This early 20th century choker is composed of rubies, pearls and diamonds in a striking geometric design. It sold for £17,000 against a guide of £3000-5000 at Woolley & Wallis’ sale of the Chameroy collection.
There he discovered the antique jewellery markets in the King’s Road and Portobello Road and began dealing and collecting, building up a client base and exhibiting at antiques fairs.
On October 24, in its Salisbury rooms, Woolley & Wallis (26/20% buyer’s premium) sold Chameroy’s personal collection in an auction of around 200 lots offered without reserve. It was an eclectic but connoisseurial mix, ranging in date from the 18th century to the Art Deco era and embodying a wide range of different types of antique jewellery and accessories from buttons to diamond brooches, fob seals to foiled necklaces.
The focus on different types and techniques meant that, although there were items made from precious and semi-precious gemstones, there were also many collectable examples in materials not of high intrinsic value. Overall it offered bidders plenty of opportunities to purchase according to different tastes in a range of budgets.
Every lot sold in the auction and many of them far exceeded the estimates, raising a premium inclusive total of £745,138. “We are thrilled this remarkable collection was a ‘white glove’ sale,” said specialist Marielle Whiting. “The sale generated a great deal of interest from collectors from around the world with 84 separate buyers, highlighting the significance, quality and condition of this connoisseur’s collection.”
Pictured here is a selection of pieces from the sale to give a flavour of the Chameroy ensemble.
