Jewels under the hammer

International auctions are providing the opportunity to look for rare gems in rarer settings.

For all the later attempts to build her a noble lineage, Anita Delgado was not born royal. It is easy, therefore, to understand her greed when it came to acquiring jewels as the fifth wife of the maharaja of Kapurthala.

A chorus dancer who was spotted by the maharaja when he came travelling to Spain, he wooed the bewildered girl and literally bought her in marriage, had her groomed for her new-found status, but since he was attracted as easily to women as he was to jewels, it was only a matter of time before she found herself neglected in a country where there were no promenades and malls to keep her occupied or happy.

Anita Delgado then did what could only be expected "" she had few hopes of her marriage surviving, after all "" she began to collect expensive jewellery as a nest egg. She ordered ornaments off the state elephant, hoarded the gifts the maharaja had showered on her, and scandalously accepted jewels from a fellow prince infatuated with her, the nawab of Hyderabad.

When she returned to Spain, and later France, after an aborted affair with her stepson, some of those jewels financed her lifestyle even though the maharaja had settled a handsome alimony on her.

And now some of that estate, or at least eight pieces of jewellery formerly belonging to Delgado (she died in 1962) are up for auction at Christie's in London.

Reflecting the maharaja's preference for European styling (as a Francophile, even his kingdom's palaces were styled on French architecture and landscaping), he preferred picking up expensive baubles in London and Paris and Rome, and the highlight of the sale is an Art Deco necklace with emeralds and diamonds and rock crystal, and is estimated at a sale value of £100,000. Together, the eight pieces are expected to fetch a value in excess of £200,000.

Now that the festive season has begun, and Indians are looking to add to their jewellery collection, popular auctions by Christie's and Sotheby's might provide the opportunity to look for rare gems in rarer settings. Mostly, Indians tend to choose homegrown designs that wear well with local haute couture garments.

But now that everyone from Chanel to Versace is looking for more opportunities to penetrate the Indian high net worth market, perhaps these internationally styled pieces of jewellery that have a global rather than a local appeal, might just make the mark.

While Indian craftsmanship (and ownership) has been a constant feature at auctions of historic jewellery, Sotheby's upcoming auctions in Hong Kong and New York (it concluded its London auction of Jewels on October 4) are more international in their appeal, and will probably attract younger eyeballs among Indian collectors.

There are pieces "" necklaces, earrings and rings for most part "" that best qualify for the high carat value and purity and cut of their stones.

In New York, its Important Jewels sale has some historic pieces and at least some pieces are a century old, others only a few decades less, and tony design houses from Tiffany to Bulgari are among those who have crafted these gems into brooches and other pieces of jewellery.

Before Anita Delgado's "property" comes under the hammer, of course, Christie's will feature some other, equally prominent auctions in the major centres where jewellery comes up for sale "" New York, Geneva and Hong Kong, all part of its Magnificent Jewels series. And London-based Bonham's too has a large range of jewellery up for grabs at its featured auctions in UK, USA and Hong Kong.

For first-timers, jewellery auctions are an iffy thing, chiefly on account of the prices. But as the experts will tell you, as long as the prices don't put you off, it's well worth the value, if only because with experts having put them under their magnifying lenses, you don't need to worry about the quality or the provenance of these expensive gems.