If Carol Woolton suddenly wins the lottery, she plans to spend her winnings on Lot 1175. Sotheby’s Royal & The Noble Jewels auction is scheduled to take place four days after our Zoom call.

“The three-row collet set consists of cushion-shaped and circular-cut diamonds – that is 300 carats; “It’s hinged to mimic movement, so it can be worn as a necklace, a dressing gown, as an epaulette over the shoulder, or as a ras-de-cou (choker) to adorn the décolletage,” she marvels. “Did you know that it is the number one destroyer? It is incredible that this 18th century Georgian work has survived to this day.”

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