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Articles from DIAMOND JEWELLERY (1024 Articles), RINGS - GENERAL (993 Articles), BROOCHES / PINS (26 Articles)










A fan of Agatha Christie (pictured) acquired the author's jewellery without realising
A fan of Agatha Christie (pictured) acquired the author's jewellery without realising

Mystery box yields valuable Agatha Christie jewellery

Jewellery once belonging to Agatha Christie has sold at auction for more than 400 times the amount paid by a woman who unknowingly acquired the items after purchasing an old suitcase.

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.

Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie's diamond buckle brooch
Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie's diamond ring
Record-breaking pink diamond
Record-breaking pink diamond

 

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