Clocks, Watches & Jewellery

A pendulum clock used in an early longitude trial will be offered for sale by Dreweatts next month.

The December 6 jewellery sale at Roseberys (23% buyer’s premium) was the maiden auction for new head of department Mark Bowis.

Deemed a little ostentatious in some Western circles, tiaras remain popular with the so-called ‘new’ markets.

The closing nine lots in Lawrences’ January 18 sale were consigned by a lady in Somerset. They had belonged to her mother and grandmother and had been kept in a safe deposit box in the bank for about the last 30 years.

Jewellery specialist Joanna Hardy is usually found in glamorous locations.

An iconographic gold ring – perhaps once belonging to a bishop or senior member of the clergy in the Yorkshire area – sold for £7100 at Hansons (20% buyer’s premium) in Etwall, Derbyshire.

Contemporary jewellery designer Wendy Ramshaw’s earlier work, including her signature ring stacks first made in 1967, is coming back onto the market.

A set of five Victorian diamond six-point star brooches sold for £26,000 at Golding Young & Mawer (20% buyer’s premium) on January 24. As each star has a hook fitting and a screw fitting for attachment, the set was probably once part of a suite consisting of frames for a tiara, necklace, earrings and brooches.

Among the most desirable of all Second World War wristwatches – a strong suit in this currently hot collecting arena – is the Panerai 3646. This distinctive model was initially intended for the Royal Italian Navy but was also used by German submariners or Kampfschwimmer.

The history of the Kutchinsky jewellery brand dates back to 1893 – the year Hirsch Kutchinsky and son Morris arrived in the East End of London, having fled Poland.

A selection of jewellery and watch previews from around the salerooms, including the recent discovery of an intriguing coronet at Dix Noonan Webb...

This ‘Goliath’ carriage clock, below, was offered at Greenslade Taylor Hunt (19.5% buyer’s premium) in Taunton.

Good times ahead were predicted by Guy Schooling, chairman of Sworders (23% buyer’s premium), after the January 9 Homes & Interiors sale at Stansted Mountfitchet which was topped by a WAS Benson brass mantel clock.

Two of the first sales of 2018 suggest that toasts to the future can be drunk from half-full, rather than half-empty, Georgian rummers.

Second World War technology starred at Tennants’ (20% buyer’s premium) militaria sale at Leyburn.

Clocks from England’s ‘Golden Age’ provided highlights at two early December sales.