The stunning lot of 31 pieces was auctioned off at Christie's New York on Tuesday, nearly a year after the famed interior designer and philanthropist died in July of last year at the age of 73.
President Eisenhower's Granddaughter's Jewelry Collection
Eisenhower's one-of-a-kind personal collection included bracelets, rings, necklaces, and a brooch from renowned jewelers such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Harry Winston.
The top lot was Marlene Dietrich's famed 'Jarretière' ruby and diamondbracelet, which she purchased from Van Cleef & Arpels in 1937. It fetched $4,527,000.
Dietrich wore the bracelet in Alfred Hitchcock's 1950 murder mystery 'Stage Fright as well as at the 1951 Academy Awards.
When Eisenhower bought the beautiful piece of Hollywood history at auction in 1992, it passed from one renowned collection to another.
She commissioned Van Cleef & Arpels to create a matching necklace and earrings, which sold for $1,184,400 and $176,400, respectively.
A rare Art Deco diamond and multi-gem moonlight rose bracelet by Tiffany & Co. ($604,800), an Art Deco diamond bracelet by Cartier ($151,000), and a ringwith a 20.54-carat emerald-cut diamond ($1,159,200) were among highlights.
Lisa Hubbard, Christie's jewelrysenior consultant, was acquainted with Eisenhower for decades, and the two connected over their appreciation of magnificent gems.
Hubbard described Eisenhower as the type of lady who walked into a room and everyone noticed her, 'not because she was over the top, but because she sailed in and was simply an elegant presence.'
The sapphireand diamond 'waterfall' necklace and earrings by Van Cleef & Arpels were among the jewelry expert's favorite pieces in the sale.
'I'd not seen that pattern before, and they're so flattering,' she explained. 'They show what good jewelry is all about.'
Christie's created a global tour of 'The Magnificent Jewels of Anne Eisenhower,' which began in Los Angeles, as a tribute to the interior designer's legacy.
The tour concluded in New York, after visits to Shanghai, Paris, Taipei, Geneva, and Hong Kong, where the entire collection was sold in a live and online auction on July 7 at Christie's Luxury Week.
Commenting on the glittering collection of treasures, Marc Porter, chairman of Christie's Americas, said: 'From Marlene Dietrich to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Anne Eisenhower Collection traces the history of the last century through a single collector's brilliant passion for fine jewels. The museum said:
“„Anne Eisenhower had a remarkable eye for the finest specimens of jeweler's art, and her collection recounts interesting and intertwined stories of patrons and collectors.- Museum
Meanwhile, Daphne Lingon, Christie's Americas' head of jewelry, reflected: 'Christie's is incredibly honored to be entrusted with the Magnificent Jewels of Anne Eisenhower, a woman who led an incredible life of elegance, style, and philanthropy while keeping loyal to her ideals.
'From exquisite designs by Cartier, Tiffany & Co. and Van Cleef & Arpels to important gemstones, this auction presents a unique opportunity for collectors to obtain a jewel that was thoughtfully acquired over a 40-year period by a true tastemaker.'
The auction, according to Eisenhower's family, is a suitable way to commemorate her life.
'While these jewels are indeed breath-taking, my grandmother is the real gem that we are celebrating... and that we will celebrate always,' Camila Mendoza, her granddaughter, told Christie's.
Eisenhower was born in 1949 in West Point, New York, to military historian John Eisenhower and his wife Barbara (née Thompson).
Her grandpa, the 34th President of the United States, spent her early life in the White House.
While traveling overseas with her grandparents as a kid, she encountered foreign luminaries such as French President Charles de Gaulle and former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
In the late 1970s, Eisenhower apprenticed under New York design legend Dorothy Draper before launching her own practice, which specialized in conventional domestic design.
Architectural Digest named her one of the world's greatest designers in 1990. She told the journal the same year that her interior design style was 'classical, but for today's living: comfortable, with a "lived-in" aspect; uncluttered without appearing austere.'
Eisenhower was also a philanthropist, serving for 25 years on the board of the Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education.
Among her other charity endeavors were the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the American Heart Association, and the Eisenhower family's legacy work.
Her daughter Adriana Echavarria, grandchildren Camila and Nico Mendoza, and her husband of 31 years, Wolfgang K. Flottl, survive Eisenhower.