Lily Safra Jewelry Collection to be Auctioned For Charity

Lily Safra

(IDEX Online News) – On May 14, Christie’s Geneva will be auctioning the jewelry collection of philanthropist Lily Safra. In keeping with Mrs Safra’s charitable giving, the proceeds from the sale will be donated to 20 different institutions located across the world.

The collection comprises 70 lots and includes diamonds, rubies and sapphires, as well as an array of fine antique and period jewelry. The sale is estimated to realize more than $20 million.

A special section of the auction will be dedicated to a group of jewels by JAR, the majority of which were created specifically for Mrs Safra by the jeweler between the 1980s and 2000s. With 18 pieces, this is the largest private collection of creations by JAR ever to be offered at auction.

“A sublime collection of 70 rare jewels, comprising the very best in all styles, periods and makers, from the late 18th Century all the way to modern times, is enough to attract the attention of jewelry amateurs and professionals worldwide. When it includes also the largest group of creations by JAR ever to be offered at auction, it is bound to create a sensation,” says François Curiel, International Head of the Jewellery Department.

“And when the entire proceeds of the sale are to be shared between 20 hand-picked charitable institutions in the four corners of the world, this landmark sale rises to a whole new level. Only a connoisseur with an eye as refined as that of Mrs Lily Safra could have collected such an ensemble of jewels, and only someone with her philanthropic conviction could have expressed such powerful support to worthwhile causes in all charitable fields. We are proud to be associated with such a commendable endeavour”.

Among the institutions picked to receive a share of the proceeds of the sale are the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, Rwanda, the Claude Pompidou Institute for Alzheimer’s Disease, Nice, France, the Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital, Tel Hashomer, Israel, the Water Treatment Program, Amélia Rodrigues (Bahia), Brazil and the Royal Opera House, London.