There are famous folks who want to remain in the shadows. I get that. What I don’t get are those that become ghosts. In trying to research today’s post, I looked high and low for information and images about American Socialite Hélène Beaumont but there was little to find. Thank goodness there’s a magnificent piece of jewelry being auctioned off by Sotheby’s in May, having once belonged to her, or she may have slipped into obscurity for most of us commoners.

Depending on your age, the Vanderbilt you most associate with the name may be different. But I bet that if it’s not Anderson Cooper, it may be his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, that comes to mind. And if you’re of the age where you have millennials as grandkids, you may even remember the last of the gilded days, where the New York elite still had grand parties in their even more grand mansions. In that case, Grace Wilson Vanderbilt, one of the last (if not THE last) to host such gatherings, may just be the Vanderbilt in your mind’s eye.

When you hear the name Andy Warhol, you think Campbell’s Soup Cans and modern art. Most of us don’t think of fine jewelry, much less an extensive collection that rivaled the most well known of socialites.

There are women who marry well. And then there are women who make it an art. Mona von Bismarck was the latter. Married five times (FIVE TIMES), she had quite the life story (and the jewelry to go with it). Read about her in today’s episode of #GreatJewelryCollectors on our blog: https://www.katiecallahanandco.com/?p=6593