Top New Orleans Auction House Brings its Bling and $2 Million Art to Houston Billionaire’s House: This VIP Bidding is Sure to be Intense

Among the fashion savvy ladies attending the New Orleans Auction Galleries preview party Thursday night, there were those so enthused by what they saw on display that they were pulling pages out of the auction catalog in order to secure bids on everything from diamonds to furs to Hermès handbags.

Auction house owner Susan Sarofim, a New Orleans ex-pat who cruised in on the waters of Katrina, arranged for the chichi showing at the Sarofim party house on River Oaks Boulevard. Ever smart in his three-piece suit, billionaire Fayez Sarofim joined his bride in the festivities showcasing a wealth of goodies to go under the gavel on November 17 in New Orleans.

“We always have the preview parties in New Orleans. And we cannot bring furniture and we can’t really bring the art over. But we can transport jewelry,” Susan Sarofim said. “So we thought we would bring the preview party here in order to give our clients, who don’t get the opportunity for an early look, the chance to check out the offerings in person.”

One piece of art did make the trek from Louisiana, Marc Chagall‘s “Le Cheval Rouge, Fin de Journée,” with an estimated value of $2 million.

Among clients and friends on the guest list were Houston jeweler Wayne Smith and Dallas jeweler Joe Pacetti, dazzling in a jaw dropping diamond bracelet. The gents surveyed the jewelry offerings while a number of guests ogled the fab collection of designer handbags, a number of them, as noted in the catalog, belonging to the late Pat Breen.

While some of the jewelry pieces on display in vitrines brought in especially for the evening, were valued between $1,000 and $1,200, others were expected to bring handsome five- and six-figure sums.

“There is some major fire power in there,” Sarofim said. For example, the emerald cut diamond ring surrounded by emeralds is expected to fetch between $75,000 and $125,000.

However, she added, “The estate jewelry has got to go, so. . . The reserve is usually extremely reasonable and if no one bids on it, what a deal!” And that had more than a few fashionistas planning on sharpening their bidding skills in advance of the auction.

Who: Cornelia and Meredith Long, John Daugherty, Joanne King Herring, Beth Wolff, Alice and Keith Mosing, Taylor Eichenwald, Mary Ann and David McKeithan, Quinlan Schnitzer, Gigi Huang, Walter Bering, Tripp Carter, Martha Adger and James Madget, Hershey Grace, Ed McMahon, DeeAnn Thigpen, Christie Sullivan, Susan and Dick Hansen, Jana Arnoldy, Fady Armanious, Dr. Steve Hamilton and Tom LeCloux, Karina and Carlos Barbieri, Diane Lokey Farb, Alicia Smith, and Lacy Baird.