From the collection of
THE LATE MR. HANS NADELHOFFER
Hans Nadelhoffer (1940-1988) will be remembered as one of the most distinguished personalities in the jewellery world during the middle years of this century.
A brilliant jeweller, historian and loyal friend, Nadelhoffer left a unique and indelible imprint on jewellery auctions. Perhaps more than anything else - and anyone else - he put the Geneva sales on the map, gave them cachet and established a reputation for scholarship, elegance and grandeur. His unwillingness to compromise on matters of principle gave him formidable status among his professional colleagues, clients and close friends. He brought, if not exactly a sense of calm, then certainly an aura of refinement and civilization to a maelstrom of commercialism.
The Nadelhoffer star began its meteoric ascent when he produced his first sumptuous catalog in 1969, presenting the jewels of Nina Dyer. From then on he moved from one success to another, culminating in the sale of six magnificent pieces of jewellery from the Aga Khan III, in 1988, a few months before his death.
In 1984, he wrote Cartier, Jewelers Extraordinary, published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., the definitive book on one of the world's leading jewellery Houses.
The very personal collection of cufflinks, assembled over many years and offered today, clearly illustrates Hans Nadelhoffer's unerring connoisseurship. Each pair, in its own way, is a statement of his rejection of what he deplored most in art as in life: "mediocrity, mass standardization and shoddy materials". Each pair illustrates his impeccable eye, his meticulous attention to detail and his sense of style - all qualities he translated with ease, charm and a sense of humor into the professional arena and into his more private role as a lively, sympathetic and informed collector.
Neil Letson
A GROUP OF SIX GEM-SET, DIAMOND AND FRESHWATER PEARL TIE PINS
Details
A GROUP OF SIX GEM-SET, DIAMOND AND FRESHWATER PEARL TIE PINS
One set with a cabochon emerald; one set with two cabochon sapphires joined by a rose-cut diamond hoop; one set with a turquoise; one designed as a pavé-set diamond bird; one set with a circular-cut diamond and calibré-cut sapphire pierced square; one designed as an old European-cut diamond trefoil; the last designed as a freshwater pearl, demantoid garnet and blue enamel torch (one demantoid garnet deficient)
Provenance: formerly in the collection of the late Mr. Hans Nadelhoffer
(6)
One set with a cabochon emerald; one set with two cabochon sapphires joined by a rose-cut diamond hoop; one set with a turquoise; one designed as a pavé-set diamond bird; one set with a circular-cut diamond and calibré-cut sapphire pierced square; one designed as an old European-cut diamond trefoil; the last designed as a freshwater pearl, demantoid garnet and blue enamel torch (one demantoid garnet deficient)
Provenance: formerly in the collection of the late Mr. Hans Nadelhoffer
(6)