“Criticism from historians and Jewish organizations did little to dim the sale at Christie’s of jewels made of precious diamonds and colored gemstones bought with a fortune built in part with profits from the Aryanization of Jewish businesses during the Holocaust,” The New York Times said. “In bidding online and in person in Geneva, the sale of jewelry from the estate of Heidi Horten, an Austrian philanthropist, has brought in $202 million, making it the most successful jewelry sale in history.”

Christie’s has faced substantial criticism about the sale because of Horten’s husband, Helmut Horten, a German businessman and billionaire, who began to amass his fortune by purchasing at a discount the businesses of Jews forced by circumstances or edict to sell their companies during the Holocaust.

“In a time of Holocaust denial and the resurgence of antisemitism around the world, we find it especially appalling that a world-renowned auction house would engage in such a sale,” wrote Yoram Dvash, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, in a recent letter to François Curiel, the auction house’s chairman of Europe and Asia.

Christie’s officials said they chose to move forward with the sale despite the criticism because the proceeds are going to the Heidi Horten Foundation, which supports medical research and a museum containing her art collection. The auction house also pledged to donate some of its proceeds to Holocaust research and education.                                                                                      [Photos courtesy Christie’s]