Jane Shafrin

Christie's Auction of Kenneth Jay Lane Fashion Jewelry From Private Owners



Posted: Thursday, February 18, 2010

by Jane Shafrin
Kenneth Jay Lane Sales

There have been a couple notable auctions of Kenneth Jay Lane jewelry. One was at Christie's in New York on April 9, 2001.  The highest price paid was $4,700.00 for a faux gem-set belt of rubies and sapphires set in gunmetal (length 31 inches--I'd wear it as a necklace!). It is said that the Duchess of Windsor was buried in a KJL belt. Creepy?

The ornate Jackie O necklace and earrings went for a bargain $646.00 (earclips not shown). KJL duplicated a precious gem necklace presented to Jackie by Ari.

The multi-stone and 3-row bib necklace in crystal, was auctioned for $940.00. available by special order through Beads by Mail .

The auction included very few pins or rings; most lots were necklaces, bracelets or earclips. There were a total of 184 lots. This was pre-Euro, foreign buyers paid in DM, Francs, Lira.

Mary McFadden's introduction to the auction catalog says "KJL is an explorer of the imagination. He started with Noah's Ark: elephants with pearl headgear, serpents jeweled as finely as Nature, swans drinking diamonds, unicorns with crystal horns, zebras in Art Deco poses. Kenny is inspired by the great jewelers of our time, Seaman Schepps, Cartier, Verdura, David Webb, Chanel. Carol Channing wore KJL diamonds in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and occasionally threw them into the audience."
 
To see a very complete catalog of Kenneth Jay Lane Couture Jewelry, http://kennethjaylanesales.com
Jane Shafrin's lifelong fascination with jewelry and the sparkly objects and metals jewelry is made from, has resulted in her websites, http://kennethjaylanesales.com and http://beadsbymail.com . Jane began her relationship with Kenny, as Mr. Lane is called, 20 years ago, and now publishes the Web's widest catalog of KJL Couture Jewelry, along with pages of detailed information about each necklace, earring, bracelet, and ring, as well as fascinating trivia about Mr. Lane.
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