Pauline Karpidas jewels: nearly 9 million euros at Sotheby’s

A year after the sale of her art collection in London, Pauline Karpidas will entrust her jewels to Sotheby’s New York on 8 December 2026. The estimate, the star pieces and the collector’s story.

What is the Karpidas collection worth?

Sotheby’s estimates the collection at about 9 million euros (in the region of 10 million dollars) at the ECB reference rate of 6 November 2026 (1 euro to 1.1165 dollars). At Sotheby’s, estimates exclude the buyer’s premium, so buyers will pay more. As of 9 November, 15 of the 70 lots are online, with a combined estimate of about 4.16 to 6.05 million euros (4.65 to 6.76 million dollars). The published lot pages state that Sotheby’s has guaranteed a minimum price to the seller.

A JAR ring worth up to 3.13 million euros

The most expensive lot is a ring by JAR, the Paris jeweller Joel Arthur Rosenthal. Carved from light grey chalcedony, it holds a 10.10-carat pear-shaped diamond graded Fancy Intense Orangy Pink, natural colour, VVS1 clarity, according to a GIA report dated 17 September 2024. It is estimated at about 2.24 to 3.13 million euros (2.5 to 3.5 million dollars). To measure the gap with the top of the market, see the price of the Pink Star, the most expensive diamond ever sold.

JAR and Belperron at the heart of it

JAR dominates the catalogue. A 1990 basalt ring, centred on an emerald-cut diamond and dotted with pavé-set spheres, is estimated at 403,000 to 582,000 euros (450,000 to 650,000 dollars). A 1996 pansy pendant-necklace in garnets, black diamonds and enamel, shown at Somerset House in London in 2002, is estimated at 224,000 to 313,000 euros (250,000 to 350,000 dollars). From Suzanne Belperron, an aquamarine and diamond necklace whose central element detaches as a brooch is estimated at 134,000 to 224,000 euros (150,000 to 250,000 dollars). The brooch dates from between 1942 and 1955 and the necklace mount from the 1950s, according to certificates by Olivier Baroin.

Cartier, Chanel, Boucheron: the classics

A Cartier London Tutti Frutti brooch from around 1930, in carved emeralds and rubies, pearls and diamonds, is estimated at 134,000 to 224,000 euros (150,000 to 250,000 dollars). A Japanese-inspired bracelet from around 1925, with cabochon emerald flowers on a diamond ground, is estimated at 179,000 to 269,000 euros (200,000 to 300,000 dollars). Chanel signs a 1930s cuff in gold and enamel set with garnets, sapphires, rubies, aquamarines, citrines, tourmalines and rock crystal, estimated at 72,000 to 107,000 euros (80,000 to 120,000 dollars), like an emerald and diamond bracelet by Boucheron from around 1940.

From Manchester to Hydra, a collector’s life

Born Pauline Parry in Manchester, she ran a fashion boutique in Athens, My Fair Lady, where she met her husband, the engineer Constantinos “Dinos” Karpidas. In the mid-1970s, the dealer Alexander Iolas became her mentor and steered her towards Surrealism. In 1978, at his request, the couple went to Andy Warhol’s Factory to have Polaroids taken for a double portrait. A great admirer of Belperron and JAR, she bonded with Warhol over jewellery; the artist even offered to swap a work for a piece of jewellery, according to Sotheby’s. On the Greek island of Hydra, where she set up a retreat and an exhibition space, she hosted artists’ workshops every summer from 1997 to 2021.

After London’s 121 million euros

In September 2025, the Pauline Karpidas: The London Collection series of sales totalled about 121 million euros (101 million pounds, or 137 million dollars), at the ECB rate of 6 November 2026 (1 euro to 0.83415 pounds). Sotheby’s describes it as the most valuable single-owner sale series ever staged in London. In October 2026, the auction house also achieved the sale of Monet’s Iris for 50 million euros in Paris.

Information verified on 9 November 2026. Sources: Sotheby’s, sale overview, online sale catalogue, JAR ring lot page, Sotheby’s, Pauline Karpidas and Alexander Iolas, ECB reference rate.