in 1970. Born in Germany and educated in Switzerland, she enjoyed a career as a fashion model before meeting the high-energy scion of the Patiño family. True jetsetters, she and Jaime maintained residences in Geneva, Rio de Janeiro, Megève, Paris, Sotogrande and Palm Beach. Uta’s fluency in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, complemented by working knowledge of several other languages, allowed her to move with ease across cultures and social circles. She has always surrounded herself with beauty and her passion for art and interior design is immediately apparent when visiting her historic home in Palm Beach. The majority of her jewels were acquired from the 1960s to the ‘80s with Van Cleef & Arpels her house of choice. Uta’s life amongst the highest levels of society has provided many opportunities to wear and enjoy her jewels, including Palm Beach’s Red Cross Ball and a visit to Buckingham Palace as well as both intimate and formal events with luminaries such as King Carlos of Spain, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, President George H. W. Bush and Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, whom she counted as a close friend. 

Sotheby’s is honored to continue its tradition of offering works from the Ortiz-Patiño family this December.