May I ask for some information about the beautiful necklace? I am a lay person but to me it looks like something 1910 and maybe Chaumet? The price in 1996 indicates a well-known jeweller and an interesting provenance.
I was browsing through my copy of Hidden Gems by Sarah Hue-Williams last night and on page 117 I noticed a lovely necklace that looked familiar from an old auction catalogue I had seen in the past.
I was subsequently horrified to read that when this was sold in May 1996 the buyer straight after paying for the piece (875,000 pounds) and while still in the auction room took out a penknife. With this he started prying out the rubies in front of the horrified Christie's staff. He'd only purchased the necklace for those stones despite its surpub quality.
His only comment on this when asked why he was doing this: "But you must know. It was only ever about the rubies"
How many other stories like this do board members know?
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