Jewels from Mellon Family to Hit Sotheby’s New York

A selection of jewelry that belonged to members of the Mellon family will go up for auction at Sotheby’s in New York, including a sapphire and diamond Cartier necklace that could fetch up to $3.5 million.

The piece, with five emerald- and square emerald-cut Kashmir sapphires weighing between 4.44 and 10.01 carats, will feature in the Magnificent Jewels sale on June 8, Sotheby’s said last week. The necklace also contains round, baguette and square-cut diamonds.

The jewel was the property of Constance Prosser Mellon, wife of the grandson of Thomas Mellon, who founded T Mellon and Sons Bank. The family is widely known for its philanthropy, as well as for the development of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, investing in aluminum, steel and railroads. It also donated large sums to education, including to the University of Pittsburgh and to Carnegie Mellon University.

A Cartier ring containing an emerald-cut, 33.51-carat Burmese sapphire accented by baguette diamonds will also be on offer. Another Prosser Mellon piece, it has a presale price range of $1.5 million to $2.5 million.

Meanwhile, a Cartier ring features an emerald-cut, 12.35-carat Colombian emerald flanked by diamonds. It is estimated at $150,000 to $250,000.

Those three jewels will join several others from the Mellon family alongside the Eternal Pink, a cushion-cut, 10.57-carat, fancy-vivid-purplish-pink, internally flawless diamond that carries an estimate of more than $35 million. The Estrella de Fura, a 55.22-carat ruby that is the largest ever to appear at auction, will also star in the sale. It has a presale price of more than $30 million.

Main image: The Cartier sapphire and diamond necklace. (Sotheby’s)