Harry Winston

Exceptional Diamond Necklace-Bracelet Combination

Estimate

800,000 - 1,200,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Composed of graduated pairs of round diamonds alternating with marquise-shaped diamond clusters, length approximately 15½ inches, detachable into four sections measuring approximately 6¾, 3½ , 3⅜, and 2 inches for wear as two bracelets or a necklace of varying length, maker’s marks for François Tavernier, numbered; circa 1960s. With signed box.

The genius of Harry Winston design lies not in overt complexity or fussy embellishment, but in the discipline of yielding, entirely, to the diamond. Central to this philosophy is the celebrated Winston cluster, in which the jewel’s form is dictated by the stones themselves. That such stones, particularly when they are as substantial as those in lot 66, can be supported by metalwork scarcely seen is a measure of the technical mastery behind the design.

In the present necklace, a series of delicate trefoil clusters of marquise diamonds support substantial pairs of round diamonds, suspended with the barest visible means of support. The effect is all the more striking given the necklace’s total diamond weight of more than 120 carats. Equally noteworthy is the prominence of round diamonds, as the Winston Cluster often favors marquise- and pear-shaped stones, making this necklace a particularly noteworthy expression of the house’s design.