David Morris Jewellers

Mary Waterfall, Jewellery Specialist

David Morris is affectionately known as ‘The London Jeweller’. The prestigious shop in Bond Street continues to attract royalty and high end clientele with the spectacular creations that are intricately created there. Each piece is handcrafted to the highest standard in the workshop above the store. Although it is one of the last remaining jewellery workshops in Bond Street, it’s reputation continues to shine, putting British jewellery design firmly on the map of world class jewellers.
David Morris started his career as an apprentice in Hatton Garden at the age of 15. His love and natural creative flare for jewellery design led to the opening of his first shop in Hatton Garden in 1962. After winning The De Beers Diamond Awards two years in a row he started attracting real international acclaim. As the reputation and success of the David Morris brand grew, the company relocated to Mayfair in 1969 and then to it’s current home in Bond Street in 1996.
In amongst the glamour and the grandeur, the David Morris brand prides itself on being very much a family jewellers. In 2003 Jeremy Morris took over the helm of the company from his father as managing director and principal designer.
The company proudly states on their website: “A marriage of beauty and technology, in its approach to design and craftsmanship David Morris is as wonderfully unique as its collection of rare gemstones. Whether it is a piece from our beautiful fine jewellery collections or a bespoke creation, David Morris jewellery transcends generations, each design expressing ingenuity, creativity and unparalleled quality.”
Some of the unique creations include The Miss World Crown. It was originally commissioned by Eric Morely,  the founder of the Miss World Competition in 1969. He was inspired by the breath-taking sapphire and diamond tiara Morris had created in 1967 for the Countess Marie Kinsky of Austria on her wedding day, in her marriage to Crown Prince Hans Adam of Lichenstein. The stunning turquoise and diamond crown is still used in the competition today.

In 2012 the silver dragon on the bonnet of the vintage Aston Martin the Duke of Cambridge drove down the Mall on his wedding day was made by David Morris. Originally commissioned by the Queen for Prince Charles’s 21st birthday.

I recently had the privilege of valuing some David Morris pieces. Including these beautiful hoops from the Rose Collection. These exquisite rose cut diamond hoops are composed of four graduated rose cut diamonds, each within a brilliant cut diamond surround, with further scintillating micro set diamond detail to the inside of the hoop and clip. The total carat weight is approximately 3.40cts. These were originally purchased in 2008 for £12,500. The current retail price for these earrings is now £38,700. This example not only illustrates the strength and popularity of David Morris designs, it also highlights the importance of getting an updated jewellery valuation because prices and values can change dramatically over time. Doerr Valuations are delighted to be hosting a Wednesday Club event at David Morris on the 15th December. It will be a unique opportunity to see some of the stunning pieces in the current range and to find out more about the diamonds, gems and fascinating creative process from their experienced sales team. I for one cannot wait.

How are traditional auction houses changing?

Jonathan Horwich
Modern & Contemporary Art Specialist

It’s fantastic to see so many new artists’ work coming to the fore all over the globe, and how the role of buying and selling fine art is evolving to attract new audiences.

Attracting new buyers

Somehow the art world has managed to fast forward thanks to technological advances brought in as a matter of necessity during the pandemic, removing many or all of the old barriers that were putting first time buyers off auctions, or more positively pulling them in!

How many online bidders at Christie’s?

As an auctions career ‘lifer’ myself, I have always believed it’s a numbers game. The more active bidders you have in any auction the better it will perform.

Thanks to technology – Christie’s managed to attract more than 80,000 people via their online bidding channel during their global ‘One’ sale in 2020. There were so many bidders that when I tried logging on,
it bounced me out!

Is online bidding here to stay?

Although the online affect could diminish as the post-pandemic era progresses, thousands of new collectors and buyers are now hooked
as auction houses have demystified the process of an auction.

I can see that it’s happened by accident and not design. We’re entering into a new era with contemporary art auctions still growing, Old Masters are doing well especially Prints. Jewellery, Watches and Design are still strong but the focus is heavily on masterworks or special pieces.

How are auction houses evolving?

New ways of selling are now starting to emerge thanks to the new owner of Sotheby’s Patrick Drahi who bought the business pre-lockdown. He has quite logically seen his brand is much more able to penetrate into new areas. Yes Sotheby’s is an auction house but it’s also a luxury shop selling branded goods.

New auctioning ideas are appearing all the time with the most recent being the Las Vegas MGM Grand live auction of works by Picasso from the Casino Picasso Dining room this October. Only 11 pictures, all by Picasso were in the auction, and raised a staggering total of $110,000,000 from what is only a selection of works the Casino owns.

The next day luxury items, sneakers, handbags, watches and the like all did equally well in a smaller MGM Casino downtown. This was truly an event auction and I think it will set the trend for the years to come.

I think we can all be encouraged by the fact that more people than ever before are taking an active interest in auctions both as buyers and sellers.
Here are some fine art pieces sold highlighting what an extraordinary year 2021 has been.

 

My Favourite Item…

The Cunha Braga Cup. By Jonathan Horwich, Modern & Contemporary
Art Specialist

Knowing that I am a picture specialist, it may come as a surprise that I have chosen this 14 cm long, ceremonial drinking vessel. It is a rock crystal masterpiece of renaissance craftmanship, carving and decoration and is my favourite piece of all time. I am not sure if I know myself why I love it so much – maybe it is because it is so tactile, almost warm to the touch, and just oozes history. It fits neatly in the palm of your hand and is beautifully made – and nearly 400 years before Carl Faberge turns up and makes anything nearly as good.

I first saw the cup in October 2006 on its preview in New York. I was previewing pictures alongside my colleague from the works of art team who was accompanying the cup. My colleague gave me some of the background to its discovery. Amazingly, he spotted it among a bunch of Polaroid shots sent over from Portugal by a client just in case there was anything of interest. Even more remarkable is that the photographs were general room shots of a room full of display cabinets all rammed with various pieces and the cup was spotted tucked in a cabinet full of undistinguished objects. He was on a plane to Lisbon the next day to see it and the rest is history. I remember he told me that at first it was thought to be a copy or later version of a similar cup in a Munich museum. However, once the two were put together side by side in the museum the curators were delighted to discover that our one was made by the same craftsman as theirs – making these two the definitive pieces and ours the only other example in the world available to buy.

It had belonged to Alfredo Baptista Cunha Braga (1869-1932) from Lisbon. He acquired it circa 1920 and then by direct descent to the owners in the auction. The piece was offered in London on 30/11/2006, the pre-sale estimate was £200,000-300,000 but it sold for an astounding £1,968,000.

 

Silver – Provenance, Provenance, Provenance and Royal Rifts

Colin T. Fraser, Consultant Specialist

So much of what we see and value day to day sadly can’t tell us much of its personal story from creation, survival and provenance. When we do come across an item which can it is plain to see, (usually with some digging and research) the rewards and interest that can result are marvellous.

We often say that provenance changes an item completely; it lifts it from being a standard piece to a ‘treasure’. In this case the understanding of an object not only elevates the story to one of exceptional Royal provenance, (by no fewer than eight reigning monarchs) but one of international legal cases and Royal rifts – the likes of which would not have been seen
until…Megxit!

These standard spoons are just that – fine examples of standard mid-18th century tablespoons which could have graced any middle or upper class British home.

However, their Royal lineage becomes clear when looking at the reverse of the handle which is engraved with an intertwined mirrored monogram GR, within a strap and buckle bearing the Motto HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE,
(meaning ‘shame on anyone who thinks evil of it’ , being the motto of the Most Excellent Order of the Garter), and surmounted by a Royal crown. They are fully London hallmarked to the lower section of stem for William Soame in 1733. This would be exciting enough to find. However, it is the addition of the tiny, later script initials above the hallmark which adds another layer of interest. Engraved ‘EA / Fs’ for Ernest Augustus Fidekommiss (entailed [to the estate of ] Ernest Augustus).

These spoons were originally part of the wide ranging British Royal silver collection and were part of the considerable amount housed in Hanover in the Palace of Herrenhausen, then part of the British territory of Hanover.
On the death of King William IV and the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837, the territory had to be split from the British crown, as under Salic law Queen Victoria was barred accession to the Hanoverian throne.

This set in motion very difficult relationships between Queen Victoria and her uncle, the now King of Hanover. His seizure of not only the palace but contents, and the considerable collection of British Royal silver and works of art within. Unthinkable at the time, these tense Royal relationships
almost ended in public lawsuit.

As part of this seizure of the Palace and contents H.R.H Ernest Augustus I Duke of Cumberland and King of Hanover added the small, discreet but very telling monogram to the silver. This really was his way of stating his right to the silver and that it now formed part of his collection.

The collection was wide and varied and included European as well as English silver. Perhaps most famously the impressive series of 72 candlesticks. They were delivered over an extended period with the first two dozen delivered on 16th September in 1744. From their original order it was intended to recycle old silver from the Royal Jewel House. To this end, for this commission and others, including the remarkable commission of five eight-light chandeliers after a design by William Kent, it is recorded that ‘a salver, a wine fountain and cistern, pastry dishes, a night lamp and stand, one hundred and twenty plates and dishes, a spittoon,  further plates and dishes, tea kettles, a chamber pot, a standish (inkstand), five keys and a warming stand’ were supplied to Behrens with close control taken over the weight and purity of the silver.

Various sets of these candlesticks and other items by Behrens for the Hanoverian Court still survive. An impressive group of table wares and one of the chandeliers can be seen in The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Two
others of the chandeliers are within the collection of the National Trust and are displayed in situ at Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire. The silver stayed at the Palace of Herrenhausen until shortly after the Seven Weeks war in 1866 and the Prussian annexation of Hanover. The plate survived intact as it has been hidden in a vault within the Royal palace, despite the palace being looted by Prussian troops. With the family’s deposition from the throne, although allowed to keep the titular title of King of Hanover, they
were also given the title of Dukes of Brunswick. They fled to Penzig, Austria and to the villa of Gmuden, where the plate would latterly be kept.

The collection descended through the family until the death of Ernest Augustus II and was sold by his son Ernest Augustus III in 1924 to the Viennese dealers Gluckselig and to Crichton Brothers of Bond Street London, arguably the most important dealers in antique silver in Europe at the time. It was then split by them with items variously being sold to collectors and institutions alike. To this day, both major institutional and private collections consider items with this provenance amongst the most
important within their collections; not only the fine quality and provenance of the items but the remarkable story they tell. This surely proves that an item as simple as a spoon – or in this case a set of six – can have a remarkable story to tell and not only be witness but be part of history as it happens.

When considered, the royal lineage of these spoons is amazing, irrefutably owned as follows:

King George II, 1727 – 1760
King George III, 1760 – 1820
King George IV, 1820 – 1830
King William IV, 1830 – 1837
H.R.H Ernest Augustus I Duke of Cumberland and King of
Hanover, 1837 – 1851
King George V of Hanover, 1851 – 1878
King Ernest Augustus II of Hanover, 1878 – 1923
King Ernest Augustus III of Hanover, 1923 – 1953

If only such items could talk!

 

Harry Winston

Mary Waterfall, Jewellery Specialist

He was known as ‘The King Of Diamonds’ and ‘The Jeweller to the Stars’. He inspired a legendary brand based on the philosophy that jewellery design should be dictated by the gemstones themselves and not their settings. He used to carry around in his pocket some of the rarest diamonds in the world, worth millions of dollars, just for the pleasure of having them close by.

He is famed for saying “I love the diamond business. It’s a Cinderella world. It has everything! People! Drama! Romance! Precious stones! Speculation! Excitement! What more could you want?”. Perhaps his most well know statement: “People will stare, make it worth their while”

Harry Winston worked at his fathers jewellery shop and developed a keen eye for jewellery and gems from an early age. There’s a story that when he was 12, he spotted a green stone at the local pawn brokers which was supposedly glass and cost him 25 cents. It turned out to be a 2ct emerald which Winston sold a couple of days later for $800!

In 1920 he launched his first business in New York, The Premier Diamond Company, and in 1932 he opened Harry Winston Inc. His insistence on excellence, attention to detail, passion, discretion and knowledge attracted a high profile clientele including royalty, movie stars and business moguls.

Winston was one of the first big brand jewellers to truly understand the power of celebrity marketing. In 1943 the actress Jennifer Jones was adorned with Harry Winston diamonds at the Academy Awards. Ann Bancroft seduced Dustin Hoffman in the movie The Graduate wearing Winston diamonds, and not much else. In the movie Gentlemen prefer Blonds Marilyn Monroe sings those famous lyrics “ Talk to me Harry Winston…” in the song Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend.

In 1968 he used publicity to his advantage once again when the 601ct Lesotho diamond was cleaved on live TV! It went on to be cut into eighteen magnificent diamonds including the 40.42ct marquise cut Lesotho III which Aristotle Onassis gave to Jacqueline Kennedy as an engagement ring.

Throughout his career it is estimated that Harry Winston owned more than a third of the worlds most famous diamonds. Perhaps the most well known being The Hope Diamond. This beautiful blue diamond weighing 45.52cts is seeped in history and believed to be cursed. It is said to have attributed to many misfortunes in the lives of its owners such as King Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette. Winston purchased it in 1949 as part of the Mclean Jewellery Estate. He held on to it for ten years and exhibited it around the US as part of his ‘Court of Jewels’. He went on to donate it to the Smithsonian museum where it resides today.

Many recognised his jewels but few recognised the man himself. He was very rarely photographed and many did not know his face until it was published next to his obituary in 1978. Discretion was paramount to this man and it is said he had a concealed private elevator in his office so he and his VIP clients could come and go without being noticed.

Harry’s legacy lives on in The House Of Winston as they continue to deal with legendary stones. In March 2021 to celebrate what would have been Harry’s 125th birthday,they unveiled the Winston Pink Legacy Diamond ring, a vivid pink diamond weighing 18.96cts. Nayla Hayek bought the diamond from Christies in 2018 for a record breaking $50 million. It now forms part of the Incredibles Collection.

Harry Winston continues to thrive as a leading brand in the world of luxury jewellers, with stores all over the world including New York, London, Tokyo and Paris.

The breath-taking gems and designs continue to attract the rich and famous.

These stunning Winston Cluster earrings, composed of high quality diamonds with the largest pear-shape weighing 0.75ct, currently retail for £53,000.

When was the last time you had your jewellery valued? Please ensure your documentation is up to date to avoid a shortfall in compensation in the event of loss.

Macklowe Collection

Jonathan Horwich – Modern Art Specialist

After 10 years of legal wrangling through the divorce courts of New York, the Macklowe Collection finally hit the auction block on November 15th.

For the warring Harry and Linda Macklowe, the sale brought some partial closure to their epic divorce battle. For Sotheby’s it represents significant market share and the highest possible Art Market profile for 2021 and 2022.
For collectors worldwide it was a truly golden opportunity to pick and choose from the most important single owner collection sale in auction history. Each and every work is a Masterwork in its own right and everything is so carefully chosen, curated and of the highest quality that it would be impossible to ever put a collection like this together again. Equally the quantity of works in the collection quite simply couldn’t be sourced or is even available. This was a landmark sale in all respects, putting aside all the couple’s endless arguments, it has rewritten the record books.

In a rapidly changing Post Lockdown Art World, this collection of Modern and Contemporary Art Masterworks re-defines the boundaries of both categories. The collection was ‘guaranteed’ to sell, it was just a matter of how much it would sell for! Having been an auctioneer myself for over 30 years I could feel the excitement even from this side of the Pond, and as we got nearer to the sale itself, collectors and advisors would have all been in a heightened state of excitement.

Each of the 65 works is a masterwork and together they constitute an unrivalled ensemble that meticulously traces the most important art
historical achievements of the last 80 years.

The November 15th auction, which was held at Sotherby’s New York, featured 35 works, ranging in date from the 1940s to works painted less than a decade ago. Many artists – among them Jeff Koons, Brice Marden, Agnes Martin, Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, Cy Twombly and Andy Warhol – are represented by multiple works, each one marking a distinct and critical moment in their respective careers, and together forming an insightful portrait of the artists’ evolution over time.

The entire group of 35 works was backed by the auction house with a guarantee and every single lot was sold, 21 lots came to the sale with ‘irrevocable bids’ and the sale total soared over its pre-sale low/high estimate expected total of between $439.4 million-$618.9 million.

This was only the first half of the 65 works in total from the Macklowes’ holdings to be auctioned off by authority of the NY Courts, the second half is to be offered in another final standalone sale devoted to the remaining works in May 2022.

The first half of the Macklowe collection sale totalled $676 million.

Here are some of my highlights:

 

 

 

If I had £5,000 to invest what would I buy?

David Oxtoby prints

If my godfather left me £5,000, I wouldn’t hesitate to spend every penny buying the suite of etchings (24), which Dave Oxtoby produced in 1974.

David Jowett Greaves Oxtoby is undoubtedly one of Britain’s greatest printmakers, as the show at the British Museum proved a few summers ago. He was one of the notorious ‘Bradford Mafia’, a group of young Yorkshire artists, who after attending the Regional College of Art in Bradford, came to London to further their education at the Royal College of Art and The Royal Academy schools. As well as Oxtoby, the group included David Hockney, Norman Stevens A.R.A, John Loker and Mick Vaughn. Before he had left the Royal Academy schools, Oxtoby had his first one man show in New York. His was and is a prodigious talent.

By the early 1970s his hands were starting to crack, and he was told that he was allergic to the acrylic paints he was using. After taking medical advice, he took up etching and what a triumph that was. In collaboration with J.C. Editons he produced a suite of 24 immensely complicated, in some cases, 4 colour, etchings. I have the good fortune to own a set of artist’s proofs.

In 1974 I worked for Alex Postan Fine Art and was entrusted with getting publicity for the show of etchings, which included watercolours and acrylics as well as prints. It was the easiest job I have ever had. Marina Vaizey wrote a half page review of it in The Telegraph, Bill Packer, a half page in the Financial Times and it was in the list of the 10 best things to do this Christmas in London in the Daily Express. Rod Stewart came to the private view. Oxtoby went on to exhibit with the Redfern Gallery in Cork Street in the 70s where the private views would sell out. Elton John bought Oxtoby’s canvases in vast numbers, for prices that were somewhere between Hockney and Picasso. He is still with the Redfern.

He has had more than 50 solo exhibitions and taken part in more than 70 group shows, yet for much of the last 30 years has lived like a recluse and kept all his latest work from public scrutiny. The result of this has had an adverse effect on the value of his work.

Oxtoby has not had the recognition for the brilliance of his draftsmanship and use of colour from the establishment that his oeuvre deserves. This seems to be because his work is inspired by popular culture, pop, rock and blues music, which is considered low brow and because he works from photographs, despite knowing subjects like Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison and Roger Daltrey well.

He was 83 in January and is not in good health. The cracked hands, which turned him into a printmaker, were actually caused by misdiagnosed diabetes. What future generations will make of his work remains to be seen, but I believe he is ready for a critical re-assessment and should take his rightful place amongst the greats of late 20th/early 21st century British art.

If I had £5,000 to invest what would I buy?

Jenny Knott, Silver & Jewellery Specialist

There is a perennial discussion around the valuation of silver in the current market; the feeling being that the many demands on silver in industry and technology will drive the price up as demand out strips supply. Many believe that it is only a matter of time before the base metal prices soars. Some say that it is already artificially suppressed by governments. There is much speculation.

Therefore, if I have £5,000 to spend on silver maybe I should buy uncommercial silver at scrap prices, hang onto it and hedge my bets. However, apart from the possible future pay out, and that is a big ‘however; where’s the enjoyment in that?

I have always felt that first and foremost I should like to enjoy my silver, and if it appreciates then happy days, but if not, I have had the pleasure of owning beautiful and possibly also useful items.

Fashions in silver, as with everything else change. There have been shifts in the market and mid-century silver, like mid-century furniture, is seeing something of a renaissance and might be a good place to invest a few thousand pounds. Makers like Gerald Benny and Stuart Devlin were influential pioneers in post war Britain, taking some of their inspiration from the clean lines of Scandinavian silversmiths, led of course by
Georg Jensen. £5,000 would enable you to purchase something from this genre of silver. It is likely to hold its value and may continue to rise and the objects themselves are stylish and pay tribute to the metal they are worked in.

However, if I forget about future proofing my investment and simply consider having £5,000 in my hand with no caveats, I would take myself along to The Goldsmiths Hall and buy something I fell in love with. I would have an individual piece which would give me great pleasure and I would have the additional thrill of supporting both emerging and established silversmiths. It is vitally important that we nurture silversmiths and encourage and support their craft. It is because others did this in the past, that we have such a rich variety of choice available to us today.

I particularly like the sinuous feel of Adrian Hope’s work and I could well be tempted to purchase silver bowls by Annabel Hood or Juliette Bigley. The Goldsmith’s Fair is a melting pot of top contemporary talent, and it would
be an utter joy to wander around pondering my self- indulgent spend.

The Goldsmiths Hall hosts an annual event in late September and early October each year. However, individual silversmiths exhibit all year round and can be found through their web sites. After a year of being unable to exhibit in 3D the appetite for seeing potential clients and having their wares on show have a renewed piquancy.