Jewellery with Nazi links up for auction

Jewels belonging to an Austrian billionaire whose German husband made his fortune under the Nazis go under the hammer on Wednesday, despite demands by Jewish groups to call the sale off.

The Christie’s auction house plans to sell the entire collection of 700 jewels, estimated to be worth more than $150 million, by the end of the year. A portion has been available online since last week, while nearly 100 pieces will be sold in person in Geneva on Wednesday and another 150 on Friday.

The jewellery, including pieces from 20th-century designers such as Cartier, Bulgari and Van Cleef & Arpels, belonged to Heidi Horten who died last year aged 81, with a fortune of $2.9 billion, according to Forbes. Among the main attractions Wednesday will be the Sunrise Ruby, estimated at $15-20 million, Christie’s said.

The sale could eclipse previous records set by Christie’s in sales of properties that belonged to actress Elizabeth Taylor in 2011 and the “Maharajas and Mughal Magnificence” collection in 2019, both of which exceeded $100 million.