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AUCTIONS
Historic emerald
and diamond
collection sells
for £1.9m
Three pieces
of Art Deco
diamond
and emerald
jewellery
attributed to
famous jeweller
Hennell, have
been sold for over £1.9m
The collection caused a stir when it
went under the hammer at Bonhams
London this week as all three pieces
exceeded their pre-sale estimates.
The jewels, which were offered
by Bonhams, hail from the private
collection of Louise Stephens, wife
of Michael Stephens, scion of the
Stephens Ink family. After the 1930s
and the death of their former owner,
the pieces stayed in the family but were
hardly worn.
The first piece, an emerald and
diamond pendant/necklace, attributed
to Hennell and dating from the first
quarter of the 20th Century, sold for
£1,328,750, far exceeding its pre-
sale estimate of £150,000-200,000.
The necklace featured a double-
sided cabochon emerald crescent,
of Colombian origin, weighing 12-13
carats, meaning it achieved £100,000
per carat.
The second lot, an Art Deco emerald
and diamond dress ring, circa 1930,
sold for £368,750, beating its estimate
of £150,000-250,000.
Emily Barber, director of Bonhams
Jewellery UK, said: “These jewels are
simply magnificent. Superb emerald
specimens like this do not come to
market very often so we’re delighted to
bring them to auction for the first time.
“The crescent-shaped emerald is
no doubt an historic Indian gem, cut
to maximize its ‘green fire’ and the
sugarloaf cabochon emerald, a cut
favoured by early 20th Century Art
Deco jewellers, is one of the finest
examples we have seen.”
June 2018 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk
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These jewels are simply
magnificent . Superb
emerald specimens
like this do not come
to market very often
so we’re delighted to
bring them to auction for
the first time
Emily Barber,
director of Bonhams Jewellery UK
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APPOINTMENTS
London Diamond
Bourse names
Alan Cohen as
new president
Diamond trading association London
Diamond Bourse has named Alan
Cohen as the president of the company,
succeeding Menachem Prager.
DIAMONDS
London Diamond
Bourse to hold
diamond tender
The London Diamond Bourse (LDB)
has been named the sole industry
representative to officiate and run a
tender on behalf of an anonymous
vendor.
A range of rough diamonds will be
presented for a trade sale with closed
bids from 29 May – 12 June 2018.
The collection includes one rough
stone of 124 carats and a variety of
high quality rough stones from 8/4 to 9
carats. There will also be a selection of
polished diamonds and a few parcels of
Industrial diamonds.
Upon purchase, an attestation
document will be provided to confirm
that the rough diamonds were legally
sold via public auction.
London Diamond Bourse,
compliance officer Paul Koppelman
said: “It’s exciting to have a tender on
home territory.”
Lot inspections will be for trade
professionals only and will be strictly
by appointment from 29th May to 12th
June 2018.
Cohen started his career in diamonds
in 1971 when he trained as a rough and
polished diamond sorter. He has been
a member of the group since 1976 and
took over the role of vice president two
years ago.
Victoria McKay COO said the group
is “pleased to receive Alan as our new
president” and said he “will be an
effective advocate for the UK’s diamond
industry both at home and abroad”. She
added: “His natural gravitas along with
his industry experience make him a
valuable asset.”
Cohen acknowledged former
president Prager “for successfully
helping the association and its
members to navigate through difficult
times and difficult issues in the past
two years”.
He added: “I look forward to the
new challenges ahead. I appreciate
the hard work that others have done
before me in the association and I
hope to be able to build on that to
move LDB in a direction that benefits
the diamond industry.”
Investing in the diversity of
our in-house expertise has been
particularly effective in helping
us to become a leading creator
of the finest handcrafted
British jewellery .
Charlie Pragnell,
managing director, Pragnell
JEWELLERY FOCUS
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