ABOUT THE AUTHOR Raymond Sancroft-Baker joined Christie’s in 1969 and was their numismatist until he joined the jewelry department in 1988. For the next twenty years, he served as the European jewelry director, based in London, but during his career he has also worked in Geneva, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and New York. He was responsible for Christie’s first theme sale, in 1992, Jewels and Works of Art by Cartier, and in 2006 organized the sale of jewelry belonging to the late Princess Margaret. He became a consultant in 2008 and is a fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain.

Jill Newman is a jewelry expert, editor and writer. She has covered the international luxury market for more than twenty-five years and focused much of her attention on fine jewelry, diamonds and gemstones. Jill is Town & Country magazine’s contributing jewelry and watch editor. Over the past two decades, Jill has contributed print and digital features on jewelry, watches, style and culture to leading consumer media brands, including Robb Report, Departures, W magazine and  Magazine; and over the course of her career, she has facilitated in-depth coverage on the mining industry, which included several visits to diamond mines across Africa, as well as trips to cutting workshops in India and gem mines in Brazil. She also visited the world’s most illustrious jewelry workshops—from Paris and London to New York and Japan—to understand the history of the craft, as well as pioneering new techniques. She resides in New York City.