Noonans Mayfair hosted the Jewellery, Watches, and Objects of Vertu event, beginning on 12 May. Among the more interesting pieces was a 300-year-old ring with ties to the supernatural – or at least, accusations of otherworldly powers.
The piece was one of several rings commissioned after the death of Sir Richard Rainsford, a judge who presided over witch trials held in England. It was discovered in 2020.
The gold band has a skull and crossbones on the exterior, along with Rainsford’s initials and the date of his death as an inscription. The item went unsold.
A bishop’s sapphire ring was sold for £11,000 ($AUD22,600). It features a mix of Roman and Lombardic letters, translated to mean ‘“I love you by faith.”
Another item of interest was a medieval colour gemstone ring discovered by a metal detectorist in 2019, believed to be more than 700 years old. Jewellery expert Laura Smith said it was a remarkable find.
“This form of medieval ring, with a principal cabochon stone, usually a sapphire, surrounded by smaller collet-set satellite stones, can be securely dated to the late 12th or early 13th century, and is associated with the bishopric,” Smith said.
The ring sold for £19,000 ($AUD39,000), comfortably exceeding its presale estimate.
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