There’s nothing like spring. New leaves on the trees, flowers blooming everywhere, and – of course – April jewelry auctions!

Leslie Hindman’s got some truly fabulous pieces heading to the auction block, and we’re going to take a look at them here today. This auction isn’t happening until April 23-24th, so you have plenty of time to reflect upon these beauties and decide to make them yours.

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ jewelry specialist, Alex Eblen, was kind enough to chat with me about the April jewelry auction. Alex is a delight and I couldn’t resist sharing a few snippets of our conversation directly.

Alex describes the April jewelry sale as ” a wonderful cross between an elegant 12-course meal and a comfort-food buffet.”

An opulent 12-course meal by offering important snapshots of Tiffany (and its star designers) from over 100 years of its history; a great selection of Mid-Century signed jewels by Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, Oscar Heyman, David Webb and others; and of course the necessary selection of exquisite diamonds and colored stones including a 5.79 ct Golconda-Type antique marquise cut diamond ring and a rather extraordinary 11.00 carat unheated Burmese sapphire ring from the Deco period.

A guilty-pleasure buffet by providing so many covetable, wearable jewels for tantalizing estimates.  Just look at the “contemporary” area towards the end of Day One.  We have a great archive of more obscure designers (Barry Brinker, K. Brunini) offered side-by-side with classics from Angela Cummings, Schlumberger, Cartier, and many more.  All at prices where, with luck, you can afford to chase more than just one.”

Doesn’t it sound scrumptious?? Don’t worry, we’re about to take a nice, long look at the goodies. And if you want to see these pretties in person, the April jewelry sale’s NYC preview is April 3-5 and the Chicago preview is April 19-23.

Lot 27: A Platinum Topped, Yellow Gold, Peridot and Diamond Demi Parure.

Holy moly. Peridot of this quality is noteworthy in any situation. To find this many stones cut so beautifully and combined in a gorgously designed antique parure that comes in its own fitted box(!!) is truly something to get excited about.

If you follow your Pantone trends, you’ll note that this parure perfectly captures the 2017 color of the year, Greenery.

Lot 29: A Yellow Gold, Polychrome Enamel and Multigem Butterfly Motif Pietra Dura Swag Necklace.

There is so much happening here and all of it’s magnificent. Pietra Dura! Enamel! Color! Festoons! The detail view on the right gives to an idea of how intricate this one is, down to the individual enameled links.

Lot 69: A Fine Platinum, Burmese Sapphire and Diamond Ring.

This ring is ridiculously beautiful. That perfect stone in that elegant Art Deco setting is a hard-to-resist combination.

Alex told me that this sapphire is his very favorite stone in the April jewelry sale. Why? Because this 11 carat no-heat Burmese sapphire “strikes a lovely balance between hue, tone and saturation.  Burmese stones can provide so much punch to their blue but can often go towards a darker tone when really strongly saturated.  This gem remains “open” and has stunning “crystal” (high clarity).”

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