Highlights of 2024 - Jewellery, Silver and Watches

2024 proved to be a record-breaking year for the Jewellery, Silver and Watches department at Cheffins. The highest grossing sale in November, together with the highest value for an individual lot, boosted annual sales to £1.6m, up from £1.4m in 2023.

The three catalogued sales contained a total of nearly 1,500 lots, with an average overall sale rate of 96%.

The April sale included a single owner collection of over 70 watches, which attracted considerable interest, with strong prices achieved and every piece sold, including an Omega 'Speedmaster Apollo/Soyuz 35th Anniversary' chronograph wristwatch (main picture above), which hammered £9,000 against an estimate of £2,000-£4,000.

Jewellery and silver were also strong, with a Victorian diamond riviere necklace achieving £20,000 against an estimate of £10,000-£15,000, and a William IV silver salver selling for £10,000 against an estimate of £7,000 - £9,000.

Highlights of the August sale included a late Victorian diamond cluster ring estimated at £8,000-£10,000 which sold for £26,000, and an Art Deco emerald and diamond brooch (pictured below) achieving £13,000.

The lead in the watches section was a Cartier Art Deco platinum and diamond cocktail watch which sold for £17,000, while in the silver section, a Victorian silver trophy cup went under the hammer for £2,800 against an estimate of £1,000-£1,500.

The year ended on a high with November’s auction hammering just shy of £550,000, including the sale of a rare Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring for £260,000. The stunning ring (pictured below) attracted worldwide attention with multiple telephone bidders competing with the online and in room buyers, culminating in two determined bidders vying to secure it.

Steven Collins, Head of Jewellery, Silver and Watches at Cheffins, comments: “It’s been a very busy year with some exceptional items achieving strong prices. The department has been growing year on year and we anticipate this trend continuing into 2025.”