Art Deco Cartier Jewellery

Posted on April 21, 2021March 17, 2025 by Aurélia Turrall

The Early Days of Cartier

In 1847 Louis-Francois Cartier takes over a studio in Paris, joined by his son Alfred, and later by his three grandsons, Louis, Pierre and Jacques. Within a decade their reputation precedes them and they provide jewellery to the Empress and Napoleon’s extended family.

The years 1910-1940 are considered by many experts to be the golden era for Cartier. It employed the finest designers and craftsmen, but not necessarily jewellery designers. They preferred to hire designers from all backgrounds: furniture designers and architects to get a fresh pair of eyes on jewellery design.

During the early 20th century, peace rules and the Exposition Universelle of April 1900 attracts over 50 million guests in 7 months. The Ritz opened its doors in 1898. It is overall a prosperous time during which Cartier move into their new quarters in the luxurious rue de la Paix, in Paris. From then, everything takes off. They have international purchasers, organise exhibitions abroad such as in St Petersburg to showcase exceptional pieces inspired by Easter and Christmas. When they officially open their new atelier (“shop”) rue de la Paix, they combine it with launching a new technique of jewellery making: setting stones and jewels into platinum all the while keeping the traditional style.

It was the beginning of a revolution yet to come in jewellery design and making.

The Beginnings of the Art Deco Movement

It’s generally agreed that the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris was the official launch of the Art Deco movement, though the style can be traced back at least a decade before.

The Great War is the catalyst for the movement to emerge. Women, having done men’s jobs during the war, come out of the shadow and step away from the delicate and fragile attire of the Belle Epoque era with bows, ribbons, swags, flowers, items mounted en-tremblant. From now on, angular stones, baguette and calibré-cut diamonds are favoured along with short hair “à la garçonne” (“like a boy”) and suits, giving women a masculine but sexy look.

Cartier Tank Original 1919

Art Deco was Synonymous with Freedom and Order

Launched in 1917, created by Louis Cartier and inspired by chaos, comes the Tank Original. This first wristwatch is rectangular, has a creamy-white dial which offsets the bold Roman numerals, chemin de fer chapter ring, with blue steel sword-shaped hands and a sapphire cabochon winder. The prototype was presented to General John Pershing of the American Expeditionary Force by Cartier himself and has become a symbol of chic and luxury.

It is a clear step away from the curves and fussiness of Art Nouveau with clear lines and no frills.

Louis Cartier, supposedly, was inspired by Renault F-17 tanks as seen from above: the brancards representing the tracks of the tank and the square case its main housing.
The wristwatch is a real symbol of freedom. No longer attached to your attire, there is freedom of movement in the wrist. It resonates the desire for structure in the midst of chaos, it celebrates technology and new machinery.

Art Deco Jewellery Echoes New Clothes and Hair Fashion

In jewellery, the Edwardian and Belle Epoque style are no longer accepted. Heavy tiaras are replaced with head pieces called bandeau.

Queen mother wearing a Cartier bandeau made up of three of the five bracelets which her husband, King George VI bought for her.

A diamond bandeau by Cartier sold by Christie’s in November 2019 for almost £900,000.

Some more “modest” bandeau would have been set with tarlatan and beads rather than diamonds. Or if jewellery was adorned with diamonds, smaller sized diamonds and gems were used, breaking from the past which favoured very large stones. Pieces were now set with detailed calibré-cut stones, meaning they are usually square or rectangle and cut to fit a piece.
The Art Deco head pieces were light and had straight lines rather than garlands found in Belle Epoque jewellery for example. It fits short hair and with that comes longer earrings for example and sautoir (long necklaces).

A Cartier pearl and diamond sautoir, circa 1925, sold at Christie’s in May 2012. Estimate £60,000-85,000 sold for approx. £400,000
Pearls are an important component for Cartier and were a sure thing to buy, until the Wall Street crash in 1929.

Monochrome Art Deco

In the earlier years of Art Deco jewellery, pieces were monochrome, black and white were key. Using rock crystal, onyx and diamonds as key gems. In the wake of the Great War, many were in mourning.

A diamond and rock crystal bangle, sold at Christie’s for $204,000 in Oct 2000.

This price reflects the constant desire for the sleek sober but luxurious look of Art Deco monochrome pieces, a style always in vogue and not likely to disappear anytime soon.
Vogue states that “A woman, in Paris, who knows how to dress, is almost always dressed in black. Not through laziness but by sophistication.”

The Move to New Materials and Daring Combinations

As we move forward so does the colour scheme in jewellery. Cartier attempts daring combinations of colours which no one had previously tried. There are two factors which contribute to this new direction. In the Cartier archives, we find that Leon Bakst, a Russian painter and costume designer, and part of the Ballets Russes, was a great source of inspiration for Charles Jacqueau, one of the great designers for Cartier from 1909 until 1954. Leon Bakst had designed costumes for a ballet, Scherehazade, mixing only blues, greens and red. This had a big impact on Jacqueau. This colour combination had always been considered to be of bad taste until Jacqueau decided to take a risk and integrate it in his jewellery designs. Simultaneously, the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 created waves in the Cartier design. Louis Cartier pushes his designers to familiarise themselves with all things Egyptian: heading to the Louvre to study their collection or simply walking through Paris, filled with Egyptian artefacts, to understand the style. Never before had anyone combined carnelian with turquoise and lapis lazuli, until now.

Renewed interest in Asian art meant that jade, lacquer, coral and enamel were also integrated. At this time, Jacques Cartier, who was running Cartier London, often travelled, and would return with many exquisite gems to be added to the Cartier jewels. These stones could be carved or made into cabochon. Cartier was the first to create these new colour and gem combinations. In the 1970s the style was named Tutti Frutti.

Contrast and Colour comes into Vogue

The Collier Hindou

Fransesca Cartier Brickell speaks about this necklace in her book “The untold story of the family behind the jewellery empire, The Cartiers”. The necklace belonged to Daisy Fellowes, the heiress to the Singer sewing machine. She had this necklace commissioned, using her own stones. It was designed to be tied at the back with a black silk cord, as would Indian jewels be. However, the big difference here is the use of sapphire, thought to bring bad luck in India. This is a statement of combining far away travels and traditional Western European gems. His daughter, the Comtesse of Casteja, inherited the necklace and in 1991 it was sold at Sotheby’s for $2,655,172. It was a world record for an Art Deco piece of jewellery sold at auction.

The Constant Desire for Exceptional Jewels

Tutti Frutti ruby, sapphire, emerald, diamond and enamel bracelet, by Cartier, circa 1930

The meandering vines, set with carved rubies, emeralds, sapphires, calibré-cut onyx, black enamel and diamonds is the perfect marriage of West meets East, a perfect artful arrangement. It belonged to an American family and had been in the family for 30 years. It came up for sale at Sotheby’s on 28th April 2020, during the pandemic. It was presented online only, during a four-day sale, during which five bidders competed to purchase the bracelet. Its estimate was $600-800,000 and sold for $1,340,000. It has become a record for any jewel sold in an online-only auction and any jewel sold at auction in 2020. Sotheby’s stated that it “follows a trend observed across all our global jewellery auctions in 2019 in which more than half of the jewellery buyers place their bids online.” This bracelet also illustrates that demand for such exceptional jewels, even during the most challenging times, will always exist. Cartier’s exceptional savoir-faire is timeless.

How Art Galleries & Auction Houses Have Adapted During COVID

Posted on April 12, 2021March 17, 2025 by Jonathan Horwich

‘Never waste a crisis’ they say in the art business. The various lockdowns, and Covid itself, has forced the art market to adapt quickly to the new challenges we all face in our lives and businesses. When you think of the art business, it’s about people and face to face meetings, parties and major auction gala openings etc. So how, in the face of the pandemic, are they going to manage, when indeed the very people they need to see and sell to are no longer allowed to travel or even mingle in any way shape or form!

Brilliantly and swiftly auction houses reacted almost overnight. Having worked in the auction industry myself for over 30 years, I’m well aware of how many great ideas were sitting on the shelves in auction houses just waiting for the right moment to be put into practice, now suddenly, that ‘right moment’ is now and all the ideas are in play. Realising that it would now be impossible for people to view in person, they switched to remote live and timed online auctions. The latter, prior to Covid, had only been mildly successful, but now, with no other option and with bidders locked up at home, they found tens of thousands of new bidders. We were about to witness the reality of presenting auctions live to the public- with nobody at all sitting in the saleroom! Those of you who have attended auctions will recognise the buzzing atmosphere with people here, there and everywhere all bidding and crammed shoulder to shoulder. Well, none of that was going to be possible now.

Christie’s mounted what they called a ‘global auction’ which was an extraordinary feat of logistics and engineering. There was an auctioneer in Hong Kong passing on to the auctioneer in Paris, passing on to an auctioneer in New York, so literally back-to-back auctions spanning almost 15 hours! What was truly remarkable was the numbers. Over 160,000 people were either watching or bidding around the world, whereas normally they might expect 30,000 online viewers and the prices achieved were every bit as strong. In some cases, even stronger than pre-pandemic, mainly because new people were involved so bidder numbers were significantly higher than would have been seen before. In fact, there were so many people attempting to log on to watch, me included, that it was impossible for the system to cope! They reacted quickly though and adapted things. So much so that one year on 160,000 + people watching an auction in various locations around the world is normal and they no longer run out of bandwidth.

To further develop the online offering, new visual aids have appeared. You can now gauge the size of the picture you were thinking about buying on a virtual wall. To be able to gauge the size of the piece is genius, as sometimes in our heads it’s bigger or smaller than it really is.

Auctioneers around the world are still adapting to the new norm. However, not all of them are doing auctions in exactly the same way, which is rather refreshing. Some are conducting live auctions with an auctioneer, sometimes in his own living room, with images and bidding increments being presented on your screen so everything is there for you, while the actual pieces are safely in the warehouse.

Condition reports for multi million dollar lots are essential so that at a distance you can be comfortable with what you’re buying, Covid rules allow for independent restorers to visit the rooms to do reports on behalf of the vendors and are flat out doing just that!

We’re only a year on, however it seems like five years’ worth of ideas and development have been squeezed into less than a year of real time when it comes to auctions. You can now bid on either a live auction in one session with an auctioneer and nobody except staff in the room, or on a timed online auction which is spread over a week or so. Everyone is doing it in their own slightly differing ways and yet all are instinctively seeming to get it right.

Major auctions now appear on YouTube so you can search Christie’s auction and watch a recorded New York auction from beginning to end, followed by a second session in London if you have the energy! The 160,000 people worldwide watching in 2020 has now grown to nearer a million in some cases with auction houses using multiple cameras and angles just like a football match.
For art dealers, international art fairs are the lifeblood to their businesses as it’s where they meet new clients, re-engage with existing clients and show exciting new pieces and discoveries for the first time. The buzz of fairs, such as Masterpiece, the London Art Fair and the Armoury and Frieze fairs are all suspended. The galleries are no longer able to use their physical shop space to garner interest, so to reach out they are turning increasingly to newsletters, updates and new stock reports, knowing that we’re all locked down so much more likely to read what they are sending us. While it’s not possible to go into the galleries themselves, new virtual portals have opened, run by those dealers usually involved with art fairs. This allows them to showcase on other platforms such as Love Antiques, The Bruno Effect and 1st dibs and 2covet – all of whom are benefitting from added interest in this lockdown world.

It’s fair to say that pretty much everything is virtual in the art world now. The upshot I think is that for many people buying at auction and galleries has been totally demystified so encouraging new buyers. When lockdown ends and we get back to something near normal, I think that the art world will bounce back with a vengeance. People will still want to buy at auctions but will accept and enjoy attending virtually too, and there will be an equal number of people who have been introduced to buying art via virtual fairs and exhibitions.

Virtual Auctions

Live auction at Christie’s London on March 1st 2021, here we see the hammer about to come down on the only wartime painting completed by Winston Churchill ‘ called the Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque. it was completed by Churchill in 1943 after the allied conference in Morocco and given to President Franklin D Roosevelt and much later bought by Brad Pitt for his then wife Angelina Joli and sold in this auction on her behalf for nearly 6 times its pre-sale estimate of £1.5 million for a record breaking £8.3 million. The auctioneer is the only one not wearing a mask, see below

Staff bidders at the March 1st auction, not black tie anymore for gala auctions, it’s now matching black masks for everyone. You can’t see but there are no members of the public in the saleroom at all, they are either on these phones or online, only these masked phone bidding staff , the auctioneer plus a few masked art handlers showing the works are the only people in the room. The room would normally be packed yet despite everything this sale and all the others have been rip roaring successes. The sale was filmed using multiple cameras and angles and is therefore fun to watch it is on you tube, just search Christie’s auction where it can be viewed in full, on the night the auction was viewed by over 100,000 people. It appears that watching auctions under lockdown has gone viral !

A rare early picture by Vincent van Gogh, Rue Montmatre , estimate £5-8 million for sale at Sothebys on March 25th 2021 ,this is the image from the online catalogue, it has a ‘zoom in’ facility and condition report, lot essay etc see below

Same Van Gogh picture shown on a virtual wall, next to a virtual window, to give you a sense of its scale

Arg-Ala by Damien Hirst,
Estimate £150-200,000
In a Sothebys online timed auction 26th March, 2021, bidding is over a week usually and progress is shown 24/7 like e bay, bidding ends at a specific time and day with a delay if bidding is still active and will continue until bidding stops , at the time of writing it was £150,000, the picture is 50 x 50 cms and is seen here with an art handler nearby to give scale. These online timed sales were mainly used for lower value lots or collection sales pre- covid , however they have now fully proved their ability to sell very high value lots well.

The latest big news in the auction world is digital art , known as NFT’s ( Non Fungible Tokens) this is a brand new development as of March 2021. This image shows a work with multiple images titled ‘The First 5,000 days ‘ created over 5,000 days by Mike Winkelmann, aka ‘Beeple’ sold for $69,000,000 in Christie’s New York . Again this was not a live traditional auction it was a timed sale as for the Hirst in fig 6. Amazingly the starting estimate was only $100 and there was no reserve , bidding only began actively a few minutes before the auction was due to close, bids rose from $100 to $69,000,000 in a matter of minutes ! It was bought by Vignesh Sundarasen a Singapore based investor. The work doesn’t exist in a tangible form, so you can’t hang it up anywhere nor have you bought the copyright which stays with Beeple the artist. However you can trade it via the unique access code you receive with the work.

Another digital work made up of multiple individual images again by Beeple, called ‘The Next Chapter’ Beeple first began making his ‘Everydays’ (one image per day) in 2007, however lockdown and its full embrace of live online auctions seems to have provided the catalyst to go global with offering digital works at auction online.

Virtual Art Dealing

Unlike the auction houses Art Dealers don’t have the monkey of back to back auction calendar to manage, however they do rely on major Art fairs and events such as Frieze, The London Art Fair and Masterpiece to showcase new works and meet new clients and make sales. Many of the events have been postponed, however The London Art Fair went digital, showcasing individual galleries such as Alan Wheatley in this image. The image and details will have been shared with all registered attendees of previous year’s fairs and is teamed up with experts and other curators to present a series of lectures, webinars and virtual events to drive sales.

More London Art fair 2021 images, featuring works for sale by Bridget Riley, Ian Davenport and others

Welcome page for 2covet a new online dealer platform enabling dealers to continue to have access to sales and new clients while their shops remain closed.

2 covet dealer page showing more traditional pictures from a dealer in late 19th and early 20th century
Pictures.

2 Covet website showing the range of categories available to buy.

A new site, ‘The Bruno Effect, due to open June 2021 focussing on antiques vintage and 20c design.

Bruno Effect’s dealer focus page

1st Dibs is an established online dealer platform, they have a full range of art and antique dealers who pay commission on sales along with a monthly subscription so it’s quite an investment , if you also have a closed shop, lockdown will have encouraged many more dealers to move online to this site. They hold online dealer and object focus events plus editors picks so many more dealers are moving online

A current ‘Editor’s Picks’ event page on 1st Dibs featuring items from different disciplines chosen by the Editor.

Looking for Lowry

Posted on March 30, 2021March 17, 2025 by Jonathan Horwich

L S Lowry, (1887-1976) is perhaps our most famous English painter of the 20th Century. Certainly, if you were appearing as a contestant on ‘Pointless’ then good luck trying for a pointless answer by naming Lowry as your answer in any question category! Most people in the UK today, young or old, and for some reason mostly male, will in some way or other have heard of Lowry.
As a Victorian, born in Manchester in 1887, he was the only child of Robert and Elizabeth Lowry. It seems he was always a disappointment to his mother, who really wanted a girl. Early photographs show him still wearing girls’ clothes aged 4 or 5. He also wanted to be an artist, which was yet another disappointment to his mother.

However, as the Lowrys were not wealthy enough to support the family, he was thwarted by having to work full time at his father Robert’s work place. This left no time for painting in the day, leaving him only the evenings to study, so that is what he did. Always older than everybody else, it took him the best part of 20 years to fully qualify. Even then, (although he never admitted it to anybody he knew), he had to continue to work full time, Monday to Saturday, and so only painted at night for many, many years. Indeed, probably through habit he continued to do this his whole life.

He was at his most productive after he retired from the Pall Mall Property company in 1952, when at least he had the whole day at his disposal. He was by then famous for his Industrial Landscapes which he began painting in the 1920’s. On retirement, he was keen to move on but inevitably his collectors still mostly wanted his ‘Industrials’.
He switched to a lighter, brighter, whiter, palate by the early 60’s and began to make small, quickly painted pictures, mainly with people and animals.
He has always been a popular artist at auction and as early as 1964 pictures were reaching record sums of near to £2,000, a very significant sum back in the day. His exhibitions in London at the Lefevre gallery were always a sell-out and so now prices for even small, genuine drawings and sketches are out of the reach for many collectors.
Limited edition prints had been around since the beginning of the 20th Century, with artists such as Picasso and Henry Moore signing limited editions of their printed work.
Lowry became involved in the late 60’s and early 70’s, signing everything personally. It is these that offer the new collector at least an entry level starting point as a collector. Generally speaking, the price range runs from £2,000 up to the dizzy heights of £20,000 for particularly rare examples.

This article gives a brief introduction to the 25 to 30 different signed prints by Lowry that are still available. They regularly come up for auction and are available in private galleries all around the UK. As they are multiples, they are a bit like buses – if you miss one, there will be another along soon. Hence, there is no need to jump in quickly. If this is something that you want to get involved with, see what’s out there and then dip your toe in the water .

Things to watch out for are – condition and colour, (some prints fade if they’ve been in strong sunlight), and avoid stains and rips. Good luck and enjoy the process!
LS Lowry (1887-1976)
1-3 are all original Lowry paintings

1) Going to the Match, 1953
Signed, oil on canvas, 71 x 92. This is an image of the original oil bought at the 1997 auction by Graham Taylor on behalf of the Professional Football association pension fund, it’s now on view in the Lowry Salford
Original oil painting, Sold at auction for £1,926,500 in 1997

2) The original Lowry painting Station Approach, Manchester 1960, oil on canvas, 76 x 101 cm
Sold for £2,322,500 in 2014

3) The original Lowry painting Punch and Judy. Signed and dated 1943, Oil on canvas, 41 x 56 cm
This original painting has changed hands multiple time since it first came up for auction in 1995 when it made £152,000, last time it sold was in 2019 when it made £611,000
Sold for £962,500 in 2014

The following are all signed limited edition prints of various original Lowry pictures and drawings

Going to the Match, 1953. Signed Colour print from an edition of 300, 56 x 70 cm
While the price paid for the original is not the record price the print version is the top priced Lowry print! It is to do with the subject, ie football and the fact that there were only ever 300 produced
£20,000 in 2020
£18,000 in 2015

Station Approach, Manchester. Signed colour print from an edition of 850, 40 x 50 cm
£3,187 in 2020
£3,100 in 2015

Punch and Judy. Signed colour print from an edition of 75, 44.5 x 68.5 cm
Prices go down as well as up, the price for this particular print has gone down since 2015…
£5,062 in 2020
£8,100 in 2015

Britain at Play. Signed colour print from an edition of 850, 47 x 60 cm
£4,200 in 2021
£2,500 in 2015

Fever Van. Signed colour print from an edition of 700, 45 x 54 cm
£4,800 in 2021
£2,500 in 2015

The Pond. Signed colour print from an edition of 850, 45 x 58 cm
£4,000 in 2021
£2,200 in 2015

Market Scene in a Northern Town. Signed colour print, 46 x 60 cm
£5,000 in 2021
£2,700 in 2015

Man Lying on a Wall. Signed colour print. No 479 from an edition of 500, 40 x 50 cm
£7,200 in 2020
£6,000 in 2015

Group of Children. Signed colour print from an edition of 850, 18 x 19 cm
£3,825 in 2020
£1,800 in 2015

The Contraption. Signed Colour print from an edition of 750, 31 x 30 cm
£4,000 in 2020
£2,100 in 2015

Great Ancoats Street. Signed b/w print, from an edition of 850, 26 x 36 cm
£2,800 in 2020
£1500 in 2015

Salford Viaduct. Signed, monochrome, lithograph from an edition of 75, 52 x 64 cm
£7,000 in 2021
Rare print, only two have been offered at auction, one sold for £6500 in 2016

Deal Beach, sketch. Signed colour print from an edition of 850, 26 x 50 cm
£5,000 in 2019
£3,500 in 2015

Burford Church. Signed colour print from a numbered edition of 850, 60 x 45 cm
£2,200 in 2020
£3,100 in 2015

A Street full of people. Signed b/w print from a numbered edition of 75, 62 x 97 cm. This particular print is no 2/75 and was embellished in blue crayon by Lowry himself which doubled its price to £20,000!
£10,000 in 2020. It’s a rare print only 5 have come up, one made £800 in 2012

Mrs Swindell’s picture. Signed colour print from an edition of 850, 40 x 30 cm
£3200 in 2020
£1600 in 2015

The Football Match. Signed and numbered black and white print from an edition of 850, 26 x 36 cm
£5,737 in 2021
£4750 in 2015

Three Men and a cat. Signed in blue biro, colour print, 25 x 17 cm
£3600 in 2020
£1800 in 2015

His Family. Signed colour print from an edition of 575, 54 x 72 cm
£1785 in 2020
£1600 in 2015

£5k spend – Jewellery Investment Mission

Posted on March 23, 2021March 17, 2025 by Mary Waterfall

The Brief: My Great Aunt Winnie has kindly gifted me £5K in her will. However she has also specified that I must spend it on something within my field of expertise, something that I believe will increase in value over the next five to ten years.

The Options:

1) Gold

My immediate thought is that I would invest it in gold. The gold price does fluctuate but over a long period of time it usually increases. As I write this, in the final months of 2020, the gold price is quite high. One of the reasons for this is because of the uncertainty in the stock market due to the COVID 19 pandemic, traditionally when share prices go down, the gold price goes up. My plan would therefore be to wait until the markets stabilise, which could take a year or two, to ensure I’m not buying gold at a price peak time. I would then go to auction and buy gold in the form of Sovereigns, chains etc., put it all in a safe for five to ten years, keep an eye on the markets and look for an opportune time to sell and hopefully profit on the investment. I wouldn’t sell at auction though because I would have to pay commission for the privilege. I would go to a jewellers/dealers who buys gold. Then tend to give you a better price per gram the greater quantity you have.
However, that all sounds very good but I wouldn’t get much enjoyment out of that experience. I don’t really wear plain gold jewellery so it would just be locked away and not looked at. Wouldn’t my Great Aunt Winnie prefer me to buy something I would actually wear and love? So my next thought is:

2) Vintage Designer Jewellery

Historically the vintage jewellery of certain brands, such as Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, can hold and increase in value. Pieces made in the early to mid-twentieth century can be very desirable and sought after. Clearly it’s a piece by piece case and does not apply to all jewellery made at this time. The ‘rule’ doesn’t necessarily apply to more modern designer jewellery such as the Cartier Love bangle. If you do an auction house online search for these bangles you will see many examples come up. The market is pretty flooded with them at the moment and some of them are the amazingly impressive fakes that are coming out of Dubai, some of which are hard to tell from a genuine bangle if you don’t know what you are looking for.

Fake Cartier Love Bangle

There is also a bit of a myth that if the jewellery is ‘old’ it will naturally increase in value. Again it depends on the piece but generally this is not the case. I was recently asked to value a diamond bangle that had been marketed as ‘Georgian’ and ‘very rare’. However in reality it was a modern piece manufactured in India and was not as valuable as originally thought.
So I know I need to have my wits about me if purchasing at auction. Another question is will I actually find such a piece that is £5k or under because such items can command high prices.
There are a lot of beautiful brooches out there, which were highly fashionable at the time but not so nowadays. I may be tempted by something like these earrings.

Cartier earrings c1970

They are by Cartier, circa 1970 and sold for £3,800 plus buyers premium. They are beautifully made, signed and numbered by Cartier and I would wear and enjoy them. However I may also be tempted to extend my search and try and find something within my price range that was made by Cartier slightly earlier.

Conclusion
I think there is more certainty of a profit in strategy one but more fun and enjoyment in strategy two. Which would you choose?

You have £5,000 to spend – Early Seiko Watches

Posted on March 9, 2021March 17, 2025 by James Lowe

£5,000 to spend. Early Seiko Watches by James Lowe Watch & Jewellery Specialist

In 1969 Seiko introduced the world’s first quartz watch – the Seiko Quartz Astron. It was accurate to about 5 seconds per month, which was a sensational improvement on even the likes of Rolex.

Seiko Quartz Astron

Yes, Seiko produced millions of watches in hundreds of designs and styles, but I would always recommend going for their early sports chronograph watches – especially the divers’ watches in ceramic and titanium.

Avoid the LCD watches, clever though they may be. If they go wrong, you are sunk. Quartz watch movements are seldom repaired to cure a malfunction – it is far easier and cheaper to fit a compatible new movement. However, thousands were thrown away due to malfunction, so a few models are becoming rare. Original paperwork and boxes are a big plus, but again, rare.

Seiko Quartz Astron 50th Anniversary edition

The price range is enormous; dependent on model and type but with auction purchases beginning at about £150 and going up to several thousand, you could start a sound collection for £5000. But patience and diligence in research into the thousands of Seikos out there will pay dividends.

An unusual item I have valued

Posted on February 23, 2021March 17, 2025 by Mary Waterfall

Download this article here

Mary Waterfall, Jewellery Specialist

An Unusual and Memorable Valuation

One of the most exciting facets of my profession is that I never know what I am going to see. When I embark on a valuation I usually have a list of the items I am going to appraise, such as: five gem set rings, three diamond necklaces, six bracelets etc… However those three necklaces could include anything from a dramatic 19^th century two row festoon, to a delicate Art Nouveau floriate pendant or a dazzling modern diamond single stone collet.

On this particular valuation day there were a number of brooches on the list. Brooches have unfortunately fallen from fashion these days and are not worn as much as they were last century. Therefore many of these beautiful jewellery examples are locked away in safes, or kept concealed in bedside cabinets and only get to see the light of day when being appraised by the likes of me. I actually feel quite privileged to get to see them and hear the owner speak of their history and the long forgotten memories that their reappearance suddenly trigger.

Mauboussin, shrimp brooch

One of the most striking pieces I have seen of late was rather unusual, a rose quartz and diamond brooch crafted in the form of a shrimp. The beautifully carved rose quartz panel curved to form the body and connected to the golden head with dancing tentacles, brilliant cut diamond eyes and textured detail. With gold overlaying the body to form the ‘legs’ and terminating at the skilfully scalloped tail. It spanned 11cms to give you an idea of size, so certainly would not be missed when worn to adorn a lapel or dress top. I can imagine it would be a real conversation starter at many a soiree.

Mauboussin, shrimp brooch, side view

The makers mark on the brooch was Mauboussin, a French jewellery company who are famous for their Art Deco and Retro pieces. The company dates back to 1827, but it started gaining international recognition and acclaim in the 1920’s. It is definitely a brand to look out for, especially at auction and antique shops because, as with many of the great designers, the older pieces tend to be so flamboyant, interesting and unique, compared to the more modern, especially from the Deco and Retro era.

The Mauboussin brand remains strong, with boutiques all over the world. Although it doesn’t have a shop in the UK, it would definitely be a store to explore when we are able to travel and go on foreign adventures again.

The second hand replacement value of this shrimp brooch is £6,600 and the memory of this valuation will live with me for a long time.

African, Modern and Contemporary Art

Posted on February 15, 2021March 17, 2025 by Jonathan Horwich

Collectors are always on the lookout for new opportunities and in a brilliant piece of rebranding over the last couple of years the old style South African Art auctions have re-emerged as a new category known as African, Modern and Contemporary Art.

Ben Enwonwu
Tutu, 1974, oil on canvas
Bonhams, London, Feb 2018. Estimate 200,000 – £300,000, sold for £1,208,750

Auctions now take place in New York and London and the rebranding has widened the catchment area to the whole of Africa, while at the same time still retaining the big hitters such as Irma Stern and Ben Enwonwu , the auctions now include many new artists or previously neglected artists from across the Continent of Africa. Looking around at the current International contemporary sales in all the main sites, some African artists such as El Anatsui have already broken through to the mainstream market. However the vast majority of artists are at a very early stage so it’s still possible to support and spot new stars and over the next 5 to 10 years I would expect to see many more cross over into the mainstream Contemporary auctions.

El Anatsui
Recycled Dreams, c2005. Found aluminium bottle caps and copper wire.
Christies, New York, Nov 2018, Estimate 700,000 – 1,000,000 USD, sold for 1,512,500 USD
Here are a few examples from recent sales and it’s encouraging to note that the price range is wide and the choice of work is vast, all the way from £2,000 to £2 million and there is plenty of work available at entry and all levels in every sale, the volume of art being produced by this vibrant and vast Continent is more than enough to satisfy even the most enthusiastic collector.

Billie Zangewa
The Cotswolds, 1973. Embroidered silk.
Aspire Art Auctions, Sept 2019, Estimate 9,800 – 16,400 USD, sold for 14,987 USD
Covid has brought us many challenges and the world of auctions and galleries have responded brilliantly to the call for greater visibility about what is available to buy .

Chéri Samba
J’Aime la Couleur, 2005. Acrylic and glitter on canvas.
Sotheby’s London, April 2019, Estimate £40,000 – £60,000, sold for £93,750
So now It’s super easy to browse to find what appeals to you. It’s easy to follow the sales and bid online, take your time before buying, and I think you will learn and enjoy!

Ibrahim El Salahi
Standing Figure. Pen and Ink.
Bonham’s London, March 2019, Estimate £15,000 – £20,000, sold for £50,062
Some artists to look out for are:
El Anatsui , Ben Enwonwu, Gerard Sekoto, Ibrahim El Salahi, Yusuf Grillo, Demas Nwoko, Skunder Boghossian, Malangatana Ngwenya, Iba N’Diaye, Papa Ibra Tall, Sam Ntiro, Uzo Egonu, Uche Okeke, Bodys Isek Kingelez, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Irma Stern, Nicholas Hlobo, William Kentridge, Chéri Samba, Billie Zangewa, Abdoulaye Konate, Ouattara Watts.

Gerald Sekoto
Cyclists in Sophiatown. Oil on canvas board.
Sotheby’s London, October 2019, Estimate £250,000 – £350,000, sold for £362,500
Artists hail from Angola, Benin, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and other countries in Africa.

Artists to Watch in 2021

Posted on February 15, 2021March 17, 2025 by Jonathan Horwich

Some new or not so well known artists who have all outperformed auction expectations during 2020.

The advent of online only sales and bidding has not only broadened the International reach of Contemporary art auctions but also spawned new trends that have moved more quickly and been much more noticeable, especially in the Contemporary day sales which have often been overshadowed by the evening auctions. This makes the day sales even better hunting grounds and barometers of who is hot or not. Early evidence of up and coming artists is seen when their hammer prices hurtle past their high estimates many times over.

Here are a few of the artists who exceeded expectations at day sales during Covid restrictions in 2020. I think they are all ones to watch and may well appear in an evening sale soon!

Matthew Wong, River at Dusk, (2018)

Matthew Wong (Canadian, 1984-2019)
River at Dusk, 2018, oil on canvas, 203 x 178 cm
Offered at Phillips Hong Kong, December 3, 2020, estimate 7-10 million HKD sold for 37,760,000 HKD. A new world record for the artist.
The Canadian born Chinese Matthew Wong smashed into the International Art market in 2020.
His ‘River at Dusk’ painted in 2018 was offered in Hong Kong on December 3rd 2020 by Phillips in association with Poly Auctions. It made nearly 5 times its low estimate of 7 million HKD (approx. £700,000) selling for 37,760,000 HKD . Self-taught as a painter , Wong’s untimely death in 2019 at the age of only 35 has robbed us of one of the most talented painters of his generation. Therefore inevitably and tragically the number of his available works is limited.

Salman Toor, Rooftop Party With Ghosts 1 (2015).

Salman Toor, Rooftop Party With Ghosts 1 (2015) Photo courtesy Christie’s.
Auction: Christie’s New York, December 3
Estimate: $100,000 to $150,000
Sold For: $822,000
Salman Toor, was born in Lahore, Pakistan in 1983
and lives and works in New York City

Christina Quarles, Tuckt (2016)

Christina Quarles, Tuckt (2016). Photo courtesy of Phillips.
Auction: Phillips New York, December 8
Estimate: $70,000 to $100,000
Sold For: $655,200
Christina Quarles was born in Chicago, IL in 1985 and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She completed her BA at Hampshire College in 2007 with a double concentration in Philosophy and Studio Arts. Christina earned her MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Yale University in 2016. She currently lives in Los Angeles, CA with her wife and two cats.
Christina Quarles is being hailed as the ‘hottest artist in America’
Pilar Corrias Gallery in London, recently sold works for as much as $200,000. In 2021 Quarles’s delayed solo show opens in Chicago, debuting dozens of paintings and sculptures.

Bernard Frize, Néoco (2004)

Bernard Frize, Néoco (2004). Photo courtesy Sotheby’s.
Auction: Sotheby’s Paris, December 11
Estimate: $49,000 to $73,000
Sold For: $198,000
Bernard Frize was born in France in 1954 and in addition to the one above , on December 3, a painting sold for $276,000 at Phillips’s evening sale in Hong Kong, and then days later, at Sotheby’s Paris, another went for $198,000—well over its high estimate of $73,000.

Alex Gardner, Moment (2018)

Alex Gardner, Moment (2018). Photo courtesy Phillips.
Auction: Phillips New York, December 8
Estimate: $20,000 to $30,000
Sold For: $170,000
Alex Gardner is an LA based American painter, he was born in 1987
In his first ever appearance at auction, Gardner saw his 2018 painting Moment, sail past its $30,000 high estimate to sell for $170,000. As far as I can tell this is his first time out and the only pictures offered at auction so far, it certainly will not be the last!

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (2012)

Ayako Rokkaku, Untitled (2012). Photo courtesy Christie’s.
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, December 2
Estimate: $45,000 to $71,000
Sold For: $306,000
In 2003, the self-taught Japanese artist Ayako Rokkaku, then just 21 won the Scout Prize at Geisei, the biannual Tokyo art fair founded by artist Takashi Murakami. Since then, Rokkaku has continued to make her manga-inspired, largely hand-painted works, which often involve cartoonish depictions of young girls.
In early December at the Christie’s Hong Kong auctions series, a signature work by Rokkaku sold for $306,000, well above its high estimate of $70,000, thus creating a new record for the artist. This record did not last long as at the the Taiwan auction house Ravenel, when The Sisters, sold for $416,000.

Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Eve on Psilocybin (2018)

Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Eve on Psilocybin (2018). Photo courtesy Phillips.
Auction: Phillips New York, December 8
Estimate: $30,000 to $40,000
Sold For: $252,000
Born in Zimbabwe in 1993 Kudzanai-Violet Hwami is another new young artist on the gallery and auction scene. Although only 26 at the time she was chosen as one of the four artists to represent Zimbabwe in the 2019 Venice Biennale despite the fact that she will not finish her MFA at the Ruskin School of Art until this year, 2021.
Hwami’s first auction showing was for her psychedelic Eve on Psilocybin , it was lot 1in the sale and it set a strong trend for the whole sale, multiple bidders pushed the price up to $252,000, well above the high estimate of $40,000

The Importance of a Professional Jewellery & Watches Valuation

Posted on February 11, 2021March 17, 2025 by Rachel Doerr

If you have never needed a valuation completed, the cost is not as much as one might think and the easiest way to find out is to ask for a detailed quotation. As we charge on a time basis, all we need to know is the number of pieces, briefly what they are and your location.

Why do you need a valuation?

If you find yourself in a situation whereby you suffer a loss and need to make a claim on your insurance, the first questions you need to ask yourself are;

1. Can I show what the item was and that I owned it?
2. Do I have a detailed listing or the original receipt and a photograph of the item?
3. Do I know the value of the piece?

The easiest way to protect your jewellery in the event of a loss or damage is to insure it for its true value which will require a regular and up-to-date valuation. So, in the event of a loss you can provide your insurer with all of the above details easily and with as little fuss or inconvenience as possible.
A valuation will provide you with a document giving you a detailed description of the item(s), to include details of the stone, size, metal etc… and providing a value. If the diamond is certified, the certificate number should be noted within the description, as well as the name of the grading laboratory. It should be dated and also stated exactly what type of valuation it is. For insurance purposes, you will be looking for a value that will enable you to replace your treasured piece. Our specialists will always discuss with you about how you would choose to replace the item in an event of a loss. Many insurers apply a ‘New for Old’ replacement clause to Jewellery and Watches however if your ring is antique or obsolete our valuations will reflect this within our report and base of value on either a second-hand replacement value or secondary market replacement. We also check all clasps and settings of your jewellery as many insurers have a ‘Clasps and Settings clause’ in their policies which you may not be aware of until you suffer a lost.

Asprey. A three stone diamond ring
Value in 2005 – £26,000
Value in 2012 – £33,000
Value today – £54,500
Insurers may only ask you to provide a valuation for items over £20, £30 or £50,000 depending on the insurer – however, we always ask a client if they can provide ownership, show what the items were and values in the event of a claim. This is always a ‘no’ in most cases… so, what happens in the event of a claim?
Without a valuation, insurers often use claims management specialists to try to find the value of jewellery after it has gone – an unsatisfactory process known as a post-loss valuation. Valuing something after you have lost it often results in an under-assessment of the lost item’s true value or not having your claim paid at all. We are asked to review photographs on a regular basis of jewellery that has been stolen, asking us if we can value it post loss, unfortunately without being able to see the piece and examine the piece we cannot provide a value.
Often this is a very distressing time which could have been avoided with a professional valuation.
So, when you need your jewellery and watches appraised, you can put your trust in us to look after you.

A diamond Solitaire ring
Purchased 1999: £15,000
Valued in 2010: £22,000
Algorithm calculation £23,552 (index linked value insured for!)
Correct Value: £40,750
Our valuations follow a successful method that works by being an in depth, and cost effective process; Our specialist will attend your home – all of our team have formal qualifications and substantial experience within the industry and provide a friendly and professional service. Our team of administrators will look after you from the point of contact to you receiving your report within 15-20 days of your appointment.

Patek Philippe. A Nautilus 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Flyback Chronograph watch
Value in 2016 – £ 75,000
Secondary Market value – £400,000+ (now discontinued)

Now more than ever it is so important that your jewellery values and listings are up to date with your insurance company.

Once you have a valuation completed by us, we hold this information on our secure database, so in the event of any loss we assist you with your claim and provide an up to date value, which will ensure you receive the correct compensation enabling you to replace your item.

The most important reasons for a valuation are;

• In order to be fully insured, your jewellery needs to be listed separately on your Home Contents Policy with a broker who offers a bespoke policy.

• When you need to claim the valuation will provide you with

o Proof of ownership
o A detailed description of the item
o Proof of value

Without them you may end up with an unfair settlement, and no way of proving it.

• The valuation reports will increase your chances of successful recovery by the Police and addition to any registers.

Graff. A ruby and diamond Lotus pendant and earrings
Value in 2015 – £102,740
Valued today – £135,000

Like all markets, the price of silver, gold and diamonds go up and down as do the costs of manufacturing. All diamonds are traded around the world in US dollars, so exchange rates also affect todays values.

We strongly recommend a valuation is updated every 3 years however, if you are a collector of watches you may want to review these values annually as we have seen many makers discontinue certain styles which can increase their values.

Finally, always ensure you are using a reputable company when having a valuation completed and ensure you receive a copy of their Terms and Conditions of Business and they have at least £5m Professional Indemnity Insurance which is an industry standard.

Call us today for a quotation on 01883 652402 or email [email protected] and speak with Rachel. Our specialists cover the whole of the UK and Europe.

End of Year Old Master London Sale Review

Posted on January 22, 2021March 17, 2025 by David Dallas

Although the pandemic has had a negative impact on the way the auction rooms in London gather consignment, prices were strong and the sell-through rate was very acceptable. Traditionally, the majority of lots tend to journey in from Continental Europe but with specialists unable to travel, all inspections have had to be done on-line. There is only so much you can determine from a jpeg and unfortunately an accurate or definitive idea of condition is almost impossible to establish.

Jan Davidsz. De Heem. A banquet still life. Oil on canvas. 5’1” x 6’11”
Lot 10, Christie’s, 15th December 2020
Price Realized: £5,766,000 with premium

As numbers of lots are down, turnover is too. Christie’s offered 44 lots in their evening sale and Sotheby’s a meagre 27, compared to a normal year when 50+ would have been offered. The total for Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Bonhams in December was £39.2, just over 1/3 of the total for 2018.

Domenico Ghirlandaio, Salvator Mundi. Tempera and oil on panel. 13 1/8” x 9 3/8”
Lot 21, Christie’s, 15th December 2020
Price Realized: £2,182,500 with premium

However, prices were strong and the sell-through rate was very acceptable. The top lots at Christie’s was a sumptuous banquet still-life by Jan Davidsz. de Heem, which sold for £4.8M (hammer), a record for the artist and a record for any still-life by an Old Master. Another record price was the £1.8m (hammer) paid for a beautiful Salvator Mundi painted by Michelangelo’s master Domenico Ghirlandaio, which was in pristine condition. Sotheby’s sold a massive canvas measuring 4’ 8” x 8’ 9” of a wine harvest by David Teniers the Younger for £3M (hammer). This picture had not been seen in public for 140 years and proves that freshness to the market adds a premium of its own.

David Teniers. The Wine Harvest. Oil on canvas. 56 x 105”
Lot 12, Sotheby’s, 10th December 2020
Price Realized: £3,645,000 with premium

This year has got off to a challenging start in the art auction world, with Old Master specialists suffering from travelling restrictions, but if 2020 is anything to go by, there will be a healthy appetite for whatever they can glean and garner.