Catharine Becket, a specialist at Sotheby’s in charge of its “magnificent jewels" sale in New York, had been working on obtaining a specific 1930s diamond and enamel bracelet by Cartier for five years. “We’d always hoped it might come to auction," she says, “and it was just this winter that I spoke to the client, and she decided it was time to sell." The bracelet, known as a “Tutti Frutti" for its multicolored, Mughal-cut stones, is one of the most recognizable designs Cartier ever made, and several bracelets of the same style and from the same period have sold for millions of dollars.
Becket’s client had inherited the bracelet years ago, and she’d worn it “I think once," Becket says. After some discussion, the client agreed to put the