Adam's FINE JEWELLERY & WATCHES 17th May 2022

113 178 A PAIR OF GOLD AND STEEL ‘FUNNY’ EARCLIPS, BY MARINA B, 1989 Designed as bombé crescents overlaid with patterned motif, mounted 18K gold and steel, signed Marina B,with maker’s marks ‘MB’, numbered, Italian assay marks, length 4.3cm € 1,500 - 2,000 Cf: SeeViviane Jutheau deWitt (2003-2011) Marina B:The Art of Jewellery Design. Skira Editori, for a comparable pair of ear- rings, page 197, no. 390 179 A COLOURED SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND DRESS RING The cushion-shaped yellow sapphire weighing 4.07cts within a four- claw setting and between half-moon shaped diamond shoulders, mounted in 18K gold, diamonds approximately 0.80ct total, ring size L € 3,000 - 4,000 Accompanied with a report from GCS laboratory in London stating that the yellow sapphire is natural, of Sri Lankan origin with no in- dications of heating. Report number 57821446, dated March 31st 2022 The granddaughter of Bulgari’s founding father, Sotirio Bulgar, Marina Bulgari has jewellery design in her blood. Her father, Constantino was Bulgari’s eldest son and held a central role in the family firm.As a young woman though, Marina had other interests, amongst them aspirations of becoming a mathematician as well as a keen interest in sailing. It was inevitable that she would succumb to pressures to join the family firm and by 1973, she had become co-CEO with her cousin Gianni. Fuelled by an entrepreneurial spirit and an independent mind, Marina eventually left Bulgari in 1976 and struck out on her own. In 1978, she founded Marina B. For the next number of years, she travelled extensively and eventually opened stores in Geneva, London, Milan, Monte-Carlo, Paris and NewYork. Creative Director and Chairman of Marina B today, Guy Bedar- ida describes her as “a woman designing for women”. From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, the voluminous, bold, and colourful jewellery of Marina B, was the brand of choice of famous movie stars and singers such as Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly, Nan Kemper, Julia Rob- erts, and Queen Noor of Jordan. Marina B’s use of colour in her jewellery was considered ground-breaking at the time and what made them a product of the modern era. In her work, 18 karat yellow gold is matched with an array of coloured gemstones. Diamonds are a strong part of the designs but are used sparingly, often as a contrast to the coloured gold and gemstones and in pavé-set patterns. In 1989, a descendent of her FujiYama andYama collections, the Funny earring collection debuted, featuring thick crescents of burnished or unburnished steel decorated with a lattice of gold. Favouring the unique combination of precious and non-precious metals over the gems used in her earlier works, the swirling gold and silver steel create a striking look, both stark yet opulent in appearance. Marina’s works speak to their designer’s being as a woman of multitudes, combining old school glamour with a sharp fresh- ness that has made her jewellery popular today among the likes of Taylor Swift and Rhianna.