Cartier Platinum and Diamond Pendant-Necklace, circa 1920. Est. $70,000-100,000. The Alice Appleton Hay Collection. Lot 118. Auction June 24.
Cartier Long Coral, Jade and Fluted Black Onyx Bead, Carved Jade and Diamond Pendant-Necklace, circa 1925. Est. $20,000-30,000. The Alice Appleton Hay Collection. Lot 110. Auction June 24.
NEW YORK, NY – Doyle is honored to auction two exceptional Cartier necklaces from the Alice Appleton Hay Collection as highlights of the Important Jewelry auction on June 24, 2020. The sale marks the second auction in which Doyle has offered jewelry from this remarkable collection of important jewelry.
by John Singer Sargent
The Collection of Alice Appleton Hay (1894-1987) was assembled by Mrs. Hay through cherished gifts, family inheritance, and special commissions. Entirely fresh to the market, these exquisite pieces provide a glimpse into the luxurious lives led by America’s elite from the Gilded Age until World War II. Her husband, Clarence L. Hay, was the son of John Milton Hay, President Abraham Lincoln’s private secretary and later Secretary of State under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Clarence’s mother, Clara Stone Hay, was an heiress to a Cleveland, OH railroad fortune, and his sister, Helen Hay, married millionaire Payne Whitney in 1902.
Alice herself descended from some of the most prominent families in society and commerce. Her maternal grandfather was banker Charles Lanier of Central Trust Company of New York. He was a close friend of fellow banker J. Pierpont Morgan and a member of the exclusive group known as the Corsair Club, which gathered regularly on Morgan’s yacht by the same name. Charles Lanier’s wife was the former Sarah E. Egleston, whose father, David S. Egleston, was also a member of the Corsair Club. In 1884, Charles and Sarah Lanier’s daughter, Fannie (Alice’s mother), married Francis Randall Appleton (Alice’s father), the son of Daniel Fuller Appleton, founder of the Waltham Watch Company of Waltham, MA.
In April 2011, Doyle auctioned a selection of important jewelry from the Collection of Alice Appleton Hay in a landmark auction that attracted distinguished collectors and prominent dealers from around the world. Among the highlights were a dazzling Burma ruby ring by Cartier that achieved $1.3 million and a diamond brooch created for Empress Eugenie of France. Read More
Important Jewelry / Auction June 24
The upcoming auction on June 24, 2020 offers collectors a second opportunity to acquire important jewelry from the Alice Appleton Hay Collection. Certain to attract international attention are two exquisite necklaces by Cartier dating to the 1920s – a glittering platinum and diamond necklace and a colorful long necklace of coral, jade and black onyx beads suspending a carved jade pendant.
