Game of Stones

Game of Stones

By Katherine Tulloch

This season, our Fine Jewellery & Silver Auction invites you to witness elegance in motion: treasures that have endured the test of time, each with a story to tell.

On an impressive Pietra Dura Chess Table, a game is afoot: sovereigns as pawns and silver opposing gemstone jewellery.

Among the highlights in-play:

• An enamelled diamond and pearl butterfly brooch, early 20th century: its peach-toned wings edged with old-cut diamonds, ruby-set eyes, and a single pearl drop. The gold frame bears the mark 18K and the maker’s initials CE.
• An 18ct gold and diamond dress ring, Sheffield 1985: a diamond and sapphire crown motif with bead and rope detail.
• A peacock opal, sapphire and diamond pendant: centred with a vivid cabochon opal, haloed by old European- and mine-cut diamonds, suspended from a sapphire-set loop.
• A sapphire and diamond cluster ring: featuring an oval sapphire cabochon surrounded by foiled rose-cut diamonds, with graduated diamond shoulders, size L½.

• A rose-cut diamond and ruby pendant, late 19th century: a pierced design enriched with seed pearls, cushion-cut rubies, and rose-cut diamonds in a closed-back setting.
• An Edwardian emerald and diamond pendant: showcasing an emerald-cut emerald framed by a floral openwork of diamonds and seed pearls, complete with brooch fitting and ‘C’ clasp.
• An Edwardian pearl, enamel and gem-set pendant: a pink tourmaline at its heart, encircled by concentric rings of seed pearls and green enamel.
• A black opal and diamond brooch, early 20th century: a striking oval opal measuring 2.7 x 1.8cm, encircled by scrolling yellow gold set with eight old brilliant-cut diamonds, one displaying a greenish-yellow hue.

From Burmese rubies to Kashmir sapphires, coloured gemstones continue to captivate with clients seeking quality, size, and provenance. In a market where natural and lab-grown diamonds now coexist, true value lies in transparency and responsibility. Buying at auction offers a conscious choice; a form of responsible, secondary-market sourcing that honours both craftsmanship and sustainability. As our Gemologist puts simply: ‘Colours are in!’

Completing the selection are novelty silver miniatures by celebrated makers such as Stuart Devlin and Sampson Morden, alongside mounted sovereigns, which are expected to perform strongly amid the continued rise in price that gold commands.

Complex Pieces, Complex Designs

The composition of jewellery pieces such as these often begins not at the workbench but on the page. Two hand-drawn and coloured design renderings capture this:

• The first illustrates a gem-set pendant banner brooch (publicly exhibited by Garrard) a design of diamond palmette terminals suspending a plaque of marquise-cut diamonds and carved flowerheads.
• The second, an emerald and diamond Belle Époque brooch, radiates the same balance of geometry and grace that defined early 20th-century craftsmanship.

A realised version of the banner brooch design appeared at Christie’s Art Deco Jewellery Auction in 1998, selling for CHF 190,500 under the following description:

‘…A pierced curved bar with diamond palmette terminals suspending an articulated plaque of marquise-cut diamonds and carved ruby, emerald, sapphire, amethyst or citrine flowerheads with diamond-set borders to the emerald, diamond and yellow diamond tassels, circa 1930, with French assay marks.’

View the catalogue. Choose your move. Let your next masterpiece find its place in your collection…