30/08/2025 General News
Across the nation, dozens of auction houses will be holding sales today, just as they do most days of the year, writes Angela Marshall. In each of those sales, anything between 100 and 1,000 lots will go under the hammer. If the auction house has done its job properly – accurate valuations, attractive photography, effective marketing and so on – then the majority of those lots will find a buyer.
Not all, of course, any more than a High Street retailer will see its shelves empty at the end of a day’s trading. There will always be some lots which simply didn’t appeal to the buyers present at the auction (either in the room or online), or which had over-ambitious estimates and/or reserves, often figures on which the vendors themselves have insisted.
A sale where 100% of the lots are sold is almost unheard of; it has only happened twice to me during a career spanning more than two decades. So when just five out of 272 lots in Keys’ August Jewellery Sale remained unsold – that’s a 98% success rate – with many going for hammer prices beyond their upper estimates, it was noteworthy to say the least.
One encouraging trend is the continuation in growth of in-person bidders. For obvious reasons people were not able to be in the saleroom itself during the pandemic, and the whole profession wondered whether a population which had grown used to doing everything remotely would bother to start attending sales again.
Of course, online bidders are hugely important in the auction profession (generally between 70% and 80% of bids are made online), but a large number of in-person bidders always bodes well for the end result.
It’s not just the numbers, but the type of buyer who wants to attend the sale. Often amongst the in-person bidders you will find a disproportionate number of individual collectors rather than professionals or traders.
It would seem that in the present economic environment, people want to put their money into things they can use and enjoy, rather than salting it away in bank accounts with not very attractive interest rates.
These kind of buyers tend to buy with their hearts as much as their heads. You might be surprised to learn that this very much pleases many of our vendors: it’s not just about how much cash they will make from the sale, but also about the wish for their items to be as loved and appreciated by someone else as they once did.
Because a larger proportion than usual of the bidders were collectors, August’s sale gave a good indication of the kind of jewellery which is most sought-after at the moment. This included a strong presence of Arts and Crafts-inspired late Victorian and Edwardian jewellery; good quality diamond solitaire rings; older cuts of stones such as old mine cut diamonds; and pieces which are individual and have the character which is arguably absent from more mass-produced jewellery.
Unlike professional buyers, collectors very much rely on the expertise of the auction house to be confident that what they are buying is genuine, and valued accurately. Sadly, many auction houses do not have the relevant expertise in-house for jewellery in particular. Both buyers and sellers should always ask whether a jewellery expert is qualified, ideally a Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (a qualification I hold).
The combination of a growing appetite for vintage jewellery, an expertly catalogued and marketed sale, and the continuing popularity of in-person bidding led to being just a whisker away from only the third ‘100% sold’ auction of my career. I can’t wait for our next Jewellery Sale in October.
Keys’ next Jewellery Sale is on Wednesday 15th October; entries are being accepted for this sale. There will also be a significant jewellery section in Keys’ final Fine Sale of the year, which takes place in November. If you have any pieces you are considering selling, and would like a free, no-obligation appraisal, contact angela.marshall@keysauctions.co.uk.