Christie’s auction house is preparing for a landmark sale of 700 jewels that once belonged to the late Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten.
The collection, estimated at $150 million, includes unique and exceptional pieces from iconic 20th-century designers such as Cartier, Harry Winston, Bulgari, and Van Cleef & Arpels. The sale is expected to surpass previous records set by Christie’s in sales of possessions from Elizabeth Taylor in 2011 and the “Maharajas and Mughal Magnificence” collection in 2019, which exceeded $100 million.
According to Forbes, Heidi Horten, who had a net worth of $2.9 billion, passed away in 2021 at the age of 81. Her husband, German businessman Helmut Horten, made his fortune during the Nazi era. A report from January 2022 revealed that he was a member of the Nazi party before being expelled and took over several shops that had belonged to Jewish owners before the war.
The auction’s highlight is a 25.59-carat Cartier ruby and diamond ring, which boasts a saturated pigeon-blood red color and fine purity. Max Fawcett, head of jewelry at Christie’s in Geneva, praised the collection for its remarkable breadth and quality of gemstones represented, ranging from costume jewelry to one-of-a-kind haute joaillerie pieces and historic jewels with exceptional provenance.
The auction will take place at Christie’s Geneva auction house from May 10 to 12, with 400 of Horten’s lots being sold. Additional pieces will be sold online from May 3 to 15 in November. Proceeds from the sale will go to the Heidi Horten Foundation, established in 2021, to support the eponymous art collection, medical research, child welfare, and other philanthropic activities. Christie’s has also pledged to contribute significantly from the auction’s final proceeds to an organization that advances Holocaust research and education.
