Posted 12 years ago
thehorolog…
(18 items)
This beautiful and very ornate magnifying glass was found inside a ball of socks in my Grandfather's house when he passed away, after lots of research and hours upon hours of cross checking makers marks, date letters and essay marks within the hallmarks, I found it to be made by Aide & Lovekin Ltd in 1903. I found another one for sale, although it had actually sold some 12 years ago in 1995 at Christies Auction House in Knightsbridge, London. Here is a link to the lot http://www.christies.com/lotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=565989
Bidding started at £150 although was estimated to be worth between £5000 & £7500. The final selling price was £17,250.
Now I do not know what to do with such an item, as it is clearly valuable, even if only worth a third of what the one at Christies sold for. Do I need to contact my Insurance Company and have it added to the contents cover. If I was to sell it, would one recommend that I put it into a specialist auction (antique silver for instance) or just a general one. Any information on either the Silversmith, The Value (110.5gms total weight) and basically anything else anyone can tell me about this stunning silver magnifying glass!
Thanks in advance
sunburyhorologist@gmail.com
I understand that the sale mentioned in 1995 was the collection of a famed Belgian antique house: sale 8050. The Paul De Grande Collection. It made 158,712, 740 GBP. 3566 lots. I'd speak to Christies and ask exactly why the premium was paid for objects in that sale.
Thank you for that piece of very interesting information. The magnifying glass I have is NOT the one within the link, I provided the link to show that this item may potentially be worth a pretty penny. Mine was made in 1903 whereas the one at Christies was made in 1901. Would be interested to know what sort of value one would place on such an item.
Any ideas? If worth over a certain amount then it must be added separately as an individual item, just in case it is ever stolen or lost (or damaged)
Thanks once again
The Horologist