The jewellery market has never been better : gold is at its highest level since the crisis, and everything suggests that it will continue… and besides, it’s been going on for over 40 years!
If we take the sales results from the 1980's to the present day in the antique jewellery sector, we note that the trend is only bullish. This beautiful growth demonstrates the interest of buyers for antique and signed jewellery that have already had a previous life.
Signed and numbered brooch CARTIER - Sold : 22000€
Several explanations are available to us, first of all of the proper value of the jewel which saw the cost of its raw materials increase fivefold in the space of 20 years, but also the attention to detail, the time spent, the refinement of the time, the technicality of “old-fashioned” work that brings life to pieces of quality, that last over time.
The current craze is centered on the Art Deco period (1920-1940) when the platinum, straight lines, onyx, diamonds were used a lot.
The 40's and 60's also begin to arouse interest, a post-war period in which all renowned workshops such as Renard, Gay frères, Pery, Sterlé, Boivin, Vassort, not to mention the big houses like Cartier or Van Cleef & Arpels have developed "avant-garde" collections, rich in volume such as the Tank bracelets, but also the techniques of setting as the "invisible" set.
Signed and numbered CARTIER Paris ring - Sold : 10050€
The antique jewels are much more than simple objects that bring well-being, or a heritage that gives satisfaction and embellishment : they are also the witnesses of a time that carry with them a story, a particular current. And that is why they are considered as art in their own right, art that can be carried and contemplated.
Edouard DE GARO, GG, AJP
Manager - Expert of the Jewelry department for Besch Cannes Auction
Besch Cannes Auction : 11th French Auction House in the JEWELLERY & WATCHES Department