Nina Dyer's Jewels Fetch $2.9 Million in 1969

This pink and blue sapphire panther cocktail ring evokes the mystique of Nina Dyer's Cartier Panther jewels. Nina's panthers were embodied in white diamonds with blue sapphire spots and green garnet eyes. Photo ©2015 EraGem Jewelry.   Nina Dyer's Jewels went under the block on Thursday, May 1, 1969, during Christie's first jewelry auction in Geneva, Switzerland. According to Hans Nadelhoffer, as quoted in The New York Times (1985), Geneva was the 1960s hot spot for jewelry. The Swiss banks were booming, and Geneva's tax laws favored a seller's market, with few tariffs applied to jewelry sales {4}.

Christie's Auctions Nina Dyer's Jewels

Christie's opened their offices in Geneva in the summer of 1968, and six months later, auctioned the jewelry collection of Nina Dyer. This collection carried an estimated value of $1.25 million {4; 6}. On the day of the auction, according Alan McGregor, who wrote in 1969 for the Chicago Times, eight hundred of "the world's richest people on earth" packed themselves into the ballroom of the Geneva Hotel Richmond {3}. McGregor reported that the sale featured "some 40 lots," most of which belonged to Ms. Nina Dyer. Her collection had been amassed over the course of approximately five years and two divorce settlements. Her first marriage took place in 1954. Her husband, the Baron Hans Heinrich 'Heini' von Thyssen-Bornemiza made his millions in the German steel industry.

Baron von Thyssen

According to Arthur Vevsey, reporter for the Chicago Tribune in 1969, in Germany, the Thyssen family's wealth came second only to the illustrious Krupp dynasty {7}. Nina became the Baron's mistress when she was 17 years old {2}. It seems that one of von Thyssen's favorite gestures was to give lavish gifts to those who captured his heart. As his mistress, she received two sports cars with gold-plated keys, a Caribbean island, and at least one baby black panther {2}. After several months together, the Baron left his wife and married the young and ambitious model. Ten months later, he divorced her after catching her with another man. As a settlement, Nina received nearly $3 million in cash, almost $400,000 in jewelry, and a chateau {2}.

Nina Dyer's Cats

By this time, she had acquired a second black panther. Her cats were everything to her. She took them on trips, during which they would destroy her hotel rooms {2}. She was said to have developed a taste for panther-skin clothing and became well known for her signature panther jewels {5}. Most of these pieces were made by Cartier, by commission from Nina Dyer's second husband, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan. The prince married Nina on August 27, 1957. The first piece he commissioned was made that same year--a Panther Cliquet Pin. This stick pin features a geometrical diamond clasp on one end and a white diamond panther on the other end. The white diamond-bodied panther lifts itself languidly on its front legs. Blue sapphire "spots" cover its entire body, and its green garnet eyes shine brightly from its alert face {1}. In 1958, the prince asked Cartier to fashion two more pieces, a two-headed panther bangle and a crouching panther clip brooch. Both were fashioned from the same white diamonds and blue sapphires, with green garnets for eyes and onyx for the noses {1}. During the Christie's auction in 1969, these panther pieces were purchased by Cartier and are now kept in Cartier's vast historical jewelry collection.

Top Dealers Purchase Ms. Dyer's Jewels

  According to Mr. McGregor, dealers from New York, London, and Paris attended the auction on behalf of their clients. The majority of Ms. Dyer's pearls, emeralds, and diamonds were purchased by these esteemed dealers. One of these was a diamond solitaire ring crafted for Nina by Harry Winston in New York. Mr. Winston purchased the ring during the auction for $276,000 {3}. At the end of the sale, Nina Dyer's jewels fetched a staggering $2.96 million, more than twice the initial estimates. In her will, Ms. Dyer stipulated that she wished the proceeds from the sale of her jewels to benefit animals in Africa, Asia, and Europe {7}. Unfortunately, Swiss law precluded the fulfillment of her last wishes. As a resident of Switzerland, her lawyers were forced to place an advertisement for living relatives. According to Arthur Veysey, fifty potential claimants answered the ad. Only one appeared to have a viable claim, a man named William Aldrich. His elaborate story of a double-crossing wife (Nina's mother), failed to convince the courts in November 1967. However, by 1969, it appears as though his appeals granted him access to the fortune of his alleged late daughter. In the Montreal Gazette a report dated February 26, 1969, states that Mr. Aldrich, after 3-1/2 years was legally declared Nina Dyer's father {6}. In the same report, the writer states that in honor of Ms. Dyer's final bequest, Christie's staged a champagne reception two nights before the auction. Tickets cost $7.50, and visitors were able to view Ms. Dyer's collection of jewels while sipping champagne and mingling with Geneva's elite patrons. Proceeds went directly to the World Wildlife fund {6}.

References

1. Cartier. "The Cartier Collection: Panther." Accessed February 23, 2015.
2. Jennifer. "The Black Panther Queen," Jennifer Fabulous Blog, August 14, 2012.
3. McGregor, Alan. "Single Diamond Ring Brings $276,000 at Auction in Geneva," Chicago Tribune, No. 22, May 2, 1969, p. 1.
4. Reif, Rita. "Auctions." The New York Times, July 5, 1985.
5. Ross-Simons. "Celebrity Jewelry: Famous Jewels." Accessed February 23, 2015.
6. "Suzy Knickerbocker," The Montreal Gazette, February 26, 1969, p. 10.
7. Veysey, Arthur. "Love, Tragedy, and a Fabulous Collection of Jewels," Chicago Tribune, No. 117, April 27, 1969, Features p. 1.