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Birmingham’s biggest jewellery auction of the year took place on Thursday at Fellows Auctioneers in the heart of the Jewellery Quarter. Fellows held their highest value jewellery auction of the year on November 8th, offering for sale important diamond pieces as well as items by well-known designers such as Cartier and Graff.

Thursday’s auction was extremely well attended on with people travelling from around the world to visit the Birmingham saleroom to view and take part in the auction. Some interested parties came from as far as South Africa and Asia, as well as London and Europe.

The Jewellery Quarter auction house sold their most expensive pair of earrings to date when the pear-shape diamond drops, weighing 3.98 and 3.15cts respectively, sold for a hammer price of £64,000 (£81,664 incl. fees).

The star lot of the auction however was a large single-stone diamond ring, weighing in at over 13cts. The emerald-cut diamond sold for £310,500 shortly followed by an impressive diamond fringe necklace which sold for £177,160.

There were 14 telephone bids, in multiple languages, for the ring of 13.86cts, and the bidding war lasted over 5 minutes. Interest was also strong from the room and commission bids. Bids flew across the saleroom and were met with applause when the ring eventually sold to a bidder in the room for a whopping hammer price of £255,000.

Stephen Whittaker, Managing Director at Fellows Auctioneers, said: “This auction shows us, without a shadow of a doubt, that people are willing to bid on, and buy, high-value pieces when they have sensible estimates. The interest, both at home and abroad, in the auction demonstrates that Birmingham is a hub for fine jewellery, both in our auctions and in the Jewellery Quarter as a whole. We are delighted to have been able to sell this magnificent private collection amongst many over hugely desirable items in the sale.”

Established in 1876, Fellows has been known as a well-respected auction house in the Midlands for over 140 years. The family-run firm was named regional auction house of the year in 2018 by The Antiques Trade Gazette and employs over 60 people in the city’s Jewellery Quarter, as well as maintaining a fully-staffed office in London’s Mayfair. The auction households close to 100 auctions each year from its Birmingham saleroom, attracting visitors from far and wide with its offerings.

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