With a career that spanned 70 years in film, television and stage, actress Lauren Bacall was a beauty with an attitude. She lit up the silver screen playing opposite the biggest names in Hollywood, including her first husband, Humphrey Bogart.
Bacall, who passed away in August of 2014 at age 89, had a sophisticated taste in art, collectibles, furnishings and fine jewelry. About 750 items from her estate, including 30 pieces of jewelry, will be auctioned by Bonhams New York on March 31 and April 1.
Among the treasures on the Bonhams' auction block will be branded items from Cartier, Chanel and Tiffany & Co., as well as several pieces by one of Bacall's favorite designers, Jean Schlumberger.
“Lauren Bacall loved this amethyst, turquoise and diamond ring,” noted Jon King, Bonhams’ vice president and director of business development. "Paris was her favorite city and while she was there, she would go to Hermès and Yves Saint Laurent and all the houses, including Schlumberger and buy from him directly." The coordinating gems on the Schlumberger earrings were designed to move with her as she moved, King explained.
The ring is estimated to sell in the range of $8,000 to $12,000, and the earrings are expected to fetch from $7,000 to $9,000.
A second Schlumberger piece was also favored by the actress. The 18-karat yellow gold bracelet is designed as a series of blue pailloné enamel panels, detailed with polished gold bars, leaves and cones. The bracelet is expected to sell from $20,000 and $30,000.
Bonhams’ auction notes reveal that 18-karat yellow gold rope bracelets were a fashion staple for Bacall, as she frequently wore multiples on the same wrist.
Bacall wore the bracelet (above) together with a similar, diamond-encrusted ropework bracelet "all the time," said King. "She liked layering and texture. That was part of her distinctive style." The bracelet is expected to fetch $5,000 to $7,000.
The actress also loved the camel brooch, above. Bonhams reported that British designer Elizabeth Gage was charged with turning an enamel camel Bacall owned into a brooch.
Items by designer Darlene de Selde will be featured, as well. These include a pair of 22-karat yellow gold and sapphire earrings, as well as a jadeite and 22-karat yellow gold ring (above).
Many of the items on sale are modestly priced, so here’s your chance to own a piece of Hollywood history.
In addition to the fine jewelry, the auction will feature bronze sculptures, decorative arts, tribal works of art, prints and paintings. Bonhams believes the entire collection will yield $3 million.
A tour of the Lauren Bacall Collection began in Hong Kong (Jan. 14 - 19) and is scheduled to head out to Paris (Jan. 29 – Feb. 5). Then the collection lands in London (Feb. 15 – 19), and moves onward to Los Angeles (Feb. 27 – Mar. 6). The final stop is New York, where the entire collection will be previewed from March 25 – 30, with the auction commencing the following day.
Jewelry images via Bonhams. Lauren Bacall publicity shots.
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