Rare jewels and luxury watches on sale in Switzerland

| Posted May 15th 2008 5:05PM by Diane Shipley
Filed under: Accessories, Jewelry

Heading to Switzerland soon? Got a few million dollars to spare? Have we got the sale of the century for you! Legendary auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's are holding their spring jewelry sales in Swiss capital city Geneva this week.

Although looking at some of these prices, "spending opportunities" would be a better moniker than "sales"...

Despite the rest of the world struggling to pay for essentials like groceries and the latest issue of Vogue, the super-rich have apparently been unaffected by the sub-prime crisis and that hideous chaos we call 'the economy."

Among the wares on offer at this week's luxury jewelry sales will be a diamond-studded corsage brooch designed by French jeweler Maison Vever circa 1900 (which could go for $222,300) and a 21.40 carat heart-shaped yellow diamond, which is worth around $2.67m. (Bargain!)

But hold on to your wallets, because your best chance to splurge might not be in Switzerland at all. A selection of jewelry from the collection of Christina Onassis is on show in Geneva, including a pear-shaped 38-carat D color diamond (whatever that means -- it sounds fabulous).

The sale is expected to raise $3.6-4.4 million but you'll have to wait until the jewelry returns to London to snap any up -- it will be auctioned off at Christies on June 11. Form an orderly queue...

[via MSNBC]

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