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Bonhams auctioning mystery author’s hidden gems
A 19th century diamond brooch and three-stone diamond ring discovered as part of Agatha Christie’s estate by one of the author’s fans will be on the auction block at Bonhams jewelry sale in October.
In 2006, a fan of the well-known, best-selling mystery writer, who died in 1976 at the age of 85, took part in a sale of the contents of Christie’s house, called the Greenway estate, paying $167.84 for an old traveling trunk that had once belonged to Christie’s mother, not knowing that a number of jewels lay inside it.
Inside the trunk was a locked strongbox for which there was no longer a key and it remained unopened for years.
According to Bonhams, four years after purchasing the trunk the owner was having building work done and saw the opportunity to have the box opened with a crowbar, finally revealing a purse of gold coins along with the diamond brooch and three-stone diamond ring.
These jewels are mentioned in Christie’s autobiography as pieces that were left for her and her sister Madge from their mother’s collection, writing, “My mother’s valuable jewelry consisted of ‘my diamond buckle’, ‘my diamond crescent’ and ‘my diamond engagement ring’… Madge was to have the diamond crescent, I was to have the diamond buckle …”
The two pieces will be auctioned in Bonhams London jewelry sale scheduled for Oct. 8. The 19th century diamond brooch has a pre-sale estimate of $10,070 to 13,427 while the three-stone ring is estimated to sell in the range of $5,035 to $8,392.
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