SWITZERLAND: JEWELLERY FROM THE COLLECTION OF OPERA SINGER MARIA CALLAS IS TO BE AUCTIONED AT SOTHERBYS
Record ID:
190476
SWITZERLAND: JEWELLERY FROM THE COLLECTION OF OPERA SINGER MARIA CALLAS IS TO BE AUCTIONED AT SOTHERBYS
- Title: SWITZERLAND: JEWELLERY FROM THE COLLECTION OF OPERA SINGER MARIA CALLAS IS TO BE AUCTIONED AT SOTHERBYS
- Date: 17th November 2004
- Summary: (U6) GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (NOVEMBER 15, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. SLV EXTERIOR HOTEL BEAU RIVAGE 0.05 2. WIDE OF PEOPLE WATCHING SOTHEBY'S JEWELS COLLECTION; SCU POSTER OF MARIA CALLAS 0.18 3. SCU MODEL HOLDING CALLAS RUBY AND DIAMOND BRACELET; MODEL HOLDING CALLAS RUBY AND DIAMOND NECKLACE 0.40 4. SCU PAN FROM A BOOK OF VERDIS IL TROVATORE TO CALLAS EMERALD AND DIAMOND NECKLACE; CLOSE UP OF EMERALD AND DIAMOND NECKLACE; SCU SOTHEBYS STAFF ARRANGING CALLAS JEWEL; SCU CALLAS EMERALD AND DIAMOND RING; SCU MODEL HOLDING CALLAS MARQUISE-SHAPED DIAMOND 1.18 5. MV BRETT OCONNOR, HEAD OF SOTHEBYS GENEVA JEWELLERY DEPARTMENT, WITH A CLIENT 1.23 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRETT OCONNOR, HEAD OF SOTHEBYS GENEVA JEWELLERY DEPARTMENT, SAYING "There are eleven pieces ranging from six thousand Swiss francs to one hundred and twenty thousand Swiss francs so, something for eveybody." 1.33 7. SCU/CU BLUE DIAMOND RING 1.41 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 2nd December 2004 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Country: Switzerland
- Reuters ID: LVAS34UVQUWTDJYNU50TWD4APS4
- Story Text: Jewellery from the collection of opera singer Maria
Callas to be auctioned by Sothebys.
Superb jewellery pieces from the collection of one of
the world's most famous operatic sopranos, Maria Callas, will
be a highlight of Sothebys Magnificent Jewels auction to be
held on Wednesday (November 14, 2004) at the Beau Rivage Hotel
in Geneva, Switzerland.
Maria Callas, La Divina, was a real passionate
collector of fine jewellery. Sothebys sale includes 11
pieces, most of
which were given to her by her husband, Giovanni Battista
Meneghini, during the 1950s, her golden years, and which
were
bequeathed to a member of her circle after her in 1977.
Whenever she was seen in public, she was always
stylishly dressed and adorned with the wonderful jewels
from the
collection.
Ruby and diamond jewellery features prominently in this
collection. Alongside a ruby and diamond necklace,
estimated at
@52,000-78,000 ($90,000-140,000), there is a bracelet of
cushion-shaped rubies and baguette diamonds, estimated at
@28,000-45,000 ($50,000-80,000).
Emeralds were also a favourite, and Callas often
performed wearing a dazzling emerald and diamond necklace
(est:
@17,000-28,000/$30,000-50,000) or the claw-set emerald and
diamond ring (the emerald weighing 37.56 carats), which is
estimated at @45,000-78,000 ($80,000-140,000).
The most expensive piece in the Callas collection is a
marquise-shaped diamond ring, weighing 11.7 carats. It is
expected to fetch 68,000-100,000 ($120,000-180,000).
Maria Anna Sophie Kalogeropoulos was born in New York
in 1923. Her parents had emigrated from greece to Long
Island in
August of that same year. The family name changed to Callas
in 1929 but reverted to Kalogeropoulos when Maria was just
14, as
her parents separated and she moved with her mother and
sisters to Athens. There she was admitted to the National
Conservatoire
and in 1939 performed her first recital of Cavalleria
Rusticana.
In 1941 she made her professional start in Boccaccio
with the Lyric Theatre Company but in 1944 decided to
return to America, where she reclaimed the name Callas.
In 1949 she married the wealthy industrialist Giovanni
Battista Meneghini, who immediately took control over her
career. In the following ten years she became world-famous
with her performances in Milan, New York, Chicago and
London. She
then met and fell in love with the Greek shipping magnate
Aristotle Onassis, which resulted in the end of her
marriage and
eventually, of her stage career. Their stormy relationship
did not last and in 1968, he married Jacqueline Kenedy. Her
last
public performance was in Japan in November 1974. Callas
returned to her home in Paris and died in 1977.
The Callas collection is just one of the highlights of
Wednesdays sale. Also on offer is a pear-shaped diamond, of
fancy Vivid Blue colour, weighing 10.62 carats and mounted
as a ring, which is expected to fetch up to CHF 5,000,000
(2,180,000
pounds).
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None