Diamonds, Art Deco Top Auction of Gold Medalist’s Collection

New York—Diamonds and Art Deco shone brightly during the recent auction of an Olympic champion’s expansive jewelry collection.

On Sept. 21, Bonhams New York offered jewelry from the estate of Katherine Domyan, two-time gold medalist, as part of its Fine Jewelry sale.

Domyan was born in Budapest, Hungary, the daughter of two-time Olympic champion water polo player Marton Homonnai and Hungarian swimming champion Katalin Szoke.

She competed in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics at the age of 17, winning two gold medals and setting world records, and won gold again at the 1954 European Aquatics Championships in Turin, Italy.

Domyan and the man who would become her husband, Arpad, also an accomplished athlete, both competed in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.

After the ‘56 Games ended, Domyan and dozens of other Hungarian athletes defected, declining to return home to Soviet rule. They were stranded in Australia until Sports Illustrated magazine stepped in to help, and were granted political asylum in the United States in late 1956.

She moved to the United States in 1957 and married Arpad four years later. In the U.S., the couple built a successful real estate business, building offices and apartment complexes nationwide.

Domyan died in October 2017 at the age of 82.

When her jewelry went up on the block last week in New York, her Art Deco and diamond pieces proved to be the most popular.

Her jewelry lots were led by an Art Deco-era ruby and diamond bracelet by Van Cleef & Arpels. The piece featured a geometric openwork design centered on three rectangular-shaped emerald-cut rubies, flanked by half-moon-shaped diamonds and set throughout with baguette and round brilliant-cut diamonds accented by calibré-cut rubies.

It went for $504,500, just topping its pre-sale high estimate of $500,000.

Following that was Domyan’s Harry Winston necklace circa 1984, pictured below, featuring 86.30 carats of diamonds, which went for $492,500, falling within its pre-sale estimate of $350,000- $550,000.

This was followed by the Harry Winston ring seen below.

The ring, circa 1985, centered on an emerald-cut diamond weighing 23.13 carats flanked by trillion-shaped diamonds and set in platinum. It sold for $444,500, topping a pre-sale estimate of $250,000 -$350,000.

Another of the top lots was a second Harry Winston fringe necklace, this one with a total diamond weight of 66.20 carats, which sold for $ 324,500.

Domyan’s David Webb jewelry also was in high demand at the sale, according to Bonhams.