Formerly in the Collection of Albertina Taylor Winthrop (1871-1934)
Cartier
Superb Emerald and Diamond Pendent Necklace 卡地亞 | 11.78克拉「哥倫比亞」祖母綠 配 鑽石 吊墜項鏈
Auction Closed
November 12, 02:56 PM GMT
Estimate
300,000 - 500,000 CHF
Lot Details
Description
The octagonal step-cut emerald weighing 11.78 carats surmounted by an old mine-cut diamond, swing-set within an old European-cut diamond frame, to a necklace featuring a marquise-shaped diamond weighing 5.54 carats and a heart-shaped diamond weighing 3.12 carats linked by alternating marquise-shaped and old European-cut diamonds, the clasp set with a cushion-shaped emerald weighing 2.64 carats within a rose-cut diamond border, length approximately 370mm, signed Cartier, numbered; circa 1932. Accompanied by a fitted case stamped Cartier.
Accompanied by SSEF report no. 149269, dated 9 October 2025, stating that the emerald is of Colombian origin, with a minor amount of oil in fissures, together with an appendix letter; further accompanied by GIA report no. 2235741213, dated 9 October 2025, stating that the diamond weighing 5.54 carats is D Colour, VS2 Clarity, together with a type IIb classification letter.
Albertina Taylor Winthrop (1871-1934)
Albertina Taylor Winthrop was a scion of one of New York’s wealthiest and most prominent families of the Gilded Age. Like her contemporaries Consuelo Vanderbilt, Cornelia Martin and Mary Goulet, she was an American ‘Dollar Princess’ who married into the European aristocracy. She spent her happily married life as Dutch Ambassadress in Madrid, Rome and Washington, giving her ample opportunity to represent both her countries of birth and adoption wearing her refined and highly important emerald and diamond necklace by Cartier.
Albertina was the daughter of the American banker Robert Winthrop (1833-1892). In the 1860s, he was one of the founders of the investment firm Drexel, Winthrop & Company, later renamed Robert Winthrop & Company, one of the most important banking enterprises during America’s Gilded Age which remained family owned until the 1970s. It was eventually absorbed into Credit Suisse. Albertina’s mother, Kate Wilson Taylor (1839–1925), was in turn the daughter of Moses Taylor (1806 – 1882), one of America’s wealthiest financiers of the 19th century who built his fortune through the budding railroad business and a controlling interest in the National City Bank, today known as Citibank.
In 1904, Albertina married the Dutch nobleman and diplomat Herman van Roijen (1871-1933) whose family had a longstanding tradition in the diplomatic corps. From 1905 to 1908, van Roijen served as chargé d’affaires at the Dutch Embassy in London. From 1908 to 1913, he was appointed Dutch ambassador to the United States, a mission in which he was greatly aided by his well-connected American wife. He would complete a second term as ambassador in the United States from 1927 to 1933. In between these appointments, he served as Dutch ambassador in Madrid and Rome. Together the couple had two sons: Herman van Roijen (1905-1991), who followed his father in the diplomatic service, and Robert Dudley van Roijen (1907–1981).
The stones in this necklace were most likely given to Albertina Winthrop around the time of her wedding in 1904 and were remounted by Cartier in 1932, in a manner that recalls the softer styles of the Gilded Age, rather than the contemporary art deco style of the 1930s.