The two pieces of jewellery, said to be family heirlooms of the famed crime author, consisted of a 19th century diamond buckle brooch set in silver and gold and a ring featuring three brilliant-cut diamonds.
The brooch sold for £27,500 (AU$50,869) and the ring for £21,875 (AU$40,451) at an auction held by Bonhams last week in London – figures far exceeding the £100 (AU$186) that the “avid” fan originally paid for the jewellery a few years ago.
In fact, the buyer didn’t even realise she had purchased the pieces.
According to Bonhams, the brooch and ring were discovered in a locked safe inside a small suitcase bought at an auction by a woman in 2006. The auction was a sale of the belongings from the late author’s former home in Devon.
For years, the contents of the box remained a mystery as the accompanying key had been lost. It wasn’t until 2010 that the owner was able to use a crowbar to pry the box open, revealing the two pieces of jewellery – along with other items.
The brooch and ring had previously been referenced in Christie’s autobiography as being valuable heirlooms belonging to her mother, Clara Margaret Miller.
In other auction news, a new world record for a fancy vivid pink diamond was set by Sotheby’s during its recent Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Sale held in Hong Kong.
The 8.41-carat pear-shaped, purple-pink diamond mounted on a platinum ring sold for HK$137.9 million (AU$20.2 m), equating to approximately HK$16.4 million (AU$2.4 m) per carat.
The record was previously held by auction house Christie’s for its sale of a 5-carat cushion-shaped fancy vivid pink diamond for HK$83.5 million (AU$12.3 m) in Hong Kong in 2009 – HK$16.7 million (AU$2.5 m) per carat.
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