Koller View 2/22

17 1 B urma ruby and diamond ring, by Bulgari, circa 1940. Estimate: CHF 50 000/80 000 2 O pal and diamond necklace. Estimate: CHF 40 000/60 000 3 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak wristwatch, yellow gold, circa 1988. Estimate: CHF 70 000/150 000 4 Diamond ring, by E. Meister. Estimate: CHF 50 000/80 000 5 Diamond ear pendants, by Van Cleef & Arpels. Estimate: CHF 25 000/35 000 6 O mega, Speedmaster “De Luxe” wristwatch, 1981, white gold. Estimate CHF 35 000/70 000 7 Rolex, Daytona wristwatch, platinum, circa 2014. Estimate: CHF 100 000/150 000 8 Patek Philippe, Jumbo Nautilus wristwatch, 1979, stainless steel. Estimate: CHF 80 000/140 000 9 B reguet, gold and enamel quarter-repeater pocket watch, 1808. Estimate: CHF 20 000/40 000 Preview of the auctions on 29 June 2022 Jewellery &Wristwatches Americans bought five Swiss watches from a shop in Houston and subjected them to various mechan- ical ordeals, extreme temperatures and underwater tests. Only the Speedmaster Professional survived the procedure unscathed, which led to Neil Arm- strong wearing a Speedmaster on 20 July 1969 when he became the first man to set foot on the moon during the famous Apollo 11 mission. As late as the 1980s, this extraordinary mechanical chronograph was still part of US space technology. For the Space Shuttle programme, the Speedmaster Professional was improved once again and produced in a limited edition. The example in the 29 June auction is an ex- tremely rare deluxe version in white gold from 1981. Only 20 pieces were made; the Swiss manufacturer advertised it as ‘a treasured reminder of its past and a valuable part of its future’. The Breguet pocket watch from 1808 offered in the same auction is a special creation for José I, eldest brother of Napoleon Bonaparte and – after the abdi- cation of Carlos IV and Fernando VII – King of Spain (ill. 9). The movement of this finely crafted watch has a quarter-repeating mechanism; the elegant case is worked in gold enamel and decorated with half- pearls. Our jewellery auction will feature a rare three-row opal necklace with diamonds (ill. 2). The opals, with their unique reflections in all colours of the rainbow, are probably from Ethiopia. The sale also includes a distinctive geometrically designed ring by Bulgari, circa 1940, set with a red, untreated Burma ruby and a diamond, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Bulgari (ill. 1). ‘Chronograph for heaven and earth’ – this was the headline of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in July 1994, reporting on the Omega Speedmaster (ill. 6). In the 1960s, NASA was looking for a wristwatch that would function flawlessly under the extreme conditions in a space capsule and on the moon. The 9 6 7 8