Bonhams New York will auction jewelry from the estate of Katherine Domyan, the Hungarian two-time Olympic swimming gold medal winner. According to Gem Konnect, the collection is estimated collectively at $2.1-$3.15 million dollars.
The collection includes more than 60 pieces of jewelry from the 1970s to the early 2000s, including some by Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels and David Webb. Many of the jewels were bought by Katherine and her husband Arpad throughout their 56 year marriage. According to their son, Bryan Domyan, said that “if a piece captured her eye, he [her husband] wanted her to have it. It brought him tremendous joy to see her happy”.
Domyan was born in Budapest, Hungary. At the age of 17, she participated in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games where she won two gold medals and set world records in the 100m freestyle relay and the 4 x 100m freestyle relay. During the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Katherine asked for political asylum from the US. With a special invitation from President Eisenhower, Katherine and her team athletes were granted political asylum in the United States.
