On July 19, French auction house Artcurial will host a sale highlighting women’s timepieces called Le Temps Est Féminin (or Time Is Feminine). “Our July auction spans over a century of jewelry history, with treasures of craftsmanship from the late 19th century, unique pieces from the prized art nouveau and art deco periods, and dazzling designs from the 1940s and 1960s, which have become increasingly collectible,” the head of Artcurial’s jewelry department, Julie Valade, tells JCK. “Demand for rare diamonds and gemstones remains strong, and we have a fantastic selection on offer, led by a 17.5 carat D color emerald-cut diamond.”
Part of Artcurial’s series of sales in Monaco taking place July 15–21, this particular segment is dedicated to women’s items and include a yellow gold Duoplan watch (estimate: $5,100–$7,100) by Jaeger LeCoultre (shown at top); a yellow gold, sapphire, and emerald secret watch by Omega, circa 1964 (estimate $16,000 to $21,000); and Nautilus (estimate $13,000 to $19,000) and Aquanaut (estimate $10,000 to $15,000) models by Patek Philippe.
“Artcurial was the first auction house to dedicate sales to collectible ladies’ watches in 2018. Since then, our biannual Time Is Feminine auctions have gone from strength to strength,” Marie Sanna-Legrand, the director of Artcurial’s watches department, explains. “This season, we exceptionally have two auctions dedicated to high-quality watches for women, one of them featuring a remarkable single-owner collection of 80 very rare timepieces unseen for over four decades. Collections of ladies’ watches are extremely rare, but a collection of this size and quality, comprising so many rare examples, is unheard of. It is a real ‘treasure trove’ sale.”
Coinciding with the sale, Artcurial is also to host another women’s-centric auction, the Sparkling Collection, focusing on rare fine jewels.
Top: Duoplan watch in 18k yellow gold, circa 1958, by Jaeger LeCoultre (photos courtesy of ©AlmaKarina/Artcurial)
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