ong associated with contemporary art and timepieces, Phillips has revitalised its Jewellery department with one clear ambition: to create a dialogue between history and the avant-garde. Within just two years, total jewellery sales have doubled and Geneva has become the scene of spectacular discoveries, including Belle Époque and Art Deco brooches bearing the signatures of Cartier and Chaumet; an exceptional 42.68-carat Kashmir sapphire set in a Tiffany brooch; as well as a collection that belonged to Gladys Vanderbilt – one of the last dollar princesses – and which will be auctioned in November 2025.

In a market shaped by the rise of coloured stones and youthful collectors’ growing attraction to vintage jewellery, the auction house is building a selective approach within which each piece tells the story of both an era and a provenance. Europa Star Jewellery sat down with Benoît Repellin, Worldwide Head of Jewellery.

Benoît Repellin

Europa Star Jewellery: Phillips is historically renowned for contemporary art, design and watches. How did jewellery become part of this global strategy?

Benoît Repellin: While the Jewellery department already existed at Phillips, it was mainly concentrated in Hong Kong and New York. We relaunched the department when I joined Phillips in February 2022 as Head of Jewellery for Europe, before taking over as Worldwide Head of Jewellery in June of the same year. We held jewellery sales in Geneva in November 2023 and the results were quickly visible, as we more than doubled total sales between 2022 and 2024.

How do you explain such growth?

Geneva is a strategic location: relaunching sales here gave us a new lease on life, particularly in Europe, which is where our most important sales are held.

“The Vanderbilt Sapphire”: Tiffany & Co., exceptional sapphire and diamond brooch, early 20th century Set with a Kashmir sapphire weighing 42.68 carats, ‘Royal Blue’ colour Estimate: USD 1,000,000-1,500,000 / CHF 800,000-1,200,000

How does Phillips differ from other auction Houses?

We are smaller, with only six departments, and we focus on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, although for jewellery we go back to the nineteenth century. Our sales are very selective, concentrated in Geneva for public sales, along with New York and Hong Kong. We offered more than 1,000 lots at auction last year and this figure is growing year on year. Our sales are spread over two seasons: spring and autumn. We use artists to photograph the jewels in a contemporary style, which attracts a younger clientele: 30% of our buyers are Millennials or representatives of Gen Z who are interested in online sales where the lots are a little more affordable.

Are these new generations changing the market rules?

They are interested in vintage pieces and are bringing historical jewels back into fashion, while an older clientele is beginning to consider jewellery as a category of its own, on a par with art. The “red carpet” effect and series such as Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age are further boosting this craze.

Cartier, Magnificent diamond brooch, circa 1905. Given by Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt to her daughter, Gladys Vanderbilt, on the occasion of her marriage to Count Laszló Széchenyi in 1908. Originally part of a tiara that could be detached as brooches (see opposite). Estimate: USD 100,000-150,000 / CHF 80,000-120,000

What place is there for contemporary designers alongside the big names?

Names such as Hemmerle, JAR, Taffin and Bhagat find buyers, but it depends on the collections up for auction. For our first Geneva sale in 2023, we highlighted five contemporary designers. This attracted interest from the press and a younger clientele, but not necessarily from our usual buyers. For example, antique jewellery dealers, who are a significant part of our clientele and buyers, are not as interested in these contemporary jewellers.

What major trends are you seeing in the market?

The price of coloured stones is rising steeply, particularly emeralds, sapphires, rubies and also fine pearls. Signature pieces that are representative of an era - Belle Époque, Art Deco, 1960s-1970s - are also selling well. In May, for example, we auctioned a series of Art Deco jewels from several collectors, all of which fetched three times their estimate. The collection naturally included jewellery by Chaumet, Cartier, Van Cleef and other big names. Provenance also remains a determining factor. A piece that combines a signature, an exceptional stone and a prestigious origin always fetches record prices.

Cartier Tiara given by Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt to her daughter, Gladys Vanderbilt, upon her marriage in 1908.

©Courtesy of Phillips

What about diamonds?

White diamonds have fallen slightly in price, which benefits coloured stones and coloured diamonds that are holding steady, although prices are no longer what they were ten years ago. On the other hand, historical cuts that make it possible to distinguish a natural diamond from a synthetic one, or diamonds from the Golconda mine, are attracting renewed interest, reinforced by the question of lab-grown diamonds.

10.08 carat Golconda Light Pink Brown diamond. Estimate: USD 450,000 – 650,000 / CHF 360,000 – 520,000.

Do you have an example of a recent notable sale?

A Bulgari Serpenti wristwatch from the 1960s fetched CHF 456,000. A pair of Art Deco Cartier earrings made of fine pearls, diamonds and onyx sold for ten times their estimate, thanks to the quality of the fine pearls and the setting. Dealers interested in fine pearls and collectors of Art Deco jewellery, drove up the bidding.

You mention fine pearls. It took 100 years for them to return to their pre-cultured pearl market value.

There was indeed a resurgence of interest in fine pearls in 2012, 2013 and 2014, when they sold very well. While this was followed by a decline, beautiful natural pearls are now reaching new heights. I hope the same will happen for natural diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds have driven down their price and I’m optimistic that there will be renewed interest in all things natural. Only time will tell...

Which pieces of jewellery have made the biggest impression on you since you joined Phillips?

We discovered a large Art Deco collection that had been stored in a safe for 70 years, belonging to a single family and including a Cartier brooch dating from 1910 with Henri Picq’s hallmark. The family had no idea of the value of the pieces.

Jean Schlumberger, ruby, sapphire and diamond “Plumes” necklace, circa 1960s. Estimate: CHF 240,00-400,000.

©Courtesy of Phillips

Did you make any other discoveries in this collection?

Knowing the provenance of the collection, which belonged to a prominent ducal family, I thought it must necessarily include Chaumet jewellery, as many wedding gifts were made by Chaumet for these grand families from French and European aristocracy. When the heirs showed me a pair of earrings, I recognised the Chaumet hallmark, which was partially worn away: a star, a crescent moon and a C. I told them that it was probably a piece from the early 1930s and asked them when their parents had been married. They replied that they had married in 1934. I shared this discovery with Chaumet and they found the jewel in their archives, along with an archive photo from 1934. The family had brought a brooch to the jeweller to have the diamonds removed and made into a pair of earrings. It was delivered in June 1934 and the wedding took place in July 1934.

What are the highlights of the upcoming November sale?

Pieces from the Vanderbilt family, including a Belle Époque Cartier brooch, which was part of a tiara given to Gladys Vanderbilt by her mother Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt on the occasion of her marriage to Count Széchenyi, set with a 4.55-carat pear-shaped diamond. Gladys Vanderbilt was one of the last “million-dollar princesses” who restored the prestige of European aristocracy through marriage, bringing with her a substantial dowry. Unfortunately, the tiara was divided among different members of the family. The amethysts in the tiara might have been replaced with diamonds. Another member of the family showed me a very large brooch from Tiffany featuring a 42.68-carat sugarloaf sapphire centre stone. It turned out to be a Kashmir sapphire.

Portrait of Gladys Vanderbilt, Countess Széchenyi, by Philip de László, 1921

©Courtesy of Phillips

Would you say it’s the star lot of the sale?

It will certainly be among the star pieces. We also have a very beautiful feather necklace created by Schlumberger in the 1960s for Fiona Thyssen-Bornemisza. She was pictured wearing it in the March 1962 issue of Vogue.

How do you select these pieces?

Some families contact us directly, while others find us through recommendations or during our appraisal days. Previous sales results and press coverage also play an essential role.

Your job sometimes resembles that of a detective...

We do indeed have to identify partial hallmarks, the origins of stones and family provenance. Laboratories confirm our intuitions, as was the case for the Kashmir sapphire in the Tiffany brooch.

Gladys Vanderbilt’s brooch is important for several reasons: it tells the story of an era, the Gilded Age; it illustrates the difficulty of finding historical jewels that have not been dismantled, and it highlights the importance of signature and provenance. Can it be considered emblematic of a period when history was at a tipping point?

This brooch is pure Belle Époque, combining the influence of Cartier’s Garland style with a resolutely floral motif. It represents a combination of elements: the Vanderbilt provenance and the typical early twentieth century Cartier signature. The brooch is in its original condition. It was originally part of a tiara and could be detached to be worn as a brooch. I would have loved to be able to reconstruct the original tiara, but some elements have already been dispersed.

What does a buyer acquire with such a piece?

A part of jewellery history, as well as a fragment of European and American history: the combination of everything today’s collectors are looking for.