The Biggest Jewelry Sale in History ... "Heidi Horten", is out to break records.

A collection of pieces amassed by late Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten will become the most valuable private jewelry assortment ever to come to auction, according to Christie’s.

This May, Christie's will present The World of Heidi Horten, a sale of what they describe as the “largest and most valuable private jewelry collection to ever come to auction.” There are, Christie's International Head of Jewelry Rahul Kadakia tells Town & Country, only two jewelry auctions that passed the $100 million mark. “The Liz Taylor sale was $145 million and our Maharajas & Mughal and Magnificence sale brought in $110 million. The next after that? There is nothing even close.” The Horten sale will offer 700 jewels in total with a low estimate of $150 million.

“The World of Heidi Horten is the collection of a lifetime,” said Rahul Kadakia, international head of jewelry for Christie’s. “From Bulgari to Van Cleef & Arpels, from a small personal memory piece to the Briolette of India, this is a collector’s dream. Building from extraordinary early pieces she acquired in the 1970s and 1980s, Mrs. Horten continued to grow and curate her sophisticated collection, eloquently combining vintage and modern designs from leading jewelry houses of the world that today represent some of the finest examples ever to come to market.”

The auction house will present 400 of the 700 jewels across two live auctions on May 10 and 12 as well as at an online sale from May 3 to 15. Another online sale featuring the remaining jewels is set for November.

Per Christie's, the collection will be devoted to philanthropy, per Mrs. Horten’s wishes: all of the Estate’s proceeds will benefit The Heidi Horten Foundation, established in 2020 to support the museum of modern and contemporary art she founded in Vienna, Austria— The Heidi Horten Collection—as well as medical research, which has been supported by her for many decades.

“She was a fabulous collector and clearly a client to many houses. She bought and sold from us but nobody knew the entirely of the collection until know. She was a myth, a legend,” says Kadakia.