Alexandra Rhodes, Head of the Sotheby's Geneva Jewellery Department and her team are pleased to announce the forthcoming auction of Magnificent Jewellery from the Collection of Baroness Eugène de Rothschild. The collection will go under the hammer at Geneva's Beau-Rivage Hotel on Tuesday 18 November 2003, with the proceeds, estimated at between CHF 960,000-1,400,000 ($ 700,000-1,000,000), going to Denville Hall, a retirement home for actors from the London area. Baroness Eugène de Rothschild was an actress in the 1930s, appearing under the stage name Jeanne Stuart, and became a patron of Denville Hall in the late 1950s.

The life of Baroness Eugène de Rothschild: a modern fairy tale
Baroness Eugène de Rothschild was born on 13 August 1908 in Hampstead village, England. The daughter of William James Sweet, a severe man steeped in Victorian morals who worked as a copper beater, and a Welsh mother, she was christened Ivy. She left home at a young age, making her stage debut at 15 in a troupe of dancers.

Over the years, she built a modest career as an actress under the name of Jeanne Stuart. In the 1930s the young starlet took part in theatrical productions, such as After All and It's A Girl in London and Nine Till Six in New York, as well as acting in films shot mainly in England. She played the role of Eleanor Bingham in Jack Raymond's 1931 film Mischief, then appeared in Thomas Bentley's The Great Defender (1934), Zoltan Korda's Forget Me Not (1934) and Maclean Rogers' Old Mother Riley Joins Up (1939). Although none of these films was particularly memorable, she acted alongside some of the era's great names, such as Ralph Richardson and Margaret Lockwood. In 1944 she toured Europe with Ensa, and when her contract with the play ended she left for the USA.

In America she met James Stewart with whom she was to live for three years. Then a chance meeting in a Glen Cove shop with the housekeeper of Baron Eugène de Rothschild led to a dinner invitation. The baron, from the Austrian branch of the family, was still grieving after the death of his wife, but fell instantly under the young starlet's spell. They married in December 1952 and set up homes in Long Island and New York. Blessed with a sound business mind, the Baroness was a tremendous help to her husband in restoring the family's finances which had suffered greatly in the political upheaval that rocked Europe between 1939 and 1945. The couple settled in Monaco at the end of the 1950s, becoming friends with Prince Rainier and Princess Grace. It was at this time that the Baroness became a benefactor of Denville Hall, the actors' retirement home. Following her husband's death in 1976, she lived on in the apartment they had shared.

The jewels of Baroness Eugène de Rothschild: style, beauty, elegance
The collection not only reflects Baroness Eugène de Rothschild's exquisite style and love of beauty, but speaks eloquently of her rich and varied life.
The star piece among many magnificent lots is a superb 1950s ring by Harry Winston. Set with a 20.95 carat emerald cut diamond between triangular diamond shoulders, it is expected to fetch CHF 160,000-220,000 ($120,000-170,000 / lot 87). Another top lot in the collection is a stunning pendent from 1916, with a brilliant-cut diamond at the centre weighing circa 13.00 carats and surrounded by calibrated emeralds, estimated at CHF 125,000-175,000 ($93,000-130,000 / lot 86). Another piece, which deserves close attention, is a ring set with a fancy vivid yellow diamond weighing 6.72 carats estimated at CHF 40,000-60,000 ($30,000-45,000 / lot 85).






Exhibition: Geneva, Beau-Rivage Hotel
From Saturday 15 to Tuesday 18 November 2003, between 10am and 6pm



Tuesday 18 Nov 2003
1st session at 6.30pm
From the Collection of baroness Eugene de Rothschild

Thursday 20 Nov 2003
2nd session at 10.00am
3rd session at 2.30pm
The Collection of Luisa Fanti Melloni
4th session at 7.30pm
Including
A D-colour, internally flawless diamon weighing 103.83 carats


www.sothebys.com
Contact: [email protected]
(please credit europastar.com)

Source: Sotheby's press release
October 2003