Last Sunday (March 16) saw Skinner's auction of Fine Jewelry gross over $2.6m in total sales - nearly $1m over the pre-auction estimate.
Its success lead Skinner to announced that "Fine Jewelry remains as one of the strongest markets in the auction world" on its website.
The sale featured the hoards of two prominent collectors: Hope Goddard Iselin and Elizabeth Colt. Both did especially well and featured items from Cartier and Black, Starr and Frost.
 The $253,000 Cartier platinum, diamond and onyx bracelet |
The former collection was lead by this Art Deco Cartier platinum, diamond and onyx bracelet (also pictured top right). It sold for an incredible $253,000.
Consigned from the Iselin collection (of New York and Newport, Hope Goddard Iselin was the first woman to complete America's Cup), it originally carried a pre-sale estimate of just $30,000-40,000.
 'Cartier', inscribed upon the bracelet |
Another especially noteworthy highlight was an important diamond and enamel demi-parure women's jewellery set bought by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, US.
The vintage set was gifted to Elizabeth Colt by her husband Sam Colt, inventor of the Colt revolver, back in 1856.
Originally estimated at $25,000-30,000, the demi-parure emerged as a fine investment for its seller. It eventually brought an astounding $201,450.
"Going into the sale we were very excited about such wonderful, fresh-to-the-market material from distinguished New England families," enthused Gloria Lieberman, director of Fine Jewelry at Skinner.
"That excitement translated into a stellar auction with hotly contested bidding. Skinner's strategy to be conservative with estimates worked well with buyers in this recovering economy," she revealed.
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