King Farouk’s Jewels To Be Auctioned In London!

By Yasmeen Badawy

King Farouk is known to have collected a special collection of jewels and fine accessories throughout his lifetime. He is also well-known for the luxurious watches that he had inherited from his father King Fouad I, who had a personal collection himself, made by the greatest watchmakers. Now some of his jewelry treasures could be yours because several items from King Farouk’s collection are going up for bidding at Sotheby’s London on June 6 as part of the auction house’s Fine Jewels sale.

One of the jewels that will be displayed in the auction is King Farouk’s diamond brooch shaped in the figure of a bird, from Van Cleef and Arpels and is estimated to reach between £700 and £1,500 (SAR/AED 3,437 to SAR/AED 7,365). This is not the first Van Cleef & Arpels piece from the Egyptian royal’s family to go up for auction; Sotheby’s New York sold an iconic diamond necklace in 2015 commissioned from the Paris jeweler by Queen Nazli, King Farouk’s mother. The 220-carat bib-style piece, that was sold for US$4.3 million (SAR/AED 15.8 million), was custom created in 1939 for Queen Nazli on the occasion of her daughter Princess Fawzia’s wedding.

The three collections presented in the auction include a diamond purse handle, estimated to attract up to £3,500 (SAR/AED 17,186), cufflinks engraved with King Farouk’s profile, a ruby and a diamond tie pin, with an estimated sale of £220 to £350 (SAR/AED 1,080 to SAR/AED 1,718) for the collective items.

The sale on King Farouk’s jewelry lots is encouraging to most collectors as their prices are low considering that they are historical pieces. The commissioned pieces are considered treasures in their own right because not only did they belong to HRH King Farouk but they were also custom made by some of the most prestigious jewelry makers.

WE SAID THIS: King Farouk’s jewels can now be anyone else’s.