Building on the company’s successful series of actions during 2024, Shrewsbury-based Halls Fine Art saw strong prices in each of the silver, jewellery and watches sections.
A 45-lot collection of jewellery, watches and silver from South Shropshire seller sold for nearly £16,000, including a yellow metal multi-strand necklace at £2,000 and a yellow, white and rose metal multi-strand bracelet at £1,950.
Demand for Art Deco jewellery was strong, possibly due to the centenary of the movement named after the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris in 1925.
Two Art Deco diamond rings, a bracelet and a bow brooch, which were part of a small collection of jewellery from a Shrewsbury vendor which sold for £2,600, £1,950, £1,200 and £750, respectively. The collection, which totalled £8,500, also included an 18ct white gold diamond set necklace at £2,000.
Another collection from Shrewsbury sold for £5,590, including a Systeme Glashutte 14ct gold diamond set hunter pocket watch at £1,550.
The auction’s top selling lot was a late 18th or early 19th century rose cut diamond ring which made £3,000. Other leading jewellery prices were £1,850 for a diamond set necklace and £1,600 for a brilliant cut diamond halo ring.
Maryanne Lineker-Mobberley, Halls Fine Art’s silver and jewellery specialist, was particularly pleased to see unusual items sell well.
They included a Victorian polished banded agate bead pendant set with a rose cut diamond fly, which made £600 and a 19th century pearl and turquoise floral cluster locket ring, which sold for £480.
The watches section was topped by a late 19th or early 20th century rose cut diamond encrusted fob watch which sold for £1,750.
The watch was part of a 15-lot collection, which also included a late 19th century ruby and diamond bracelet at £2,100, discovered by Halls Fine Art at one of the company’s regular valuations days at Fishmore Hall, Ludlow.
An Omega lady’s 18ct gold bracelet watch made £1,100 and a 14ct gold full hunter pocket watch found a buyer at £900.
Star of the silver section was a Victorian Egyptian revival silver desk stand by Horace Woodward, Birmingham 1871, comprising a central box mounted with a sphinx. Consigned by a West Yorkshire vendor, the stand sold for £900.
Other top prices in the section were £700 for a matched four piece silver tea and coffee service and £600 for a large, circular silver tray by James Dixon & Sons Ltd, Sheffield 1963.
“We are very pleased that all sections of the auction performed well, with strong prices across the board and a high selling rate,” said Maryanne. “The sale included a good mix of modern and period jewellery and the prices show that good quality pieces will always sell well.”
Alexander Clement, Halls Fine Art’s watches specialist, highlighted the prices achieved for two Omega lady’s 18ct gold bracelet watches that sold above estimate despite not having their original boxes and paperwork.
He is expecting strengthening prices for Art Deco pieces in this year’s auctions. “Art Deco is 100 years old this year, so it officially is qualifies as an antique,” he said.
The buoyant market for jewellery, watches and precious metals reflects the political turmoil surrounding the war in Ukraine, he believes. “In the past, when there has been global instability, we have seen spikes in the price of gold and that has a knock on effect on what we are selling,” he added.