MONTH IN REVIEW
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AUCTIONS
East Anglia’s
first dedicated
jewellery, silver
and watches
sale realises top
prices across all
sections
Cambridge-based Fine Art Auctioneers,
Cheffins, hosted the region’s first ever
dedicated sale for jewellery, silver and
watches on the 25 October 2018 with
over 450 items sold.
Nearly 85% of the jewellery lots on
offer were sold, with many at prices
far exceeding presale estimates. The
highlight was a sapphire and diamond
ring from Tiffany & Co which made
£4,000, doubling its pre-sale estimate
of £1,500 - £2,000. The most expensive
lot in the section was a three-stone
diamond ring with the estimated
weight of diamonds in excess of 3cts
and which sold for £5,000.
Amongst the silver, nearly 95% of
lots sold to either private collectors or
trade buyers. The most expensive lot on
the day was a 174-piece silver travelling
ensemble by Garrard & Co which dated
back to 1925 and which sold for £7,000.
Amongst the 38 watches on offer, a
lady’s 18ct gold and steel Rolex Oyster
watch achieved its top estimate, selling
for £2,000; whilst a gentleman’s Rolex
Oyster watch dating back to 1952 sold
for £1,500. A 1945 gentleman’s Breitling
Datora which needed full restoration far
exceeded expectations selling for £1,400,
smashing its guide price of £200 - £400.
Steve Collins, head of jewellery, silver
and watches added: “Sale rates from this
auction go to show the strength of the
market for the best in class of jewellery,
silver and watches. The auction saw a
comprehensive selection of pieces at
varying price points which helped to
ensure that the room was packed on sale
day and a number of items completely
smash their pre-sale estimates.”
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JEWELLERY FOCUS
The sale grossed a total of over
£175,000.
The sale was the first standalone
auction for these jewellery, silver and
watches within the firm’s already
comprehensive calendar and is set
to take place twice a year moving
forwards. Items are already being
consigned for the next jewellery, silver
and watches sale will take place in
April 2019.
JEWELLERY STORES
Silversmith
J.A Campbell set
to close after
60 years
Brentwood-based silversmiths J.A
Campbell has announced it is set to
close after 60 years in the business.
The company was founded by
John and Barbara Campbell and is
one of the few companies to still use
traditional sterling silversmith methods
After a pre-apprenticeship course
at the Central School of Arts and
Crafts in London and during his
apprenticeship, Campbell started
working in the family’s redundant
chicken shed before moving on to
a purpose built workshop at his
parents’ new house in Woodford
Essex. He later moved to Clerkenwell
and Perseverance Works Hackney,
before finally setting up workshops in
Brentwood in Essex.
No official closing date has yet been
announced.
John Campbell said:“[I am] proud to
have been able to leave a small mark
on society and hang up my hammers.”
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CRIME
Robbers who
stole £500k
worth of
jewellery jailed
Two men who carried out a
£500,000 armed jewellery robbery at
the Mappin and Webb boutique at
Gleneagles Hotel have been jailed.
At the High Court in Edinburgh
Richard Fleming, 42, and Liam
Richardson, 30, were sentenced
to 18 years and 11 years and four
months respectively.
The pair were part of a gang
that stole 50 Rolex watches from
the jewellery store armed with
hammers, a machete and a pistol.
The men were arrested after
detectives analysed “tens of
thousands of hours” worth of CCTV
recordings and studied mobile
phone records, which placed
Fleming and Richardson at the
crime scene.
When sentencing the pair Judge
Lady Carmichael described Fleming
as a “danger to the public”.
She said: “You took hammers, a
machete, and a self-loading pistol,
or an item that resembled one, to
Gleneagles Hotel in order to commit
a robbery. In the course of about
two minutes in the hotel, you had
taken Rolex watches worth in excess
of half a million pounds from the
Mappin and Webb jewellers there.
“ There was CCTV footage which
illustrated very clearly how staff
and guests fled in fear as you
entered the hotel masked, armed
and dressed in dark clothing. They
clearly had no way of knowing
whether or not the firearm was
a genuine one. The robbery was
an act of serious, premeditated
criminality which involved
significant advance planning, with a
visit to the hotel some weeks before
by you.”
She added: “Criminal behaviour
of this nature will not be tolerated,
and requires the imposition of a
substantial period of imprisonment.”
December 2018 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk