FINE JEWELLERY, WATCHES, SILVER & COINS 22nd January 2025 at 12pm

Garnets happen to be one of my favourite stones, not only for their colour but also for their relative hardness and toughness, which make them great for everyday wear.They are also a relatively abundant gem mineral, making them generally great value for money. When looking at jewellery, what's in fashion can change drastically from decade to decade. Think of your Granny’s pearl necklace, once the accessory that her peers would swoon over, was left to gather dust for years. Only to have a sudden resurgence in popularity of pearls in the last few years thanks to celebrities like Sofia Richie and Gigi Hadid. The same is true for gemstones, diamonds for instance are today's engagement rings of choice, thanks to modern mining practices and fashioning, as well as clever marketing. However, this was not always the case.The Archduke Maximilian of Austria was one of the first documented to give a diamond ring to his betrothed Mary of Burgundy in 1477. In turn, this influenced the aristocracy of Europe to give their significant other a diamond ring. And then again by Queen Victoria in the 19th century. But before this, diamonds were a rather overlooked stone, their extreme hardness made them difficult to fashion. Cut as flat por trait cuts or early rose cuts, which give a fraction of the return of light and lustre from Modern Brilliant cuts or even Old European cuts. Many factors determine what’s popular but everything is cyclical and eventually comes back around, what is in style today will be old news in a year or two. A perfect example of this is the group of minerals called Garnet. Not only are garnets fascinating for their range in colour from the deep purplish pinks of Almandine or Rhodolite to the vivid greens of Tsavorite to the bring orange of Spessar tine. They are a remarkably varied gemstone. This is because they are technically a group of silicate minerals, related in composition and crystal structure, that can be separated into two main groups. In the world of Gemmology, this is called an isomorphous series, meaning of identical or Lot XXX 5 LIVE AUCTION OF FINE JEWELLERY, WATCHES, SILVER & COINS • WEDNESDAY, 22nd JANUARY 2025 AT 12PM