Adam's FINE JEWELLERY & WATCHES 17th May 2022

T uesday 17 th M ay 2022 . S tarting at 4 pm 136 219 A PAIR OF DIAMOND EARSTUDS Each brilliant-cut diamond weighing 0.55ct and 0.52ct within a three-claw setting, mounted in 18K gold € 2,000 - 3,000 Accompanied by a report from IGI laboratory inAntwerp, stating that the diamond weighing 0.55ct is H colour, IF clarity. Report number F412496, datedApril 6th 1979 Accompanied by a report from IGI laboratory inAntwerp, stating that the diamond weighing 0.52ct is H colour, IF clarity. Report number F529288, dated May 21st 1979 220 A SAPPHIRE LINE BRACELET Within channel-setting, set with two rectangular-cut sapphires per link, mounted in 18K gold and platinum, French assay marks, length 17.5cm € 4,000 - 5,000 221 A RUBY AND DIAMOND ‘TOI ET MOI’ DRESS RING, BY A. E. KÖCHERT Of crossover design, set with a pear-shaped ruby and a pear-shaped diamond, between tapered baguette-cut diamonds, mounted in 18K gold, principal diamond weighing approximately 0.90ct, remaining diamonds weighing approximately 0.50ct total, signed Köchert, with maker mark, ring size J € 2,500 - 3,500 The House of Köchert actually begins with a man named Eman- uel Pioté, a French goldsmith who opened a workshop inVienna in 1814, where his deft skill quickly earned him a reputation among the city’s upper classes for quality work. In 1819, Heinrich Köchert, Pioté’s new brother-in-law, would join him in this venture as an as- sociate.The reputation of the jewellers began to grow and in 1831 they were declared the personal jewellers of the Austrian Emperor, a position Köchert would hold until the dissolution of the empire in 1918. Pioté would retire in 1948, thus solidifying the house under Köchert’s name. Köchert was responsible for some of the most iconic pieces worn by Empress Elisabeth, or ‘Sisi’, herself a fashion icon of the age, in- cluding the diamond and pearl studded star-shaped hair ornaments that appear in her official 1865 portrait by XaverWinterhalter now known as ‘Sisi Stars’. Köchert would continue to enjoy success throughout the 1800s by creating sumptuous pieces for European royalty, including overseeing the adding of pearls as part of the res- toration of the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Crown.The outbreak of WWI would see this distinguished clientèle vanish, but the house survived by adapting with the times and embracing the Art Deco trends. Now in the hands of Erich andWilfried Köchert, the painter Erwin Lang is taken on to design new jewellery for a new age. Lang’s stone rings quickly became popular and remain a staple of the brand to this day. Surviving both WWII and the rise of the Iron Curtain, Köchert would continue to innovate through collaboration, including with renowned architect Hans Hollein, who in 1986 released a collection with the jewellery house. Today, the sixth generation of Köchert’s are in command at house’s flagship boutique inVienna and, if their history tells us anything, there they will be for a long, long while.