Antique Jewellery | The sale, held in April 1987, was one of the most important of its day. The Duchess of Windsor Collection, as it was pitched, attracted over 1,000 bidders, who crowded into the tents erected next to Lake Geneva especially for the sale, with a further 600 buyers lined up in the New York Sotheby’s showroom. All the important pieces were up for grabs, and the whole collection fetched $53.5m. (The highest price for a single item was nearly $3.15m, paid for a diamond ring designed by a Japanese jeweller). Overall, the amount raised for Wallis’s jewellery was the highest price ever reached, worldwide, for a single-owner jewellery collection. There were a couple of reasons why the sale attracted the degree of attention that it did. The first reason for the sale’s importance is the sheer breadth and quality of the collection, which was fairly spectacular. Wallis Simpson’s jewellery represented the very best design work by the major jewellery names of the age, rendered in the very highest quality materials and gemstones. It was a beautifully complete showcase, if you like, of antique pieces and 20th Century jewellery fashions. A second, and perhaps no less significant reason for the curiosity and keen excitement elicited by the collection, however, was the story of the couple who’d accumulated it, which has found particular currency over the
years among American buyers. Unlike in the UK, where the Wallis Simpson story is one of scandal and bad behaviour, the Windsors’ relationship is often billed in the US as the ’greatest love story ever told’ (no, really). To many American jewellery collectors, the Windsor romance is a true fairytale – indeed, a very significant proportion of the buyers at the Geneva sale were based in the US, among them Calvin Klein and Elizabeth Taylor, the latter of whom was a friend of the couple. Certainly one can see why their relationship might fascinate people in a country where royalty maintains a steady appeal. It is, after all, the tale of the King who gave up immense wealth and power – his crown – for “the woman he loved”. I
Whittaker’s World The inexorable advance of Live Bidding! This morning there was such a paucity of interesting news that they had to discuss Broadband speeds on Radio 4’s Today Programme – but maybe it isn’t that irrelevant to our daily lives? Pages (and indeed magazines) are dedicated to the internet – it enables us to communicate quickly with clients, and it helps us provide a myriad of information that we cannot print in a catalogue (without significantly improving my printer’s choice of holiday destinations). The internet also provides us with a real time live bidding facility which is increasingly being used by both trade and private buyers alike – time is a valuable asset and people don’t necessarily need to travel to the auction room to buy an item. Worryingly, the internet buyers get a live camera feed of the auctioneer’s face while he's ‘doing his bit’ – for which I can only apologise in advance! Like all technologies, ‘success’ isn’t always guaranteed – during a recent auction a systems failure ‘up the line’ from us caused the live bidding facility to fail just before the ‘star lot’ of the day – the sense of glee from some of the buyers in the auction room was almost palpable. And indeed technology isn’t without its financial costs. However, it is a facility which seems to be here to stay and, judging by its popularity, will have an increasing effect on the auction world. I just wonder what will be the next ‘technological advance’ that they invent to test us with… and to send us cap in hand to our bank manager? Stephen Whittaker is the Managing Partner of Fellows & Sons, specialist auctioneers of Jewellery, Silver, Watches and Fine Art based in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. He can be contacted on 0121 212 2131 or stephen@fellows.co.uk
Fellows & Sons
(Est. 1876)
Forthcoming Auctions
• Secondhand Jewellery & Watches – Thursday 9th and 23rd September, Thursday 7th and 21st October • Antique & Modern Jewellery – Thursday 2nd September, Thursday 14th October • Silver, Plated Ware, Coins & Medals – Monday 6th September • Costume & Silver Jewellery & Novelties – Monday 6th September • Wrist & Pocket Watches – Monday 18th October A catalogue is available at www.fellows.co.uk or by post. Online bidding is available at www.invaluable.com/fellows This gold brooch is one of the many pieces in the collection to be produced by Cartier.
For further information please call Heather Bailey on 0121 212 2131.
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