The Walska Brooch

One of Van Cleef & Arpels’s most exquite special order which once belonged to the opera singer and socialite Ganna Walska. The delicate flying bird carrying a 95-ct pear-shaped yellow diamond was worn as a pendant.

Reappearing at a Sotheby auction in 1971, the new owner had the maison combined the exceptional stone with a bird of yellow gold, emeralds and sapphires in celebration of the birth of her son in 1972.

In keeping with the maison’s tradition of transformability, the bird can metamorphose into a pair of winged earrings and a brooch, while the magnificent diamond can be detached from the brooch and worn alone as a pendant.

 

During its magnificent jewels sale in November 13, 2013, this historic brooch set a world auction record for Van Cleef & Arpels’ jewelry selling for USD11m at Sotheby’s Geneva.