Antiques Roadshow

At July’s Phillips Jewels and Jadeite sale in Hong Kong, an exceptional 12.55-carat diamond ring, circa 1953, went under the hammer for an eye-popping US$1.1 million. Designed by Harry Winston with an enormous centre stone and clean-cut silhouette, the design epitomised the luxury and optimism of the post-war era. And at a Sotheby’s auction last year, an art deco emerald- and diamond-set necklace made for Hélène Beaumont, an American socialite and close friend of Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, sold for nearly US$3.6 million to an Asian collector—more