When I recently toured The Breakers — the 70-room, 138,000-square-foot Italian Renaissance-style palazzo that served as the Newport, RI, cliffside summer home for Cornelius Vanderbilt II and his family at the turn of the 20th century — one detail stopped me in my tracks: the shimmering platinum wallpaper that lined sections of the mansion’s morning room. It was a precious-metal flourish so extravagant that even Anderson Cooper, in his bestselling book Vanderbilt, highlighted it as an emblem of his family’s unrivaled wealth. (Cornelius was Cooper's great-great-grandfather.)
This glimpse of Gilded Age opulence sets the stage for a new chapter in the Vanderbilt story. On November 10, Phillips Auction House will present “The Vanderbilt Family Jewels” at its Geneva Jewels Auction: V, held at the Hôtel President. Twelve pieces once owned by Gladys Moore Vanderbilt, the youngest daughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt II and Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt, will cross the block, offering collectors a rare opportunity to acquire heirlooms of extraordinary provenance.
Gladys, who spent childhood summers at The Breakers and returned there as a widow later in life, embodied the transatlantic alliances of her era. In 1908, she married Count László Széchényi of Hungary, bridging American industrial wealth with European nobility. Her jewels — many commissioned for her wedding or gifted by her mother — reflect both personal milestones and the artistic ambitions of the Gilded Age.
The highlight of the collection is the Vanderbilt Sapphire, a 42.68-carat sugarloaf Kashmir sapphire and diamond brooch by Tiffany & Co., estimated at $1 to $1.5 million. Its “Royal Blue” hue and remarkable clarity place it among the most coveted sapphires ever to appear at auction. Originally presented to Gladys by her mother, the jewel symbolizes both family affection and dynastic ambition.
Another offering is a Cartier diamond brooch, once part of a magnificent tiara commissioned for Gladys’ marriage. Designed as sprays of lilies and adorned with interchangeable stones, the tiara could be dismantled for versatile wear — a hallmark of Belle Époque ingenuity. The surviving brooch, featuring a 4.55-carat pear-shaped diamond, carries an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000.
Other treasures include a ruby and diamond Cartier vanity case monogrammed for Gladys, a delicate diamond comb, and an emerald-and-diamond bow brooch. Together, the collection paints a portrait of the Countess’ life amid glittering court society and her enduring ties to America’s most storied dynasty.
“The Vanderbilt Family Jewels stand as the purest embodiment of Gilded Age elegance,” said Benoît Repellin, Phillips’ Worldwide Head of Jewellery. “They are pieces of extraordinary beauty, historical resonance and fascinating provenance.”
Ahead of the auction, the jewels will embark on an international tour, with stops in Hong Kong, New York, Singapore, Taipei, London and, finally, Geneva.
For visitors to The Breakers today, the platinum-leaf panels of the morning room remain a reminder of the Vanderbilts’ audacity in material form. In Geneva, that same spirit of extravagance will sparkle once more — this time under the lights of a Phillips auction room, where history and luxury meet at the highest level.
Credits: Jewelry images courtesy of Phillips; Gladys Vanderbilt portrait by Philip de László, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. The Breakers photo by UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Platinum wallpaper photo by Renata3, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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