Christie's unveils jewels of Christina Onassis before auction

By: Frank Jordans, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

GENEVA - An icy, pear-shaped 38-carat diamond that belonged to the only daughter of Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis went on display in Geneva on Friday.

The stone Christina Onassis wore on a pendant necklace, which is to be auctioned June 11 in London, has been valued at between $3.5 million and $4.3 million.

The Christie's vintage jewels auction will take place almost 20 years after Christina Onassis died of a heart attack at age 37. The Harry Winston diamond will be put up for sale alongside dozens of rings, bracelets, watches, necklaces and oddities belonging to the woman who was called "Poor Little Rich Girl" during her lifetime.

The Onassis jewels, which are being sold by her family, make up 45 of the 230 lots in the sale. They also include a ruby and diamond necklace by Van Cleef and Arpels, as well as a sapphire and diamond necklace estimated to sell for at least $230,000.

Christie's expects the whole sale to fetch $15.6 million in total.

Christina Onassis was born in 1950 to Aristotle Onassis and his first wife, Athena. She lived a life of luxury between exclusive Swiss mountain resorts, country clubs and the yachts her billionaire father favoured - including a converted Canadian corvette he named Christina after his daughter.

It was on this yacht that Onassis reportedly kept a jade-coloured Buddha by Peter Carl Faberge, renowned for creating ornamental eggs for Russia's imperial family. The figurine's hands and head moved on springs and pivots, and would have serenely rocked as the ship sailed the Mediterranean.

Christie's estimates the Buddha will fetch $487,000 to $681,000 at auction.

Christina Onassis was thrown into the spotlight when her father died in 1975, leaving her to lead the family's shipping and real estate empire.

Reports of an inheritance dispute with her famous stepmother - Aristotle's second wife, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - kept Christina in the news, along with her own short-lived marriages to a Los Angeles real estate broker, another Greek shipping heir, a Soviet civil servant and French businessman Thierry Roussel. The latter is the father of her only child, Athina.