LONDON.- An early 20th century diamond and platinum ring, formerly the property of business woman, philantrophist, Jewish scholar and famed hostess Mrs. Flora Abraham Sassoon (1856-1936) of the legendary Sassoon dynasty, sold for a hammer price of £38,000 at Mayfair auctioneers Noonans on Tuesday, September 13, 2022 in a sale of Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu. Estimated to fetch £20,000-30,000, the ring had been passed on to Flora’s eldest daughter, Rachel Sassoon Ezra (Lady Ezra) and thence by family descent to the current vendors [lot 335].

Prior to the sale, Frances Noble, Associate Director and Head of Jewellery at Noonans commented: “In the 19th century, the Sassoon dynasty were known as the 'Rothschilds of the East’. Mrs Flora Abraham Sassoon played a significant role at the end of the 19th century within the Sassoon family business, as the first Jewish woman to lead a global company. She was indeed a remarkable woman in so many ways, and we are delighted to be sharing her fascinating story more widely, through the sale of her exquisite diamond ring.”




Noonans Jewellery and Watches auction showed strong results: a beautiful diamond single stone ring by Boodle & Dunthorne, in the Art Deco taste, set with a brilliant-cut diamond of 3.01 carats, fetched £22,000 against an estimate of £7,000-9,000 and was bought by an overseas buyer [lot 308].

The sale saw very high prices for antique jewels, with a diamond and ruby ‘Trophy of love’ pendant, modelled as a crossed flaming Hymenean torch and quiver of arrows, selling for £18,000 against an estimate of £3,000-4,000 [lot 315]. An early 19th century diamond bow brooch, set with approximately 15 carats, was estimated at £6,000-8,000 and finally sold after fierce competitive bidding on the telephones for £18,000 [lot 341]. A beautiful old cushion cut solitaire ring also well exceeded its estimate of £6,000-8,000 and achieved a hammer price of £17,000 [lot 340]. A selection of medieval gold rings, now increasingly sought after by collectors, included two iconographic rings which both achieved a hammer price of £6,500 [lots 90 and 91].

Among the watches, a gold rectangular Tank wristwatch by Cartier dating from circa 1960 realised £7,500 against an estimate of £2,000-3,000 [lot 413].

Frances Noble continued: “The current demand at auction for fine quality jewels and watches, both antique and modern, was clearly visible at our recent sale, with exceptional prices being paid by UK and overseas buyers for the finest pieces, continuing to illustrate the trend of increasing growth in the luxury section of the auction market.”