Auctioneers

Group amassed over 20 years now going under the hammer at Bonhams is attracting worldwide interest from would-be bidders.

Among the more eagerly contested entries to the Woolley & Wallis (25% buyer’s premium) sale on January 24 was a late 19th century replica of the Alfred Jewel: the great example of Anglo-Saxon goldsmithing found in Somerset in 1693 and today one of the most popular exhibits at the Ashmolean Museum.

A selection of 10 stand-out jewellery lots offered at auction in February-April 2019.

A rare Longines centre seconds military wristwatch – a type developed in 1944 for the rigours of airborne work by the Research & Development team of the War Department – sold for a multi-estimate £11,200 at Barbara Kirk (15% buyer’s premium) in Penzance on November 27 last year.

Among the many decorative works of art in Nagel’s sale in Stuttgart on February 27-28 is this 3ft 8in (1.12m) high mirror in an ornately carved gilt frame.

MADAM – Regarding Bid Barometer, ATG No 2377, your readers might be interested to know that the portrait painting featured is in fact a self-portrait of Helen Lessore (of Beaux Arts Gallery fame).

A local family that could trace a clear line back to the 1750 was the consignor of this gold, white enamel and citrine mourning ring to Henry Adams in Chichester.

Deemed a little ostentatious in some circles, tiaras have enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years, particularly in Russia and the Baltic states where jeans and a diamond fascinator are de rigueur at informal high-society events.

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

The rivière – one of the most popular and enduring styles of necklace to come out of the Georgian period – features an endless line of matched or subtly graduated gems set within inconspicuous collets.

The opening 96 lots of the sale at Skinner (23% buyer’s premium) in Boston on December 4 were from the stock of the former New York dealership Edith Weber Antique Jewelry.

Jean Ghika, global director of jewellery at Bonhams, closed out 2018 on a positive note.

Rare work by artist best known for his Lincolnshire views is a highlight of Dorset sale.

Sapphires have been mined in Burma (now Myanmar) for over a millennium, the stones admired for their colour saturation and dark hues.

Works by two artists who made the ocean their muse were the focus of a small collection at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (21% buyer’s premium) on January 29.

Gold rush era jewellery from Down Under is a rare visitor to UK salerooms but, remarkably, several pieces have appeared for sale in recent months.

Close to 300 lots in a recent London sale that focused mainly on private press and other illustrated books came from the library of the late Bruce Beatty, a banker whose artistic and bibliographic collecting preferences included fin de siècle literature.

Pictured here are two exceptional pieces of Art Deco jewellery sold by Christie’s Paris (25% buyer’s premium) for multi-estimate sums on December 4.