Sale Rooms - Insights to our upcoming summer auctions
April saw our fifth Jewellery, Silver & Watch Sale take place. Since we began these sales a little over two years ago, they have gone from strength to strength, and we are looking forward to our next two sales this year. In the April sale we had just over three hundred lots of fabulous items, and for the first time ever watches were the best performing section of the sale. We had a number of excellent watches including brands such as Rolex, Omega and Cartier. As you can see on the opposite page, we had some fantastic results and our silver section also did incredibly well, with the price of silver currently at an all time high for the last five years. Almost all lots in both the watch and silver sections sold.
Other highlights of the sale included an old cut diamond circlet brooch selling for £700 on the hammer; an unusual oval handbag mirror, marked ‘14k’ selling for £680 on the hammer and a vari-coloured pearl interval bracelet that attracted vigorous bidding and eventually sold for £650 before buyers’ premium.
Auction can be an excellent method of purchasing jewellery as well as selling it. The main advantage, especially for modern diamond jewellery, is that you are not paying the mark up of retailers. A prime example of this is the diamond solitaire ring. This continues to be one of the most popular engagement rings and as such there are a great number of them on the secondhand and auction market. Because of this the price is very depressed when being sold after being purchased new. The majority of diamond solitaire rings will be sold at auction at approximately 30% of their retail cost and sometimes this figure is even lower. There are of course exceptions to this, including when a diamond exceeds the one carat size, however by and large this is the reality of the return on modern diamond jewellery.
If you have never bought at auction before it can be a daunting process, however all of our staff in the Sale Rooms department would be happy to run though the process with you so if you have any questions please do get in contact. You can also be added to our mailing list by contacting the department so you can get up to date news on all of our sales.
We have already mentioned our valuation days for our Jewellery, Silver & Watch sale on 31st July; these valuations will start taking place in May through June too, at our various branches. Spaces are available at most offices, but they do fill up fast so make sure you get in contact soon to secure an appointment. The dates for these can be found on the opposite page, on our website or our Facebook page.
At the time of writing, we are busy preparing for our 5th June Antique, Collectable & Interiors Sale which has an excellent selection of jewellery, a collection of beautiful Victorian samplers, three first edition Harry Potter books and mid-20th century design furniture. One very interesting lot in the sale is a Victorian medicine or apothecary’s cabinet. Found by the family in the attic when clearing the family home, it is almost complete with all of its glass bottles (and much of the contents), including two labelled ‘poison’, a glass pestle and mortar and scales, estimated at £180-220 it is sure to attract much attention.
In other exciting news, we will be holding a coin valuation day on Thursday 20th June at our Standerwick office, from 10am to 4pm, for our September sale. There are already a number of lots consigned and we welcome entries of gold and silver coins, modern and antique, as well as whole collections. This sale will take place along with our already scheduled Antique,Collectable & Interiors Sale on 18th September. If you would like to make an appointment for this valuation day, please call the office on 01373 852419 or email salerooms@cooperandtanner.co.uk. Please note home visits for large collections can be arranged.
A single owner collection of coins forms part of the lots already consigned for the September sale, amongst the collection are a 1924 American $20 Saint-Gaudens double eagle, estimated at £1,200-1,500. This coin is named after the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who designed the front and back of the coin. Produced by the United States Mint from 1907 to 1933 and it is really quite a beautiful design.
Other American coins in the collection are an 1877 $20 Liberty head coin, estimated at £1,100-1,400 and various $5 double Liberty head coins. As well as American coins there are various European coins including two 100 French Franc coins, 1882 and 1886, both estimated at £1,400-1,700; and an Italian Parma 1815 40 Lire coin, estimated at £700-900.
If you would like any items valued, be that an individual item, a collection, probate or house clearance please do get in touch with the team on 01373 852419 or salerooms@cooperandtanner.co.uk. Please note fees apply for probate valuations. Don’t forget, free valuations are
available every Thursday from 10am - 4pm at our Standerwick office.
Other highlights of the sale included an old cut diamond circlet brooch selling for £700 on the hammer; an unusual oval handbag mirror, marked ‘14k’ selling for £680 on the hammer and a vari-coloured pearl interval bracelet that attracted vigorous bidding and eventually sold for £650 before buyers’ premium.
Auction can be an excellent method of purchasing jewellery as well as selling it. The main advantage, especially for modern diamond jewellery, is that you are not paying the mark up of retailers. A prime example of this is the diamond solitaire ring. This continues to be one of the most popular engagement rings and as such there are a great number of them on the secondhand and auction market. Because of this the price is very depressed when being sold after being purchased new. The majority of diamond solitaire rings will be sold at auction at approximately 30% of their retail cost and sometimes this figure is even lower. There are of course exceptions to this, including when a diamond exceeds the one carat size, however by and large this is the reality of the return on modern diamond jewellery.
If you have never bought at auction before it can be a daunting process, however all of our staff in the Sale Rooms department would be happy to run though the process with you so if you have any questions please do get in contact. You can also be added to our mailing list by contacting the department so you can get up to date news on all of our sales.
We have already mentioned our valuation days for our Jewellery, Silver & Watch sale on 31st July; these valuations will start taking place in May through June too, at our various branches. Spaces are available at most offices, but they do fill up fast so make sure you get in contact soon to secure an appointment. The dates for these can be found on the opposite page, on our website or our Facebook page.
At the time of writing, we are busy preparing for our 5th June Antique, Collectable & Interiors Sale which has an excellent selection of jewellery, a collection of beautiful Victorian samplers, three first edition Harry Potter books and mid-20th century design furniture. One very interesting lot in the sale is a Victorian medicine or apothecary’s cabinet. Found by the family in the attic when clearing the family home, it is almost complete with all of its glass bottles (and much of the contents), including two labelled ‘poison’, a glass pestle and mortar and scales, estimated at £180-220 it is sure to attract much attention.
In other exciting news, we will be holding a coin valuation day on Thursday 20th June at our Standerwick office, from 10am to 4pm, for our September sale. There are already a number of lots consigned and we welcome entries of gold and silver coins, modern and antique, as well as whole collections. This sale will take place along with our already scheduled Antique,Collectable & Interiors Sale on 18th September. If you would like to make an appointment for this valuation day, please call the office on 01373 852419 or email salerooms@cooperandtanner.co.uk. Please note home visits for large collections can be arranged.
A single owner collection of coins forms part of the lots already consigned for the September sale, amongst the collection are a 1924 American $20 Saint-Gaudens double eagle, estimated at £1,200-1,500. This coin is named after the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who designed the front and back of the coin. Produced by the United States Mint from 1907 to 1933 and it is really quite a beautiful design.
Other American coins in the collection are an 1877 $20 Liberty head coin, estimated at £1,100-1,400 and various $5 double Liberty head coins. As well as American coins there are various European coins including two 100 French Franc coins, 1882 and 1886, both estimated at £1,400-1,700; and an Italian Parma 1815 40 Lire coin, estimated at £700-900.
If you would like any items valued, be that an individual item, a collection, probate or house clearance please do get in touch with the team on 01373 852419 or salerooms@cooperandtanner.co.uk. Please note fees apply for probate valuations. Don’t forget, free valuations are
available every Thursday from 10am - 4pm at our Standerwick office.