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PROPERTY FORMERLY FROM THE COLLECTION OF BELLE WILCOX BARUCH AND HER MOTHER MRS. BERNARD BARUCH
Wealth and standing alone could not have propelled Belle (Isabel) Wilcox Baruch to the heights she achieved as a sportswoman and philanthropist. She also had that ambition and drive that was inherited from her father, Bernard M. Baruch, who was one of this country's most influential men in both finance and politics. For over four decades he was a Wall Street financier and an advisor on economic matters to Presidents from Woodrow Wilson to John F. Kennedy. Every winter he went to his country retreat, Hobcaw Barony in South Carolina where he entertained his prestigious guests. His daughter, Belle, was often in attendance.
Belle Baruch was born on August 16, 1899 in New York City to Bernard and Anne Griffen Baruch. As a teenager, she won many awards for sailing and was the first woman to win the Queen of the Bay Cup on Great South Bay. Motor cars also held her fancy; as a young woman in her twenties, she toured Europe, keeping a diary of her destinations, mileage and hotels. But, her great passion was horses. While living in France, she maintained a stable at Pau. She eventually became one of the foremost equestrians of the time, winning more than 300 prizes in competitions, including the Prix de la Coupe de President, the only woman and the only American to win. She accomplished this feat with her Anglo-Arab horse, Souriant III.
After conquering the seas and the land, Belle turned her attention to flying. She began taking lessons at the age of forty and acquired two airplanes, a Stenson and a Beechcraft. As a capable aviatrix, she quite often was the trusted pilot for trips taken by her father and also by Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, the wife of President Woodrow Wilson. With the latter, she enjoyed a close friendship and, after the President's death, Belle accompanied her on trips to Europe. In 1959, she donated a room at the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of the New York University-Bellevue Medical Center in Mrs. Wilson's honor.
When she was not living abroad, Belle maintained a home at 3 East 71st Street, a few blocks from her father's home at 4 East 66th Street. She enjoyed an active life in the society circles in New York City, friendly with prominent figures such as Mrs. John Jacob Astor. At these events, she wore fashionable jewelry, much of which she had inherited from her mother after her untimely death in 1938. According to her mother's will, Belle was to receive "...my two-stone ring consisting of a white pearl and a cabochon emerald set crisscross...my ring of two square-cut stones of one emerald and one diamond set side by side..." Both pieces of jewelry date to the 1920's and both are set with emeralds from Colombia that, according to John Sinkankas, "...stands supreme in respect to emerald, for nowhere else are they found in such consistently high quality..." The first ring has since been refashioned into a pair of ear clips, one set with a superb freshwater natural pearl and the other, an emerald. The stones in the second ring are still in their original setting, both also of superb quality. This ring was make by Dreicer & Co., a New York jewelry firm whose designs were influenced by Parisian styles. In fact, they were the first American jewelers to introduce the latest diamond cuts from Paris. When they closed their doors in 1923, Cartier in New York bought their stock.
Her sporting activities notwithstanding, Belle Baruch is perhaps best remembered for her philanthropy, devoting much of her time to the rehabilitation of the disabled and the blind. She was not content to just give financial assistance but also visited the institutions in which she was interested. In the words of her grieving father following her death in 1964, "She was a doer and not just a talker." This also extended to their family retreat, Hobcaw Barony, for whose natural resources she had a deep love and commitment. Not anticipating that her death would come before his, she had established a trust in memory of her beloved father, Bernard M. Baruch, "...for the purposes of teaching and research in forestry, marine biology, and the care and propagation of wildlife, flora and fauna in connection with colleges and universities in the state of South Carolina." This trust has yielded much beneficial research toward the understanding of coastal ecosystems.
AN EXQUISITE ART DECO TWO-STONE EMERALD AND DIAMOND RING, BY DREICER & CO.
Details
AN EXQUISITE ART DECO TWO-STONE EMERALD AND DIAMOND RING, BY DREICER & CO.
Set with a round-cornered rectangular-cut diamond weighing approximately 5.67 carats, and a round-cornered rectangular-cut emerald weighing approximately 3.18 carats, enhanced by a single-cut diamond gallery and shoulders, mounted in platinum, circa 1920
Signed Dreicer & Co.
With certificate 11188557 dated 22 June 2000 from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond is E color, VS2 clarity; accompanied by a working diagram indicating that the clarity is potentially flawless
With certificate CS34024 dated 30 June 2000 from the American Gemological Laboratories stating that the emerald is, based on available gemological information, in the opinion of the Laboratory, of Colombian origin. No significant evidence of clarity enhancement present.
Set with a round-cornered rectangular-cut diamond weighing approximately 5.67 carats, and a round-cornered rectangular-cut emerald weighing approximately 3.18 carats, enhanced by a single-cut diamond gallery and shoulders, mounted in platinum, circa 1920
Signed Dreicer & Co.
With certificate 11188557 dated 22 June 2000 from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond is E color, VS2 clarity; accompanied by a working diagram indicating that the clarity is potentially flawless
With certificate CS34024 dated 30 June 2000 from the American Gemological Laboratories stating that the emerald is, based on available gemological information, in the opinion of the Laboratory, of Colombian origin. No significant evidence of clarity enhancement present.