Jewellery Focus JFOC July 2017 digital | Page 8

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MANUFACTURING

WatchShop . com to sell watches made from recycled cars

The WatchShop . com has added a new brand to its portfolio , the REC timepieces , where each watch is made from recycled automobiles .

Every watch “ incorporates salvaged iconic parts ”, with a scannable story card which tells customers the story of how their watch came to be .

The dial of each watch is produced from raw materials which have been exposed to the elements for over 40 years . Each of the watches will also feature the VIN number of the vehicle it came from and the year .

Terry Markham , head of buying at WatchShop . com says : “ We are excited to work with a brand that has unique views on producing watches , especially when each piece we sell has such a rich , diverse history and give the customer a unique story of the watch on their wrist .” See feature on p20 .

RAGS TO RICHES

Tenner ‘ car boot sale ’ diamond makes £ 650k at auction

The diamond ring which was bought for £ 10 has been sold at a Sotheby ’ s auction for £ 656,750 .

The jewel was purchased 30 years ago at a car boot sale at West Middlesex Hospital in Isleworth , west London . The owner wore the ring for years unaware that it was a 26-carat diamond .

The owner believed it was a piece of costume jewellery due to its “ filthy mount .”

It was only when the owner , who does not want to be identified , took it to Sotheby ’ s that its true worth was realised . The auction house originally valued the ring at £ 350,000 .

Jessica Wyndham , head of Sotheby ’ s jewellery department , said : “ The owner would wear it out shopping , wear it day-to-day . It ’ s a good looking ring .

“ No-one had any idea it had any intrinsic value at all . They enjoyed it all this time .”

Another highlight of the sale was a Cartier diamond brooch worn by Margaret Thatcher on a number of high-profile public occasions , including the day she offered her resignation as Prime Minister to The Queen .

The brooch sold for £ 81,250 , exceeding its £ 25,000-35,000 estimate . The proceeds of that sale will be donated to the Endeavour fund - a charity that supports the recovery of wounded , injured and sick servicemen and women .

Overall , the auction made sales amounting to £ 5.2m .

STAT OF THE MONTH

£ 656,750

That ’ s how much a diamond ring was sold for at a Sotheby ’ s auction . The original owner bought it for £ 10 at a car boot sale 30 years ago .

The owner would wear it out shopping , wear it

day-to-day . It ’ s a good looking ring . “ No-one had any idea it had any intrinsic value at all . They enjoyed it all this time

Jessica Wyndham , head of Sotheby ’ s jewellery department

CHARITY

Twin jewellers make pendant to commemorate Manchester victims

A pair of jewellers who are identical , and known as ‘ Twinface ’, have made a ‘ worker bee ’ pendant to commemorate and support the victims of the Manchester terrorist attack last month .

Emma Taafe and Jennifer Taafe- Guite , 35 , will donate the sales of the pendant will to the Red Cross Emergency Fund .

Emma said : “ We obviously knew that everyone was getting the worker bee tattoo , and we just thought that some people may want to have a lesspermanent tribute .

“ We ’ ve obviously grown up and worked in Manchester all of our lives so when this tragedy happened we just wanted to be able to offer something . We couldn ’ t ignore the plight of the brave victims who were caught up in the horrible atrocity . We wanted to stand together and show our solidarity for this great city .”

The pendant is priced at £ 20 , made of Vermeile matte gold and sits on an 18 ” chain . It is available for purchase on the Twinface website .

8 JEWELLERY FOCUS

July 2017 | jewelleryfocus . co . uk