The spectacular jewelry collection of the late Anne Eisenhower – granddaughter of President Dwight Eisenhower – has fetched more than $11.5 million at auction.
The impressive lot of 31 pieces went under the hammer at Christie’s New York on Tuesday, nearly a year after the celebrated interior designer and philanthropist’s death last July at the age of 73.
Eisenhower’s unique personal collection included bracelets, rings, necklaces, and a brooch from prominent jewelers, including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Harry Winston.
The main lot was the iconic ‘Jarretière’ ruby and diamond bracelet bought by actress Marlene Dietrich from Van Cleef & Arpels in 1937. It sold for $4,527,000.
The late Anne Eisenhower’s personal collection of fine jewelry fetched more than $11.5 million on Tuesday after going under the hammer at Christie’s New York
The top lot was the iconic ‘Jarretière’ ruby and diamond bracelet bought by actress Marlene Dietrich from Van Cleef & Arpels in 1937. It sold for $4,527,000
Eisenhower bought Dietrich’s bracelet at auction in 1992 and enlisted Van Cleef & Arpels to make a complementary necklace and earrings (pictured)
Dietrich wore the bracelet Alfred Hitchcock’s 1950 murder mystery ‘Stage Fright’ and the 1951 Academy Awards.
The beautiful piece of Hollywood history went from one iconic collection to another when Eisenhower bought it at auction in 1992.
She enlisted Van Cleef & Arpels to create a complementary necklace and earrings, which auctioned for $1,184,400 and $176,400 respectively.
Other highlights included a rare Art Deco diamond and multi-gemstone ‘moonlight rose’ bracelet from Tiffany & Co. ($604,800), an Art Deco diamond bracelet from Cartier ($151,000), and a 20.54-carat emerald-cut diamond ring ($1,159,200).
Lisa Hubbard, Christie’s senior jewelry advisor, shared a decades-long friendship with Eisenhower, and the two bonded over their love of fine jewelry.
Hubbard recalled that Eisenhower was the kind of person everyone noticed when she walked into a room, “not because she was over the top, but because she sailed in and was just an elegant presence.”
Among the jewelry expert’s favorite pieces on sale were Van Cleef & Arpels’ sapphire and diamond “waterfall” necklace and earrings.
“I hadn’t seen that pattern before and they’re so flattering,” she explained. “They show what good jewelry is.”
The Van Cleef & Arpels necklace and earrings (seen on Eisenhower at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on October 25, 1995) sold for $1,184,400 and $176,400 respectively
Eisenhower was the granddaughter of President Dwight Eisenhower Mamie Doud Eisenhower. She and her brother David are pictured with their grandparents in London in 1962
In 1970, Prince Charles attended a formal dance at the White House with Tricia Nixon (next to him) and Anne, David, and Julie Eisenhower (left to right on the stairs)
Eisenhower (center) is pictured with her brother, David (left), and publisher Kip Forbes (right) at an event at Mortimer’s restaurant in New York City on October 28, 1986
As a tribute to the interior designer’s legacy, Christie’s launched a worldwide tour of ‘The Magnificent Jewels of Anne Eisenhower’, which started in Los Angeles.
After stops in Shanghai, Paris, Taipei, Geneva and Hong Kong, the tour concluded in New York, where the entire collection was sold live and online on July 7 during Christie’s Luxury Week.
Marc Porter, president of Christie’s Americas, said of the glittering collection of treasures, “From Marlene Dietrich to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Anne Eisenhower collection traces the history of the last century through a single collector’s brilliant passion for fine jewelry.
‘Anne Eisenhower had a keen eye for the finest examples of jeweller’s art and her collection tells fascinating and intertwined stories of patrons and collectors.’
Meanwhile, Daphne Lingon, the head of jewelery for Christie’s Americas, mused: “Christie’s is truly honored to entrust the magnificent jewels of Anne Eisenhower, a woman who lived an extraordinary life of taste, style and philanthropy while staying true to her values.”
From exquisite designs by Cartier, Tiffany & Co. and Van Cleef & Arpels to important gems, this auction offers a unique opportunity for collectors to own a jewel that has been carefully acquired over a period of 40 years by a true tastemaker.’
Eisenhower’s family said the auction is an appropriate way to celebrate her life.
“While these jewels are indeed breathtaking, my grandma is the real jewel that we celebrate…and we will always celebrate,” her granddaughter Camila Mendoza told Christie’s.
Other highlights in Eisenhower’s jewelry collection included a rare Art Deco diamond and a multi-gem moonlight rose bracelet from Tiffany & Co. which sold for $604,800
This Cartier brooch, designed like a panther, with round and single-cut yellow diamonds, onyx plates and pear-shaped emeralds, sold for $214,200 at auction
A dazzling 20.54-carat emerald-cut diamond ring sold for $1,159,200 (left), while an Art Deco diamond bracelet from Cartier fetched $151,000 (right)
A stunning Van Cleef & Arpels platinum necklace with sapphires and diamonds sold for $819,000
Born in West Point, New York, in 1949, Eisenhower was the daughter of military historian John Eisenhower and his wife Barbara (née Thompson).
She spent her early childhood in the White House while her grandfather was the 34th President of the United States.
As a teenager, she met foreign dignitaries such as French President Charles de Gaulle and former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill while traveling abroad with her grandparents.
Eisenhower began working under New York design legend Dorothy Draper in the late 1970s before founding her eponymous company, which specialized in traditional residential design.
In 1990, Architectural Digest named her one of the world’s top designers. That same year, she told the publication that her interior style was “traditional, but for today’s living: comfortable, with a “lived-in” look; clear without appearing sober.’
Eisenhower was also a philanthropist and served on the board of the Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education for 25 years.
Her other charities include the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the American Heart Association, and the Eisenhower family estate.
Eisenhower is survived by her daughter Adriana Echavarria, her grandchildren Camila and Nico Mendoza, and her husband of 31 years, Wolfgang K. Flottl.