REVIEW: JEWELLERY, WATCHES, SILVER & OBJECTS OF VERTU 12 SEPTEMBER

Strong prices reflected the outstanding quality of lots among the 12 September offering, with the top ten lots sharing a hammer total of £112,500 between them.

Leading the way was a 3.10 carat brilliant-cut solitaire diamond ring, Colour G, Clarity VVSI, at £22,000.

A c.1890 diamond necklace, the articulated frontispiece designed as a garland with ribbon bow motifs, was set throughout with old cushion and old brilliant-cut diamonds, later adapted and suspended by an unassociated fancy-link chain with marcasite accents, mounted in silver and gold. The total diamond weight of the 39cm necklace was approximately 18 carats, and bidders took the piece well beyond its £7,000-£9,000 estimate to £16,000.

An Art Deco diamond bracelet, composed of six panels, each centred with a flowerhead motif within geometric pierced decorated borders, was set throughout with old-cut, brilliant-cut, single-cut and baguette-cut diamonds. It had an invisibly set push clasp, and was platinum mounted, with a safety chain added later. At 18.5cm in length, it had a total diamond weight of approximately 15 carats and went comfortably over high estimate at £10,000.

A stunning serpentine bracelet with intriguing links to the former Commander-in-Chief of India, presented in its original case, again soared over its high estimate of £3,000-5,000 to sell for £9,500.

The bracelet had an articulated body unusually detailed throughout with blue enamel and with an opal, diamond and ruby set head. It had formerly been the property of Sir Charles James Napier, (1782-1853), British general and Commander-in-Chief in India, famous for conquering the Sindh province of British India, (now in present-day Pakistan). The vendor was a direct descendant.

The best-selling object of vertu was a gold snuff box. Although unmarked, it was probably English and c.1720. The box was of rectangular form and richly decorated throughout, the hinged cover chased with two huntsmen and a hound, against a granulated stippled sky, within a frame of engraved scrolls and shells, and the cartouche border further chased with deer and hounds. The reverse showed a riverside scene of a crane wrestling a serpent, with another crane in flight above, and the scene was similarly framed, and edged with flowerhead latticework and architectural details. At 7.9cm, it made £6,500.