'Gilded Lily' Sheds Her Treasures PARIS - Take the watery-white diamond or the wine-red ruby - each jewel is a miracle of imagination. A cluster of gems creates the corolla of a camellia flower brooch or a single sumptuous stone makes an imposing ring. And they all reflect the taste of one woman. Lily Safra, the art collector, philanthropist and discreet fixture in the super-rich set, is putting up the contents of a rarefied jewel box at auction this summer. The 70 pieces reach across two centuries and varied styles, with the proceeds benefiting 20 charities, from Rwandan or Romanian children to a New York hospital for Parkinson's disease and Elton John's AIDS foundation. "Jewels for Hope" is the name given to the sale that will take place at Christie's in Geneva on May 14. François Curiel, international head of the Christie's jewelry department and chief of its Asian operations, called it a "sublime collection of the best of the best from the 18th century to today." "The trouble is that everyone always says, "This is the most beautiful," but for once it is true, and it is her taste and her eye," the jewelry expert said. Excitement surrounds not just coveted stones - diamond, ruby and sapphire in 30-plus carats - but also 18 pieces from JAR, the largest collection up for sale in the lifetime of Joel Arthur Rosenthal, the Paris-based jeweler considered the finest creator of the last 30 years. Mrs. Safra described him as "a gifted artist with a talented, unique eye," with each jewel one of a kind, often a special commission. "The relationship between him and the person for whom he is designing is key, yet his creations are quite contemporary," she said of Mr. Rosenthal. The materials he uses, the boldness of his designs and his imagination, all break traditional aesthetic concepts. His jewels are extremely modern, yet have a classic appeal, which makes them timeless. Prime examples are the 2003 ruby and diamond camellia brooch, sculpted into a three-dimensional flower; and the "poppy" brooch from 1982 when, in his particular style of mixing fine and semiprecious jewels and playing down mighty stones, the jeweler had pink and green tourmaline flowers with their stems wound around a central diamond. "The diamond was hers and the only thing was to hide it - so we camouflaged it a bit," said Mr. Rosenthal, explaining that working with a client "is like doing a portrait, catching someone's nature." Pierre Jeannet, who has worked with Mr. Rosenthal since they both started designing the needlepoint tapestries that morphed into jewels, puts the client-creator relationship slightly differently, describing his partner as "tyrannical" and more of a mind reader than a collaborator. Mrs. Safra described her most "emotional" piece as a classic rectangular-cut diamond ring of 34.05 carats, a wedding gift from her husband, Edmond J. Safra, the global banker, who died in an arson fire in 1999. "He would be very happy to know that, thanks to him, many different organizations will have an extraordinary contribution," Mrs. Safra said. She said that she held a shared vision with her husband, whether choosing jewelery or deciding on charitable work, which includes mainly medical but also educational and cultural institutions. "Throughout our journey as collectors, my husband and I sought the highest quality in our diverse areas of interest, from pictures, to furniture, works of art, watches and jewelry," she said. So there is a continuity between the best gemstones in my collection, such as the Patino ruby ring or the rectangular-cut diamond ring, and the jewels, which showcase the most creative periods in jewelry design. "All styles and periods appealed to us, as long as the jewels were unique, exceptional in terms of material and craftsmanship, and elegant in design," she added.