Luz Mila Patiño (1909-1958) was born into a gem and jewelry loving family. Her father, Simon Patiño, was the legendary Bolivian mining millionaire. Simon’s early career in a local mining supply shop fostered a lifelong love of gems. As his professional success soared, Simon developed an appreciation for the finest and rarest gems and minerals. Together with his wife, they amassed a significant jewelry collection, which undoubtedly made a lasting impressing on their daughter Luz.

Luz married Count Guy du Boisrouvray (1903-1980) who also came from the mining world. Guy attended Ecole Centrale, regarded as one of the most prestigious and rigorous schools for mining engineers in Europe. His early career took him to then-French Equatorial Africa where he mined gold and diamonds. Like his father-in-law, Guy’s professional pursuits influenced his personal life. Together, Luz and Guy embarked on a lifetime of collecting.

As a newly married couple, the Boisrouvrays lived in New York where they developed a deep friendship with Louis Arpels. Know to the family as Uncle Louis, Arpels regularly hosted the Boisrouvrays at Van Cleef & Arpels’ Fifth Avenue boutique for sumptuous tea parties and shopping. With Arpels’ guidance, the Boisrouvrays assembled an extraordinary collection of top quality diamonds and gemstones with an understandable focus on jewels from the French maison.

In the fashion of the time, the Boisrouvrays dressed formally every evening, whether attending a glittering event or dining alone. Lot 144, formerly in the collection of the Count and Countess du Boisrouvray, provides a glimpse into the glamorous collection of a couple who possessed both the knowledge and elegance to collect only the finest jewels.