Tiffany pocket watch sells for $12,500 at Bruneau & Co.

CRANSTON, R.I. – A circa 1920 Tiffany & Co. platinum repeater pocket watch sold for $12,500 and a 2003 U.S. $25 Liberty Eagle gold coin climbed to a record $4,688 at an estate antiques and fine art auction held Nov. 24 by Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.

Offered were about 500 lots of fine jewelry, sterling silver, original artworks, furniture, art glass, sculpture, folk art and Asian objects.

“It was a great feeling to start the auction with excitement seven lots in, hammering down the Tiffany repeater watch (above) followed by an unbelievable record for a $25 Gold Eagle just six lots later,” said Travis Landry, a Bruneau & Co. specialist and auctioneer. “When two collectors truly want something, you don’t know where it will end. Bidding was spirited throughout the day.”

The Tiffany pocket watch was the sale’s top lot, and no wonder. Made in Switzerland around 1920, the watch boasted a platinum case with silvered Art Deco stylized face, subsidiary second hand dial and 29-jewel C.H. Meylan movement. It was signed on the face. A later chain had been added. The watch exhibited normal wear, but was in overall good working order, ready to use.

The 2003 $25 U.S. Liberty Eagle gold coin, consigned by a Massachusetts man, was encapsulated and graded well at PCGS MS69. It was a new auction record for that type of coin.

Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers company president and auctioneer Kevin Bruneau remarked, “It was a great auction with a strong crowd right after Thanksgiving, with a lot of in-house buying. New collectors enjoyed themselves the day after a holiday, and jade did well, selling solely in-house.”

Tops in the jade category was a Chinese Qing Dynasty celadon white jade plaque, showing a fine reticulated carving of a phalanx of storks foraging in a marsh in high relief. “You can see the stone is double carved with background and foreground details,” Bruneau commented. “The jade also tested true with our Presidium gem tester.” The item sold to a happy bidder for $2,812.

Following are additional highlights from the auction. All prices quoted include the buyer’s premium.

An atmospheric coastal Maine seascape watercolor on paper, done by Boston School avant-garde painter George Hawley Hallowell (Massachusetts, 1871-1926), depicting an evergreen lined coast with white capped waves crashing against rockery in the foreground with a mountainous background, went for $3,125. The work was artist signed and housed in a 36-by-29-inch frame.

A circa 1920 Art Deco 14K yellow gold cigarette case (below) with inscribed Art Deco lineal design and spring-loaded interior clip, monogrammed “JHN” and having untouched patina, fetched $6,875. Also, an early 19th-century American-made Chinese Chippendale gilt wood mirror, decorated with shapely reticulated acanthus leaf fretwork surmounted by a Chinese bird having an upturned neck and spread wings, impressive at 57 inches tall by 27 inches wide, gaveled for $3,438.

Persian rugs were a hit with bidders. A circa 1900 palace-size Persian Mahal wool carpet rug, 26 feet 2 inches by 17 feet 3 inches, having a diamond ivory medallion with floral tendrils surrounded by thousands of flowers and lattice work within geometric and floral borders, rose to $5,312. A Persian Middle Eastern Bidjar carpet rug, also made around 1900, 15 feet 10 inches by 11 feet 6 inches, having a central red field with blue medallions, hammered for $2,250.

For details contact Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers at info@bruneauandco.com or 401-533-9980.