AUCTION HOUSE HIGHLIGHTS

Jewellery

Melanie Saleem of Elstob & Elstob discusses some of the stunning items of jewellery that have gone under the hammer at the Ripon-based auctioneers

A SILVER AND ENAMEL ‘CLYMENE’ BELT BUCKLE DESIGNED BY ARCHIBALD KNOX FOR LIBERTY & CO., 10.5CM BY 5CM, BIRMINGHAM 1909. SOLD FOR £1,600. “Everything about this highly collectable belt buckle simply screams ‘Art Nouveau’, from the wonderfully organic setting with its undulating ‘whiplash’ tendrils to the vibrantly coloured, beautifully graduated enamelling.” “Art Nouveau in Britain had its roots in the Arts and Crafts movement – a movement which, in a backlash against soulless industrialisation, sought to reconnect with nature and traditional craftsmanship. Even though it is well over a hundred years old and is very much of its period, this is an item that you could easily wear on a sash today. I would like to think it is being used rather than just hidden away in a box!”

A MID-VICTORIAN BLACK ENAMEL CLOVER BROOCH SET WITH OLD-CUT AND ROSE-CUT DIAMONDS, ESTIMATED DIAMOND WEIGHT 3.60 CARAT, 3CM BY 2.8CM. SOLD FOR £2,200. “With its black surround this piece could potentially be a mourning brooch. Or perhaps it was intended as a symbol of good luck; the Victorians were especially keen on flower and plant symbolism. The diamonds used in this brooch are fabulous, and they have been carefully selected for their colour. The large stones in the middle have yellowish overtones, whereas the stones that surround them are distinctly whiter. I love old-cut diamonds like these. They’re cut by hand rather than by machine and no two are the same. They have so much more personality than modern, precision-cut stones.”

A LATE-VICTORIAN AMETHYST AND AQUAMARINE FRINGE NECKLACE, DROP LENGTH 2CM TO 2.8CM, CHAIN LENGTH 42.5CM. SOLD FOR £900. “Towards the end of the Victorian era ladies’ fashion was tending towards lighter, more airy fabrics, and jewellery also started to become lighter and more delicate. This necklace is a good example. Recent advances in technology made it possible to create the narrow ‘knife edge’ drops on which the pale aquamarines and oval-cut amethysts are set. Together with the fine belcher chain they give the piece a refined, timeless quality. Necklaces of this type are very popular at auction. Unlike some of the earlier and heavier Victorian jewellery, this is a piece that is still very wearable today.”

AN 18 CARAT GOLD ‘REVA’ COLLECTION BULGARI DIAMOND RING, PAVÉ-SET WITH ROUND BRILLIANT-CUT DIAMONDS, TOTAL ESTIMATED DIAMOND WEIGHT 1.30 CARAT. SOLD FOR £1,400. “This is very much a statement piece. As in the art world, a good deal of the value of jewellery can be in the name. A similar ring to this one, but without the Bulgari name, would likely only fetch half the price. The brand has quite a lengthy history – the firm was founded in Greece in 1884. The trademark ‘BVLGARI’ logo was first used in 1934 but became an increasingly prominent feature of the company’s products in the 1970s, reflecting a general trend in the fashion industry towards emphasising and capitalising on brand identity.”

A SILVER PENDANT BY MATTI J HYVÄRINEN ON A BAR-LINK CHAIN NECKLACE, PENDANT SIZE 4.5CM BY 4CM, HALLMARKED WITH MAKER’S MARK ‘MJH’, IMPORT LONDON 1974. SOLD FOR £200. “Matti J Hyvärinen was a renowned Finnish jewellery designer who started his own firm, Sirokoru, in Turku in 1958. Hyvärinen is an important figure in the Modernist jewellery movement, and like other Scandinavian designers from the mid-1940s onwards he used fairly humble materials – in this case silver rather than gold or platinum. His inventive, sculptural designs reflect the natural landscape of Finland, and are inspired by the shapes and textures of ice, rocks, snowdrifts and so on. Pieces like this are still fairly affordable and make a good entry point for new collectors.”

A VICTORIAN 18 CARAT GOLD, BLACK OPAL AND DIAMOND RING, TOTAL ESTIMATED DIAMOND WEIGHT 1.15 CARAT, HALLMARKED BIRMINGHAM 1892. SOLD FOR £800. “Black opals are rarer and more valuable than white opals, and their colours are especially mesmerising. In the early 19th century opal was regarded as an unlucky stone. During the 1880s, however, large deposits of opal were found in Australia. Queen Victoria started wearing and gifting opal jewellery, and this led to a revival in its popularity. During the same period, extensive finds of diamonds were made in South Africa, and they too became relatively plentiful. In later Victorian jewellery diamonds are typically paired with other stones – as in this piece – rather than taking centre stage as they might formerly have done.”

A PAIR OF DANISH SILVER CUFF EARRINGS DESIGNED BY NANNA DITZEL FOR GEORG JENSEN, 3CM LONG, 2.5CM IN DIAMETER, WITH POST-1945 MAKER’S MARK. SOLD FOR £110. “Georg Jensen was an interesting company because it recruited talented individual designers and put them at the forefront of its business. Nanna Ditzel was the first female designer to be invited to create designs for Georg Jensen. Over the course of her career she won several prestigious awards and is now a very collectable name. Ear cuffs are designed to slip over the outside edge of your ear, and require no piercings. These are designed as tapering knife-edge hoops, inspired perhaps by traditional African jewellery, and are typical of Ditzel’s elegant, minimalist designs.”