Jewellery Sale Exceeds £1 Million
2nd May 2013Jewellery Sale - April 30th 2013
The second jewellery sale of the year again proved that the whole world loves beautiful things with a sale total of over £1 Million.
The most exciting lot of the day, although not the highest price achieved, was a Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring. The 4.52ct sapphire has such rarity and beauty that it commanded a sale figure of £152,500 selling to the Chinese trade.
Potential bidders flew in from New York, India, South East Asian and Europe such is the exquisite beauty and rarity of this lot.
Kashmir mines have been extinct for over a hundred years and are located in one of the least accessible areas on earth, combined with political unrest and being covered under twenty feet of snow for much of the year meant the mining of these exceptional stones was extremely hazardous.
The love affair with natural pearls shows no signs of diminishing and Woolley & Wallis continue to be one of the leading salerooms for pearls. Lot 1881 was a two row necklace with the pearls graduating in size to 8.9mm, sporting an 18th Century octagonal cut emerald clasp and the fabulous quality was recognised with a sale price of £177,000 but not to be outdone, another natural pearl necklace surpassed their upper estimate three times over to sell for £119,500. Jonathan Edwards, head of the Jewellery Department commented 'the market for natural pearls continues to be strong and particularly for the larger and most beautiful pearls.'
