Revealed: The stunning $19million hoard of diamond jewels owned by reclusive heiress Huguette Clark as they go up for auction
Recluse: Mysterious heiress Huguette Clark left behind a vault of diamond jewels when she passed away last year
She was one of America's most mysterious characters, her life the subject of speculation and intrigue.
Huguette Clark, who died last year at the age of 104, was reputedly the nation's fourth richest woman - and now a selection of her dazzling jewels are going on sale.
The copper heiress' estate is gradually being sold off following her death in May. The recluse had not been photographed since 1930 and few knew about her private world.
The latest items to go on sale from the heiress' haul are a set of stunning jewels - with a single pink, nine carat, cushion-cut diamond among the collection which alone may fetch as much as $15million.
The showstopping gem is joined by two dazzling diamond bracelets, a diamond ring, a brooch and a charm bracelet, all of which are in their original boxes.
They are to be auctioned by Christie's on April 17 and have a combined value of approximately $19million.
She was pictured wearing two similar pieces in a 1930 photograph, believed to be the last photo of the secretive heiress, taken after signing divorce papers in Reno, Nevada, following her failed two-year marriage.
Whether she wore the sparkling bracelets - or the rest of the hugely valuable collection - after that date is not known.
According to MSNBC's Today show, Ms Clark would have likely kept the jewels in a family bank vault since the Forties. They would have had rare outings at best - especially as the heiress spent the last twenty of her life in various New York hospital beds.
Diamonds for friends: The socially recluse heiress owned a nine carat pink diamond, valued at around $8million, and a square-cut 19-carat colourless diamond ring valued at around $4million
The extremely rare nine carat pink diamond, dated to 1910, is believed by Christie's to have been given to the one-time socialite by her mother, Anna, who married 62-year-old William A Clark in secret when she was just 23-years-old in 1902.
In addition to the pink cushion-cut diamond, valued at between $6million and $8million, but which may fetch $2million per carat - a square-cut eternally flawless diamond ring has an estimated value of $2million to $4million. Made by Cartier, is a staggering 19 carats in size and dates to the Thirties.
A Cartier bracelet, valued at between $50,000 and $70,000, features scores of diamonds and several large emeralds in its art deco design.
Dazzling designs: A diamond linked bracelet has an estimated value of $300,000 to $500,000
Dripping with gems: A Cartier bracelet, valued at between $50,000 and $70,000, features scores of diamonds and several large emeralds in its art deco design
A second diamond bracelet is given an estimated value of $300,000 to $500,000.
A delicate and colourful multi-gem charm bracelet, again made by Cartier, could be one lucky collector's for $30,000.
Its intricate design includes a tiny elephant, a Cupid fishing for a love heart and a pair of star-crossed lovers on a bench.
It is not known who may have gifted the romantic trinket with its ten charms to the heiress - having been the toast of the town in the Twenties, she disappeared from society before the age of thirty and did not have any children.
Charmed, I'm sure: A charm bracelet owned by the heiress features a tiny elephant, Cupid fishing for a heart and a couple of songbirds
Stars and stripes: One of the pieces taps into Ms Clark's American heritage. Her father was a copper magnate and first profited from Montana's gold rush
A nationalistic brooch bearing a gem-emblazoned Star and Stripes is a garish rendering of diamonds, rubies and sapphires.
Rahul Kadakia, head of jewelry for Christie's told Today that discovering the collection in a Clark family vault was like finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.
'To have this collection of jewels from the gilded age is going to be fabulous at auction,' he said. 'It's one of the best periods of jewelry manufacturing.'
An art deco crystal clock is valued at around $20,000 while an onyx, turquoise and diamond picture frame borders a portrait painting of Ms Clark's older sister Andree, who died in 1919 aged 16
Top hat and tails: There are very few images of Ms Clark in existence. Here, she is seen with her father at New York's Easter Parade in 1922
Another rare glimpse into Ms Clark's life comes in the form of an art deco table clock - its crystal border still as modern as ever.
An ornately decorated picture frame holds a small painted portrait of her older sister, Andree, who died of meningitis at the age of 16 in 1919.
While the clock is valued at around $20,000, the pictures frame is onyx, with a turquoise and diamond inlay and is likely to be worth as much.
The auction comes following the announced sales of three of the heiress' homes on Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street in Manhattan.
The trio of apartments, with a combined value of $55 million, have stunning views over Central Park's Conservatory Water.
She also owned a sprawling $100million home in California's Santa Barbara, which has been empty since 1963.
Ms Clark inherited her fortune upon her father's death in 1925. Upon turning 21, her inheritance was worth $300million - or $3.1billion in today's terms.
The entire estate is now the subject of an acrimonious and ongoing legal battle centreing upon two different versions of the heiress' will.
One, made at the age of 98, handed much of Ms Clark's estate to her family.
Another, drawn up just six weeks later, allows for portions of her vast wealth to go towards art galleries - with a $40 million Monet pencilled in to go to Washington's Corcoran Gallery of Art - and a $36 million donation to her nurse.
Her attorney, accountant and godchild were not omitted from that version - leading to family speculation that the will may have been subject to collusion.
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