Brazilian born billionaire and wife of Lebanese banker, Edmond Safra, who reportedly died in a fire that was caused due to arson, Lily Safra is known for her love of jewels. She is a connoisseur of fine jewels, philanthropists who is now worth $1 billion after her four marriages. The story of her life can easily be turned into a bestseller. But it’s not her marriages and the suspicious deaths of her four husbands that we would like to discus here.
It is our intention in this story to throw some light on the philanthropic activities of this social figure and the great work that she has done through her charitable organizations by auctioning her legendary collection of jewels, which by the way is massive in terms of both size and price, and is the kind that can dazzle many billionaire wives around the world. Her jewellery designs are antique and go back to the 1970s. They are the kind of jewels that are not meant to be showed off at a high end multi millionaire party. Her jewels come with a cause and with the intention of providing hope to the less fortunate. Aptly titled, the ‘Jewels of Hope’, the auction of these jewels help Lily Safra run many charitable organisations and supports several causes.
It was recently at a Christie’s auction that her 18 JAR jewels managed to fetch a mindboggling $37.9 million. The collection not only exceeded its pre sale estimate of a paltry $ 20 million but also broke a record after a ruby ring was auctioned a fetched a whopping price of $ 6,742,440! Quite a dazzling collection of rings we say. Read on if you wish to know more about Lily’s diamonds and rubies and also the other philanthropic activities of this legendary social figure.
Lily Safra and her Charitable Jewels
It was the “Hope Ruby†that was the star of the auction at Christies’. Desinged by Chaumet it is actually a ruby diamond ring from Burma and has a stone which is the shape of a cushion. It weighs 32.08 carats and is now the only ruby that was sold for such a hefty price at an auction. The ‘Pigeon Blood’ as it is referred to due to its unique red colour its estimated price was fixed somewhere between $300,00o-$500,000. But the price it fetched was way above the estimated figures.
The cushion shaped ruby is not the only expensive jewel that has been in Safra’s kitty. In 2003, a Camilla diamond brooch set with rubies weighing 173.09 carats fetched Safra a whopping $4,319,591 and also successfully surpassed its pre-estimated cost.
So what does Lily Safra do with all the billions that she makes at auctions around the world. Well, like we said earlier these jewels are here for a cause. Safra, who also happens to be the single collector of all the jewels, distributes the money to many charitable organisation. She chairs the Edmond J Safra Foundation and it is through this foundation that the funds are channelized for various cause and are further distributed to several other organizations like the King’s College London for the Edmond and Lily Safra Parkinson’s Research Fellowship, the UNICEF, USA and also the Elton John AIDS Foundation to name a few.
Lily Safra’s jewels are ‘Jewels of Hope’ indeed for these dazzling diamonds and rubies do provide a ray of hope for many.
