The best Black Friday gift imaginable? Jewellery owned by Prince – a ‘love symbol’ pendant at US$58,500 and Versace bracelets for US$12,500
You can do better than that 1999 super deluxe reissue: five pieces of jewellery owned by Prince – including two bespoke ‘love symbol’ pendants worn onstage – are now on sale at New Orleans’ M.S. Rau Antiques
No doubt a hot gift item this holiday season will be the re-release of Prince’s classic 1999 album, a deluxe edition with remastered versions of the original tracks, plus an additional 35 previously unreleased cuts that the prolific artist recorded during the early 1980s, two live concert recordings and a book.
The album hits stores on November 29, aka Black Friday, but if there’s a Prince superfan in your life, STYLE has found an even more personal – and exclusive – way to make his or her holiday shine: jewellery owned by the iconic musician during the mid- to late-1990s.
M.S. Rau Antiques, in New Orleans, has five pieces worn by the Purple One, including two pendants in the shape of Prince’s “Love Symbol”, the unpronounceable glyph that the musician famously took as his stage name from 1993 to 2000 (just because he could).
One, in white gold set with a 14-carat dark purple amethyst and diamond accents, is priced at US$58,500, and another slightly smaller pendant in 18-carat white gold will set you back US$34,500. The flamboyant star wore both custom pieces onstage during concert performances in the mid- to late-1990s.
A third pendant, in 14-carat gold with 2.88 carats of diamonds surrounding an onyx crescent moon and star, motifs that fascinated Prince for much of his life, is going for US$44,500.
There are also two bracelets by Versace, of which the royal rocker was a fan, having attended several of the house’s fashion shows. One, a seven-inch-wide gold cuff in a floral pattern, is priced US$12,850, and the other, in silver featuring the label’s iconic Medusa heads, is priced at US$12,500. Prince wore both pieces on his left forearm.
Donatella Versace was the artist’s close friend, and Prince had been expected to attend her couture show in January of 2016, but had to cancel. He passed away in April 2016. She said later that she had no idea he had been unwell. Her menswear show in June of that year was a tribute to her late friend, with Prince-inspired looks of skintight suits and ruffled blouses on the runway.
The fashion show’s soundtrack consisted of Prince’s music, including classic hits and unreleased tracks. A company statement read: “Donatella would like to use this special occasion as an opportunity to share this incredible music from a dear and much missed friend.”
M.S. Rau, an internationally recognised dealer in rare and important antiques, fine art and jewellery, obtained the pieces from Prince’s first wife, Mayte Garcia, to whom he was married from 1996 to 2000.
