Jewels of billionaire Horten under hammer in Geneva

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More than 700 jewels belonging to Austrian Heide Horten (1941-2022) are part of this collection, estimated to be worth over $150 million. 400 lots will go up for auction in Geneva on 10 and 12 May, the rest will be available online on 3-15 May and then in November.

It features 20th-century pieces by Cartier, Harry Winston, Boivin and Van Cleef & Arpels, as well as a wide variety of pearls, jade and Bulgari creations from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten died in June 2022, just days after opening a private art museum in Vienna with her collection. His net worth was $2.9 billion, according to Forbes listing.

He became rich with the big shops of the exiled Jews.

German Helmut Horten, to whom the Austrian was married from 1966 to 1987, bought numerous stores from exiled Jews after the National Socialists seized power in Germany in the 1930s – well below their market value. These were the years of the so-called Aryanization of Jewish property, plainly speaking, of forced sale. Horten became extremely wealthy in the process.

According to Christie’s, proceeds from the Geneva auction will go to the Heidi Horten Foundation, which was set up in 2021 to support the eponymous collection, as well as medical research, child protection and other philanthropic activities the wealthy heir has supported for years.

Christie’s will donate a “significant portion” of sales-related commissions to “an organization that develops research and education about the Holocaust.” (SDA)

Source :Blick