Fan Lord said: Jewelry celebrity
Recently, Brazilian celebrity Lily Safra died at her home in Geneva at the age of 87. Fan you who don't know her can first look at the photos, I look like this, it is indeed a famous lady Benyuan ↓
In addition to her status as a socialite, her titles include: $1.3 billion Forbes rich woman, jewelry collector, philanthropist and so on. And her mansions are all over the world, the jewelry collection is comparable to a museum, but in her later years she auctioned most of the jewelry for charity; He has been married four times, and two husbands have died unexpectedly, inheriting a large inheritance.
In the top social circles, Lily Safra is very popular, and there are many celebrities and friends. Among them are royal nobles such as Prince Charles and Aga Khan.
The Prince of Monaco also befriended her
Former French President Sarkozy also unveiled her portrait
Alain Deron, an old French handsome man, is also close to her
It can be said that Lily Safra's life is both rich and legendary. Especially her jewelry and marriage, which can be called the two most eye-catching keywords of her own... So today, we will talk about this jewelry lady ~
01 Legendary Marriage Road
He became rich by marriage and divorce, and two husbands died
In celebrity circles, Lily Safra has a nickname called "Gilded Lily", and since she was a young party and dinner lady, she has never worked, so most of her wealth actually comes from four marriages. Including her jewelry collection, there are also many gifts that are the other half. Life is more dramatic than a Hollywood script, and it can be called the "Brazilian version of the jade woman"...
△ Four marriages to achieve class leaps
Lily was born in Brazil in 1934 to an English father and a Jewish mother. In order to make a fortune in the early years, his father came to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to do business and founded his own railway business.
Born beautiful since childhood, Lily has been described as porcelain-like and a star in Rio's Jewish community. But the suitors she met there, Lily's parents, were all dismissive and took her to Uruguay as a teenager. There, the Lily family met the Argentine industrialist Mario Cohen.
Cohen is a wealthy "hosiery tycoon" who is 9 years older than Lily. Under the careful arrangement of her parents, Lily entered her first marriage at the age of 17 and had 3 children with each other.
Eight years later, the two divorced, and she married a Brazilian "retail tycoon" Alfredo Monteverde, a millionaire who made his fortune selling household appliances, but the marriage lasted only 4 years, Alfredo committed suicide, and Lily inherited at least $200 million from her deceased husband.
In fact, after the death of her second husband, Lily already knew her fourth husband, Jewish banker Edmond Safra, and it is said that the two of them met because Lily consulted her husband's inheritance.
But because of her complicated past, the people of the Safra family were not optimistic about them and were forced to break up. Lily then turned around and married the businessman Samuel Bendahan, supposedly to make Edmund jealous, and the two were separated after months together, the proper tool man.
After a flash marriage and divorce from her third husband, Lily finally married Edmund Savra as she wished. In 1976 they had a grand wedding, which was attended by celebrities such as the Reagans and Aga Khan. Their marriage was described as "a woman with a past and a man with a future destined to be married". But before they got married, the two signed a 600-plus-plus-plus prenuptial agreement that the Financial Times called "a masterpiece of the law applicable to marriage."
In short, Lily got married all the way through divorce, making her wealth rise, it can be said that "the more you leave, the more you earn", and finally become a rich woman with a net worth of over 100 million, buying jewelry is like selling cabbage.
△ Two husbands died
However, Lily's marriage path is also accompanied by a layer of mystery, in which two husbands died. The second husband, Brazilian retail mogul Alfredo Monteverde, who died by suicide in 1964, is said to have suffered from bipolar disorder, but the cause of his death has sparked speculation. There were even rumors that Alfredo had actually been shot twice, but investigators found only one bullet.
In 1989, Lily and her first husband's son and grandson died in a car accident. Her fourth husband, Edmund Zafra, also died in a fire in 1999.
Lily's last husband, Edmund Safra
It is said that this Edmond is a descendant of a famous Banking family in Lebanon, and the Trade Development Bank and the Republic of New York Bank are his family businesses.
After marriage, the two became new stars in the social circle, often flying all over the world to attend parties, dances, dinners, buy art and jewelry everywhere, and sell very generously. Lily is said to have once asked her secretary to collect the shoe sizes of all her friends and buy them each a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes.
The couple also bought property in many of the world's richest concentrations, including a historic Leopolda villa on the French Riviera, once part of the King of Belgium, where Lily spent $2 million just to renovate her bedroom.
However, there have been some rumors about Edmond's history, saying that he is suspected of organized crime such as smuggling and money laundering, and his customers are some people who do not want to be named.
Edmond is also usually cautious, his mansion is full of complete security facilities, the bodyguard team is a retired agent of the Israeli Mossad, he usually carries blue gems in his pocket to ensure safety, and the license plate is also a lucky number 5.
However, the accident happened. In the early hours of December 3, 1999, when a fire broke out at his mansion in Monaco, Edmond locked himself in a bathroom that was used as a safe house, and died of inhaling too much smoke and the accompanying nurse was killed.
People thought it was an accident. Later, another of his bodyguards and caregivers, Ted Maher, was arrested by the Monaco police, confessing that he had set fire to a scrap cardboard box because there were "intruders" at the time, and he just wanted to win their gratitude by saving the Safra couple, but the fire got out of control and burned his boss to death.
But then Ted said that his words at the time were the result of forced confessions, which gave the case another layer of mystery, and now Lily's death has been portrayed by the media as "bringing the truth to the grave".
Sources say that in the weeks leading up to the fire, Lily moved her security team to her estate in France, and camera footage recording key evidence was missing. Two months before Edmond's death, he also amended his will to leave control of the estate to Lily, for which Edmond's sisters took Lily to court.
△ Donated jewelry and charity in his later years
After Edmond's death, Lily's four marriages ended. Lily, then 64, donated 50 percent of Edmond's estate to charity, leaving the rest to herself ($800 million) and part to her deceased husband's relatives.
In his later years, Lily still did not change the true color of a rich woman. In 2010, it took only 8 minutes to shoot Giacometti's sculpture The Walking Man, making it the most expensive sculpture of its time. The following year, she bought another $21 million for Gerhard Richter's abstract paintings, which she gave to the Israel Museum.
She also took out 69 pieces of jewelry for auction, and sold them for a sky-high price of $38 million, all of which was donated to charity, feeling that these were also foreign objects to her.
Lily spent much of her later years in donations, donating money to the families of the 9/11 victims, raising significant funds for the renovation of Somerset Palace, and donating $10 million to rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral. And built a children's hospital, but also from time to time to visit the hospital to visit children with tumors... The second half of life can also be regarded as "merit consummation"~
02 Jewelry and clothing are good
The "ceiling" of jewelry collectors, the clothing is also stunning
△ How many sky-high jewelry have been collected by her?
Lily Safra has been in love with collecting jewelry since she was young, and the jewelry storehouse can open a museum. In 2012, Christie's auctioned off 69 of her jewelry pieces, with a total value of $38 million, none of which were sold, and far exceeded the estimated price at the time, making it a "ceiling-level" jewelry collector.
It was also because of this auction that Lily Safra became known. Although she has always been relatively low-key, in fact, the rich women in the circle can PK her in jewelry, in addition to the Duchess of Windsor, probably Elizabeth Taylor.
There is a "legend" about Lily on the jianghu, that is, she "has no jewelry less than 30 carats". So not only are there a lot of them, but they're all big pieces. However, in addition to wearing it when he was young, most of the rest of the time is stored at home and rarely showed off.
Lily in his youth
Jewelry taste is also very first-class, how to wear how to put on clothes are very exquisite, the effect of wearing out is also "human-beaded", belonging to the more you look at the more charming kind.
Much of her collection comes from the work of American jewelry maestro Joel Arthur Rosenthal. JAR is the most mysterious existence in the jewelry industry, only customized for familiar old patrons, the annual output is calculated in 2 digits, but the works are stunning, the style is imaginative, and it is highly recognizable, so it is often auctioned at auction houses at sky-high prices
JAR Fine Jewelry Pieces
Most of Lily's favorite jewelry styles are more classic and timeless, and they also have a certain sense of art, which will not be outdated in any era. So what treasures are hidden in her jewelry library?
(1) Flower shape
Flower jewelry has always been her favorite. In her old age, she often wears a pair of ruby flower-shaped earrings, which are chic and sweet, with a lost girlish heart.
From ruby brooches, to sapphire rings, to yellow diamond earrings, she can find "flowers" of various shapes in her jewelry box.
Among them, this camellia ruby brooch was very eye-catching at the auction of that year. From the inside to the outside, the sky is full of stars of rubies, of which 20 larger rubies are from Myanmar, weighing a total of about 173 carats, and the price is 4.003 million Swiss francs
There is also this diamond + tourmaline poppy brooch, shaped with poppies. The neck and buds are made of green and red tourmaline, respectively, and the pear-shaped cut white diamonds are fixed in them weighing 37.23 carats.
The shape is very magnificent and beautiful, not to mention how chic it is to wear it on the chest. The transaction price of 1.179 million Swiss francs is also too bad to be desired
The wild rose diamond necklace below is also very powerful, and it is heavyweight to wear around the neck. The petals, buds, foliage and emerald details made of diamonds were auctioned for 1.083 million Swiss francs.
This necklace from Cartier is an antique piece of jewelry from 1906. Lily wore it in middle age and has a very presence
(2) Large carat rare gemstones
It's no exaggeration to say that she "doesn't have jewelry under 30 carats," just look at how many oversized carats and rare gemstones she has in her collection. And the three pieces displayed by the model at the auction alone can be blinded
The ruby and diamond ring fetched the highest price on the spot: 6.243 million Swiss francs, and once broke the world record! From CHAUMET, it's called The Hope Ruby. It is set with a 32.08 ct pillow-cut Burmese ruby, which is also known as "pigeon blood" because of its bright red color
When she was young, her successive husbands also gave her a lot of jewelry, including this emerald pearl and diamond ring. The center stone is an oval emerald gemstone from Colombia with pearls and diamonds set in a shank and sold for 483,000 Swiss francs at auction.
She used to wear a lot of high-quality emerald jewelry. This necklace is set with rows of rectangular cut emeralds + diamonds. The gemstones were from Colombia and were sold for 663,000 Swiss francs. Her additional pair of antique emerald earrings is worth 93,000 Swiss francs. Lily pairs it with a simple black halterneck dress, which is a little more fashionable and sharp in the classical charm
In addition, this seemingly simple diamond ear clip is also valuable. The center stone were two pear-cut diamonds weighing 19.43 and 19.16 carats, respectively, with a nearly flawless D color quality and a high price of 4.92 million Swiss francs.
In addition, she is suspected of wearing a 30s antique on her hand, Art Deco style is quite gorgeous, the auction price is 159,000 Swiss francs.
(3) Pearls
Not only gemstones, But also Lily's jewelry boxes contain a variety of elegant pearls. Most of them are art Deco style, reminiscent of the luxury of the 20s
For example, the following set of irregular pearl earrings + necklaces, she wears them for decades.
When she was an old lady, she loved these chic black pearl earrings and accompanied her to various parties. The style is gorgeous but not ostentatious~
As for this pearl tear brooch, the queen also has the "same style" Oh~
Of the pearls lily was auctioned off, the pearl diamond brooch below was the most special. In addition to two button-shaped pearls, one large and one small, there is also a small diamond ball in the shape of a water droplet, and the end of the pin also has an inverted pearl + diamond decoration, which is particularly elegant to wear on black clothes. Worth 315,000 Swiss francs~
She also wears a velvet suit with this brooch, which complements the earrings for a more textured look.
(4) Antique jewelry
As a fan of antique jewelry, Lily's jewelry collection contains many works from the 19th century to the 1920s, some of which are heirlooms of the Early European nobility.
For example, this vintage bow diamond brooch, from the ancient European royal family in the mid-19th century, has a very ribbon flowing feel and sells for 75,000 Swiss francs.
This retro and beautiful style is also deeply loved by the Queen, who has worn different bow brooches several times.
As mentioned earlier, she has a special love for flower jewelry, and this flower brooch, also from the end of the 19th century, worth 75,000 Swiss francs, is equally exquisitely retro. It's very similar to the jewelry buckle on her bag
She also has a number of butterfly-shaped earrings inspired by antique jewelry. Some of them are carried by her as brooches, which are very beautiful and chic
In addition to jewelry, her bag is also blingbling's antique jewelry feeling. The diamond + ruby platinum dinner bag below is sparkling and shiny, produced in 1910 and worth 47,500 Swiss francs.
Her beloved jewelry is usually housed in the following exquisite jewelry boxes, most of which are from the 1900s, and the style is classical and timeless, and the price of the set is as high as 219,000 Swiss francs.
△ Jewelry with Chinese clothes, elegant dress idol
In addition to being a jewelry collector, Lily's good clothes are also recognized. She likes a simple and timeless style, elegant black is her favorite, easy to wear the famous girl feel~
Gorgeous red also shines on her body, from skirts to silk scarves, from shoes to bags, and jewelry makeup, a red is not tacky in the end.
At the dinner, she will also choose sequins to carry out the retro style of the 20s to the end.
At any time, she would wear a shawl over her skirt, which could block the wind and show the atmosphere. At first glance, it is a person who has come all the way to grace
And Lily's everyday style is not lacking in fashionable aspects. For example, she can wear Chanel's black and white color matching and tweed suit out of the noble lady style, and the French style is full of style
When not wearing any jewelry, the neat suit Look is also very sassy.
Changing into a red scarf is even more provocative, leaving age far behind
Well, the story about this "jewelry lady" is here today. For her life and collection, what do you think, welcome to leave a message to discuss with us Oh ~