Smiths Newent Auctions had a fantastic start to the year when they held their largest sale ever straight after the Christmas break.

The sale made just under £140,000 in total and there seemed to be no sign of a financial crisis as buyers were out in force bidding strongly across the board for a selection of over 1600 lots.

Some of the strongest bidding was seen in the jewellery section with a large solitaire diamond ring weighing 1.7 cts making £3,200 whilst a three stone diamond ring made £2,300.

The sale was assisted by a recent rise in the gold price and a large selection of gold coins made a solid contribution to the final total.

A bracelet made up of seven gold sovereigns made £2,300 whilst a selection of gold bracelets and necklaces all left their estimates far behind.

A Victorian gold bangle in good condition seemed to attract strong interest from several private buyers and made £860 – leaving it’s £200/£300 estimate far behind.

A Victorian pearl necklace also caught the attention of dealers who felt it might possibly be made of natural rather than cultured pearls.

Since the only way to tell for sure is to Xray the pearls, the auctioneers had decided to let the trade make up their own minds.

Several bidders were obviously convinced enough to bid over £1, 000 for it despite it’s diminutive size and rather scrappy appearance.

The necklace had been found on a local house clearance, hidden inside a secret cavity of an antique hollowed out book, of which the family were completely unaware.

Discovered in the same hiding place was a fabulous Victorian star form antique diamond brooch which made £1,750 and an unusual gold mounted crystal monogram brooch which reached £390 against a £60/£80 estimate.

There was a large selection of antique silver on offer and once again this all performed extremely well with some buyers seemingly determined to buy items at any price.

A silver and tortoiseshell photograph frame made £720 against a £60/£80 estimate whilst a fine quality silver tea service sold for £1,050 against a £700/£900 estimate.

Watches also performed well with an antique 9 ct gold pilots eight day pocket watch reaching £4,70 and a Zenith gentleman’s vintage gold watch making £700 against a £400/£600.

A superb collection of postcards in the sale, which came from a deceased estate in Malvern, included an amazing range of cards covering a number of popular collecting fields such as topography, animals, historical scenes, political figures, cartoons etc.

The auctioneers employed a specialist to assist with the cataloguing and were delighted when the final total came to just over £10,000. Many of the prices achieved were three or four times the estimates as both trade and private buyers battled to secure selections of cards which are not often offered up for auction.

Some of the most sought after cards were those related to transport such as a group of collectable London trolley buses, early charabanc trips, motor bikes etc.

Plus cards designed by specific artists were also popular, with a group of just six postcards by the desirable Art Nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha making £280.

Many readers might think that January and the early spring months are not a good time to sell your antiques and collectables but surprisingly it seems that these sales encourage some of the strongest bidding of the year.

Smiths are now encouraging good quality entries for their forthcoming sale on February 16 and 17.

The sale includes a broad selection of antiques including silver, jewellery, gold, watches, ceramics, furniture, pictures and collectables but also has a specialist section for Medals and Militaria.

Entries are invited by appointment from January 16 to January 31.

Please telephone 01531 821776 or visit www.smithsnewentaucton.co.uk for further information.