AN 18-carat solid gold box by the prestigious jeweller, Cartier, has been unearthed at Kinghams Auctioneers in the Cotswolds. King Edward VII referred to Cartier as ‘the jeweller of Kings and the King of Jewellers’.
Discovered by Associate Director, Matthew Lafite, on a valuation day at Moreton-in-Marsh, a rare Cartier box, is poised to be a hit at the firm’s Silver & Objects of Vertu auction on March 22.
Mr Lafite said, “We were amazed and delighted to discover the distinctive, red-coloured leather and gilt tooled outer presentation box. Before I could see what was inside, I knew it would be special. An outer box like that says one thing – Cartier!”
The 18ct solid gold box was brought in by a local Cotswold family, as part of a weekly valuation event held by Kinghams at their saleroom in Moreton every Tuesday.
The piece was designed by Rupert Emmerson, in conjunction with the head of Cartier London, Jacques-Théodule Cartier, and is decorated with stylised hexagonal tesserae in vari-coloured gold. The push-piece to open the box is crafted from a cushion-shaped ruby.
Mr Lafite continued, “Rupert Emmerson was the designer of the extremely popular Cartier “Crash Watch” in 1966. After training at the Chiswick Art School, he worked on insignia and medals for De Gaulle’s Victory parade through the streets of Paris in 1944, following the Liberation of Paris at the end of World War II. His work is exhibited at the British Museum and he is credited as being one of the designers responsible for lifting Cartier London to become one of the most important London jewellery enterprises.”
The box is fully hallmarked for 18-carat gold, London 1957, and is 8.2cm in length, with a weight of 154.17 grams.
A highlight of the sale, it has a pre-sale estimate of £6,000-8,000. “It could do exceptionally well indeed. We are very excited and have high hopes”, Mr Lafite said.
Kinghams Silver & Objects of Vertu sale will be held on Friday March 22nd.
Entries of Cartier objects and silver are invited for future specialist auctions. For more information, please contact Matthew Lafite at [email protected] or phone 01608 695695.
