Much Bling going to the auction block in Las Vegas
September 8, 2009
A diamond, sapphire, ruby and gem-set swallow brooch, photo courtesy of Bonhams
The ancient fossils and dinosaur skeletons aren’t the only thing Bonhams and Butterfields will be auctioning, there will be lots of jewelry and watches too! The Salon Jewelry auction will be held on September 21, 2009, at 1pm at the Venetian in Las Vegas. It will be simulcast in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
When I previewed the fossils I couldn’t help but notice all those beautiful, colorful, sparkly, shiny things in the jewelry cases. I tried to walk past and did manage to stay away for a while, but hey, come on, I’m a girl. I ended up back at the pretty things before I left.
I was strolling through by fingertips on the case glass, admiring all those beautiful and unusual rings, bracelets, necklaces and pins. Michael Larsen, the Senior Watch Specialist for Bonhams & Butterfields noticed my struggle with my camera. He offered to pull things out for me to get a better shot. Hey, it’s a Coolpix, in the case, out of the case, is it really going to get the shot I want? No.
Mr. Larsen, being the kind guy that he is, said I should just use their photos from their auction website at Bonhams.com. So that is exactly what I did. He’s a smart man. Now you get to see the beauty of some of the items and I will spare you my own photography of the jewelry.
We went through so many items. As I stopped and showed interest in one he pulled it out of the case so I could see it. He’d tell me all about it, what it is made from, who’s collection it is from, etc. But he’s a fun guy and I’m always looking for a little trouble so we actually played with a few things.
Dinner on the Run
He took out of the case the jeweled frog brooch and the snake head brooch. He put them there on the velvet and told me, “Dinner on the run.” What a cut up, this guy is. So I stole his line and took a photo with my BlackBerry and put it out there on Twitter.
Black Diamond Rings, photo courtesy Bonhams
It looked to me like the vast majority of the items were for women. Us girls like our sparkly things. There was a large array of watches for the men, though, and maybe some bracelets. The watches were all the most famous names, of course. In all there are about 400 lots that will be auctioned.
Striking wristwatch with erotic automaton scene, photo courtesy of Bonhams
He had one item that was particularly interesting, I thought. He seemed a little unsure if he wanted to show this watch to me, but he decided he would. It is an automation watch. It does a little something on the hour, in this case, an erotic something. Too cool! Yeah, go to your mother-in-law’s house wearing that one. Oh she’ll love it! The estimated value on this watch is $50,000-$70,000. Oh, you know you want it.
Ruby cuff watch, photo courtesy of Bonhams
If you’re used to reading me you know there is one thing I want, and yes, it is there. Do you know how I’m going to know the next man I’m going to marry? My true love will be sent to me and he will present for me – Emeralds. I married the ruby and sapphire guy. This time it will be an emerald guy. This auction has emeralds. Do you hear that, Love of My Life? Fly into Vegas and meet me at the Salon Jewelry auction on September 21st, 2009. I will be there. All the tourmaline and peridot jewelry is really beautiful and I do really like it, but it doesn’t count. I want the emeralds.
Negligee Necklace, photo courtesy of Bonhams
I was really surprised that some of the most beautiful things we were enjoying that day during the preview were mostly under two grand in value. I thought my taste was a little more expensive than that, go figure.
Ruby Floral Ring, photo courtesy of Bonhams
You can get all the information you need and see the items up for auction at the Bonhams website. Follow the link to the Salon Jewelry in Las Vegas. There are also previews going on of the items in Los Angeles and San Francisco before the actual auction in the Venetian in Las Vegas. If you’d like to bid on the items, contact Bonhams to register beforehand.
Demantoid and diamond frog brooch, photo courtesy of Bonhams
Written by ColinFromLasVegas on September 20, 2009 at 4:38 pm
My friends and I just got word that there was a free viewing of all the jewelry and the fossils today (Sunday, 20 September 2009) from 2PM to 6PM. So, we went. And, as it turned out, it really wasn’t that crowded.
We were simply amazed. We ended up spending quite a bit of time in there. And we ended up chatting with someone who appeared to be in charge and told us the history of the some of the fossils. And this gentleman basically said that these fossils are being sold because of the worsening economic situation, to recoup money. And, even because they are being sold during these economic depressive times, the cost of the items has decreased in value also. They would have been worth much more before the bubble burst on the economy.
Anyways, I wanted to say thanks for pointing this exhibit out to us. We really, really enjoyed it.
Kind of interesting enough is the fact these are being exhibited on a casino on the Strip. We were chatting and all agreed that if this was over 50 years ago, Bugsy Siegel would have laughed at the idea of dinosaur fossils in a casino. He probably would have said get these bones outta here, or words to that effect. Interesting how far Las Vegas has come along.
Written by Pam on September 20, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Hi Colin,
I’m glad you got in there. It is so cool, isn’t it? I wish it were a permanent fixture on the Strip.
I’m planning on being at the jewelry auction and also the fossil auction. I’ll let you know how the sale went. Cross your finger some of this stuff stays in Vegas and we’ll be able to see it again.
You must have been talking with Tom. What an interesting guy he is!
Pam