A new piece of stock is this wonderful tea set, in silver plate, with gilded interior. It is a three piece tea set, in a cube design. The handle of the tea pot is integrated into the cube, isolated to prevent it heating too much. There is a small indent to help it pour well.

The style of this piece is fantastic, and is a real collector’s item.

In 1850, near Bettystown, Co. Meath, an amazing piece of Irish history was found by a woman and her sons. It was an early 8th century brooch. The woman sold it to a Dublin dealer, Waterhouse & Co., who gave it the name “Tara Brooch”, to evoke the rich history and heritage of the hill of Tara and surrounding areas.

Waterhouse commissioned copies of it, and they became very fashionable, particularly in 1853 when Queen Victoria purchased a copy of the Cavan Brooch at the Great Exhibition in London.

We have recently acquired a lovely example, pictured below. It is in its original box, and is in lovely condition.

In the year 2000, the dublin assay office introduced a new mark to commemorate the millennium. It can be seen in the picture below, on the right hand side. The millennium hallmark adds interest to a piece, and is sure to be a collector’s item in the future.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has discovered a rare large pink diamond in its Argyle mine in the East Kimberly region of Australia. The rough diamond weighs 12.76 carats, and will be called the Argyle Pink Jubilee.

After two months of planning, it will be cut, a process which will take about ten days.

More than 90% of the world’s pink diamonds come from the Argyle mine. In 2010 a wonderful 24 carat pink diamond became the world’s most expensive diamond when Laurence Graff paid $48million for it at auction. To read more about pink diamonds, follow these links:

Pink diamonds
http://www.weldons.ie/wordpress/2011/07/the-steinmetz-pink/

Sometimes we come across an item which is very unusual, and this piece certainly fits the bill! It is a sterling silver dragon, made in Ireland. It is beautifully detailed, and a real collector’s item!

The recent sale of Elizabeth Taylor’s jewellery made headlines around the world, for both the beauty and the rarity of some of the pieces in her collection. Prices obtained were eye-wateringly high in some cases, and many records were broken, including the most expensive ruby, emerald and pearl price.

However, one record that was not broken was for the most expensive single piece of jewellery ever. Two diamonds that were more expensive than anything in Taylor’s collection are the Star of the Season, and the Graff Pink.

The Star of the Season is a 100.10 carat pear shape diamond; It is D colour, and Internally Flawless. Diamond experts were in awe at its beautiful proportions, rare in such a  large stone.

The diamond was bought at an auction in Geneva in 1995 by  Sheikh Ahmed Hassan Fitaihi, who paid a little over $16.5 million for the loose diamond. It is rumoured that he was immediately offered a profit on the diamond by a disappointed under-bidder!

The most expensive diamond in the world is this stone, the Graff Pink, a 24 carat pink diamond which sold for $48million in 2010! It was bought by Laurence Graff, the world famous diamond dealer

This ring has recently come into stock, and is a wonderful example of early 20th century jewellery. It is made of platinum, and set with two large round diamonds. What is remarkable about it is the fantastic detailed work to the gallery and shoulders. This type of openwork is typical of the era, and almost impossible to mistake!

This is an article by Mark Keenan, from the Sunday Independent, 5th February 2012

CRAFTED Irish silver, which has a reputation for quality around the world, is being sold for scrap and melted down because owners aren’t aware of its antique value.

Ireland’s antique dealers have issued a plea to the public to ensure they have silver items properly checked out before selling them on to scrap dealers, following evidence that valuable Irish heritage pieces worth thousands are regularly being melted down in the rush to cash in on the highest silver bullion prices since the 1970s.

Silver has more than doubled its value in two years to levels not seen since Texas oil billionaire Bunker Hunt attempted to corner the world silver market in 1979.

However, because values have been moving down from a 2011 high of $49 per troy oz (today it’s at $33) there has been a rush to sell up. Silver is also one of the first items to be sold in hard times.

Dublin silverware expert Jimmy Weldon said: “We had one guy bring in a photograph of some flatware (cutlery) that he’d sold for scrap. They turned out to be Georgian and worth in the order of €3,000. Old spoons and tankards in particular should be checked because a Limerick spoon worth €40 or €50 for scrap could fetch €2,000 to €3,000 at auction,” said Mr Weldon.

“We were brought a tiny salt cellar to be appraised which would have had a scrap value of €60 but turned out to have been worth €3,000 as a collector’s piece. It was very plain and black and no more than an inch-and-a-half high but was in fact a very special and rare piece made in 1725.”

While bullion silver prices are on a high, demand abroad for antique Irish silverware as collectibles has also shot up. One Georgian beer tankard from Cork, which went for sale in the USA recently, sold for $31,000 (€23,500) after being guided at $3,000 (€2,300).

Items which dealers believe are being lost in auctions include heavy antique Irish trays, which attract the most attention because of their weight. Mr Weldon said unscrupulous scrap dealers were turning up at auctions all over the country bringing their own scales. “There’s a surprising amount of items out there still in attics, basements and drawers,” he said.

Joy Danker of Danker Antiques added: “Irish silverware is the finest and most sought after in the world because it is so rare — there is one piece of Irish for every five pieces of English — and because of the outstanding level of craftsmanship from those who produced it in Cork, Limerick, Kinsale and Galway. The fact that we’re losing any of it is shocking.”

President of the Irish Antique Dealers’ Association George Stacpoole added: “This problem occurs when bullion value begins to challenge antique value. We would urge the public never to sell anything made of sterling silver without first getting it properly appraised by a member of the Antique Dealers Association.”

- Mark Keenan

We recently got into stock this lovely ten stone diamond ring, set with multi-coloured diamonds. There are three cognac diamonds, two white diamonds, one light brown diamond, two yellow diamonds and two green diamonds. It is bright and lively, and very unusual!

Following on from a previous post about Sapphires, this post deals with the different colours of Blue that can be found in sapphires. In ancient times, it was believed that the sun’s rays caused the wonderful deep blue colours in a sapphire, and that the longer the stone was exposed to the sun, the deeper the blue!

Pure corundum is colourless, however trace amounts of iron and titanium give rise to the most wonderful blue hues. The amount of these trace elements can give rise to different hues and shades of blue. The most highly prized sapphires and velvety deep blues, with as strong saturation as possible, without darkening the stone. At the far end of the value scale are sapphires with either very dark or very light tones.

While the colour can vary with the origin of the sapphire, it is not right to say that every sapphire of a particular colour is from the same mine, as similar shades of blue can be seen from many places. However, in general, some mines are known for the intense, rich blues that they produce. The most famous mine, in Kashmir, produces sapphires with a wonderful velvety blue that has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Top grade Kashmir sapphires are among the most expensive gemstones of all.

An example of a superb colour would be this sapphire, a 2.4 carat Burmese sapphire

Sometimes the preferred colour is a matter of taste. In the 1920s in France, the fashion held that dark colours were the most desirable. A darker sapphire would be this colour, from the 1920s.

The rest of the photos below give an idea of the range of colours that sapphires can come in.