Jewellery, wristwatches and luxury handbags by Hermès fetched strong results at the Lempertz spring auction

Historical jewellery is traditionally in high demand at Lempertz, as was once again demonstrated by the recent auction on 19 May. The cover piece of the catalogue, a Parisian Art Nouveau gold enamel jewel by Marcel Bing, attracted widespread international interest and was sold to a buyer outside Europe for 31.750 euros. The important Belle Époque rivière necklace, set with old-cut diamonds of approx. 42 ct in total, which decorates the back cover of the catalogue, fetched 95.000 euros following a thrilling bidding battle and was purchased by a bidder in the auction room. Diamond jewellery attracted considerable interest generally. For example, a Belle Époque sun-shaped brooch set with a four-carat old-cut diamond fetched 20.000 euros, a Belle Époque brooch with a yellow fancy-coloured diamond fetched 19.000 euros, and a delicate modern diamond clip in the shape of a rosette tripled its original estimate, selling for 27.900 euros. The most expensive lot in the artists’ jewellery sale, which was almost entirely sold, was a historic-style convertible necklace with antique Roman intaglios by Wolfgang Skoluda, for which an international collector paid over €20.000

The small collection of fine wristwatches was in high demand. Almost all of them sold for above the estimates. A Patek Philippe Ellipse D’Or Jumbo was particularly sought-after, selling for three times the estimate (result: 33.000 euros incl. buyer’s premium). The elegant Breguet Reine de Naples 8918 ladies’ wristwatch in white gold rose from an estimate of 10.000 euros to a final result of 25.400 euros.

As a new feature of this auction, four Hermès handbags were offered, all of which sold for more than their estimated value. A 1962 Kelly Bag in black lizard leather was particularly sought-after. The successful bidder paid around 28.000 euros for this rare piece. 

Overall, the proceeds from this carefully curated auction of selected lots exceeded the total of the estimated prices by a good 1.2 million euros.

Jan Bykowski
Press and PR
bykowski@lempertz.com
Tel. 0049 (0)221 925729 -57