Latest News Articles by Roland Arkell
Cartier featured in The Illustrated London News advert hits the headlines
31 March 2025A Cartier Egyptian revival jewel, previously known only from an advert that appeared in The Illustrated London News in the 1920s, sold for £55,000 at Woolley & Wallis (26% buyer’s premium).
The minute chance of mining a pink diamond
31 March 2025A Cartier necklace with a rare pink diamond was offered by Tennants (22% buyer’s premium) of North Yorkshire on March 15. It sold towards top hopes at £190,000.
‘Complete and original’: 16th century pocket watch makes 14 times estimate in Cheshire
26 March 2025The latest jewellery and watches sale at Wilson55 in Nantwich included a rare pocket watch from the 1580s.
Auction house Gorringe’s back under family control
24 March 2025Sussex and Kent auction house Gorringe’s begins a fresh chapter next month under full family ownership and new management.
Coffee pot plundered from burning White House makes five times estimate in Tetbury
24 March 2025A Georgian silver coffee pot that once formed part of the silver at the White House has emerged for sale in Gloucestershire.
Gloves ‘given by Charles II’
24 March 2025The timed online sale of Books & Manuscripts at Bonhams Knightsbridge that closed on March 20 included a pair of 17th century embroidered gauntlet gloves that reference one of the most famous - and most romanticised - moments of the civil war.
Cheffins: looking back on a rich 200-year history
24 March 2025Cambridge auction house Cheffins is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year.
Top British honours shine in Viennese auction
24 March 2025Late 18th century Order of the Garter soars way over estimate as part of an Austrian sale
Dickensian world of blacking brought back to mind by stoneware bottle
24 March 2025Blacking ink was widely used in the 19th century for the cleaning and polishing of boots and shoes, floors and doorsteps.
Einstein signature and date teaches a lesson on value
24 March 2025The second tranche of material from a German autograph collector, the late Franz-Peter Bach, was offered by Anderson & Garland (30% buyer’s premium inc VAT) in Newcastle upon Tyne on March 5.
Medal marks the unpopular royal marriage of Mary and Philip
24 March 2025A Renaissance gilt bronze medal made to mark the marriage of Queen Mary I (1516-58) and King Philip II (1527-98) sold for £15,500 at Sloane Street Auctions (26.5% buyer’s premium).
Nice little earner: Wealth of Nations generates double the low estimate
24 March 2025Second edition copy of Adam Smith classic work sells at £8000 in Cumbrian saleroom
Carafe inscription reveals connection to the Kit Kat Club
24 March 2025An early 18th century onion-shaped decanter or carafe offered at Halls (24% buyer’s premium) in Shrewsbury was of particular interest for a point-engraved inscription to the body. It read 'The Kit Kat Club at the Fountain Tavern on the Strand'.
Waste material turned into ashtray not to ashes
24 March 2025The YZ-branded range of novelties – a whimsical selection of ashtrays, match holders, pipe holders, pipe racks etc fashioned in tropical hardwoods and cherry amber bakelite – was produced by walking stick and cane maker Henry Howell and Company in the 1920s-30s.
Bees create a buzz in the 17th century
24 March 2025Written by the English naturalist and apiarist Rev Charles Butler and printed by the Oxford bookseller Joseph Barnes in 1609, 'The Feminine Monarchie or A Treatise Concerning Bees' is considered the first book on the science of beekeeping in the English language.
A gift of the king: Civil War gauntlet gloves quadruple estimate at Bonhams
20 March 2025The timed online sale of Books & Manuscripts at Bonhams Knightsbridge that closed on March 20 included a pair of 17th century embroidered gauntlet gloves that reference one of the most famous – and most romanticised – moments of the Civil War.
Impressive 19th century furniture among highlights at sale of works from Welsh estate Plas Teg
19 March 2025Welsh auction house Rogers Jones conducted its largest house clearance in over 30 years this month – the principal contents of Plas Teg in Flintshire.
LAPADA fair will team up with luxury jewellery ‘collective’
17 March 2025The next LAPADA Berkeley Square Fair will partner with luxury jewellery ‘collective’ Haute Jewels.
Monumental De Morgan tile panel with impressive provenance takes £65,000
17 March 2025A monumental and important William De Morgan architectural tile panel with an exceptional provenance has sold for £65,000 in Stourbridge.