Rago presents jewelry from the estate of antique dealer, writer, and editor Carol Prisant (1938–2021).
Ms. Prisant had an eye for art and antiques from a very young age and was entirely self-taught. After marrying and moving to New York with her husband, she worked as a decorative arts vendor in the 26th Street Antiques Market and participated yearly in the Manhattan Antique Show in addition to owning Locust Valley Antiques in Long Island for 10 years. In 1989, she became the New York editor of the British magazine The World of Interiors, a position she would hold until 2020. Actively involved in the world of antiques and interior design, she sat on the board of the Raynham Hall Museum on Long Island and the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities. She was also a member of the Manhattan-based Appraisers Association of America. Her writing became a staple in these circles. Prisant wrote articles for Martha Stewart Living, House Beautiful, and New York magazine and was the author of several books including Antiques Roadshow Primer and Antiques Roadshow Collectibles. Her antiquing column “Good, Better, Best” for House Beautiful would go on to be adapted into a book of its own.
A longtime friend of Ms. Prisant, Christine Pittel, remarked about Prisant’s interior design skills that she “curated her own environment like a work of art.” The same can be said for her impeccable taste in fine jewels. From a stunning sapphire ring in her favorite hue, pink, to elegant brooches and refined earrings, bracelets, and necklaces, her sense of style and eye for quality is evident in every piece from her collection.
Scholarship says that in 1874, two school friends reconnected after becoming master watchmakers. In 1875 those friends, Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet, decided to join forces in Le Brassus, a village in the famed “Center of Complicated Watchmaking,” Vallée de Joux in Switzerland. While both watchmakers had the skill and mastery to make their own watches, they chose to combine their time and efforts. Audemars oversaw the production, creation, and technical side of watchmaking while Piguet focused on sales and management. In 1881, the young team founded Audemars Piguet & Cie and a legend was born.
Audemars Piguet’s technical innovation is arguably best-in-class, as they have no shortage of patents and iconic complications. In 1892, the brand released the first minute repeating wristwatch and in 1899 they debuted their Grand Complication pocket watch. This piece had no less than seven unique complications: grand and small strike minute repeater, alarm, perpetual calendar, deadbeat seconds, chronograph with jumping seconds, and a split-seconds hand. In 1921, they created the first jump hour wristwatch and in 1986, the ultra-thin self-winding tourbillon—the smallest ever made.
Sandwiched between the two aforementioned technical accomplishments in 1972, Audemars Piguet employed a young Gerald Genta and introduced the legendary Royal Oak. The brand introduced this piece in the middle of the “Quartz Crisis” when traditional watchmaking was in danger of being forgotten. The Royal Oak was an outlier at the time as it was different from every other watch on the market. Stainless steel with an integrated bracelet, the piece also featured a case with octagonal bezel and screws set inside of it.
Technical innovation has always been the name of the game for Audemars Piguet, which to this day remains a family-owned manufacture in the Vallée de Joux. Whether it be the award-winning ultra-thin perpetual calendar Royal Oak, the entirely ceramic Royak Oak, or the the Royal Oak Concept—the very best sounding minute repeater—they have always delivered technical prowess. Audemars Piguet is one of the only high-end manufactures to supply movements to other manufactures, and they are considered the third and final name in the Holy Trinity of watchmaking.
Auction Results Audemars Piguet
