The grandeur of America’s Gilded Age is set to sparkle once again as an extraordinary collection of Vanderbilt family jewels heads to auction in Geneva on November 10, 2025. From Cartier’s ingenious transformable tiara brooch to the celebrated 42.68-carat Kashmir sapphire, these pieces capture both the ambition and artistry of a dynasty that defined an era.
The Vanderbilt name has long evoked visions of wealth, social standing, and cultural influence. Cornelius Vanderbilt rose from modest beginnings to amass one of the greatest fortunes of the 19th century, establishing a family legacy that spanned railroads, shipping, art, and society. Their Newport estate, The Breakers, remains one of the clearest testaments to this gilded splendor—a mansion as grand as any imagined by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Among the most fascinating figures of the family was Gladys Moore Vanderbilt, later Countess Széchényi. In 1908 she married Hungarian nobility, bridging America’s new money with Europe’s old-world aristocracy. Her jewels mirrored this union—opulent, yet versatile. A tiara given to her as a wedding gift could be worn with either diamonds or amethysts, its sprays of lilies later reimagined as brooches. One such brooch, centered with a striking old-cut diamond, is now among the highlights of the sale.
The center piece, however, is the Vanderbilt Sapphire. This exceptional Tiffany & Co. treasure—its deep royal blue colour and sugarloaf cut making it one of the rarest Kashmir sapphires ever seen—was originally gifted to Gladys by her mother, Alice Vanderbilt. Estimated between $1 and $1.5 million, it is regarded as one of the most remarkable gems of its kind to appear on the market.
Alongside these headline pieces, the auction will present an array of refined jewels and objets d’art, reflecting both the Vanderbilt family’s stature and their taste for craftsmanship at the highest level. Together, they offer collectors not only rare works of design but also tangible fragments of American aristocratic history.