Gold Cartier set sells for a record £32,000 at Shropshire auction

The set by Cartier and Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co Ltd was the star attraction at Trevanion and Dean’s fine art and antiques auction in Whitchurch.

The auctioneers reported lots of pre-sale interest and two bidders battled it out to secure the 1912 set, smashing the previous top selling lot record of £21,000 for a Chinese vase.

Auctioneer Christina Trevanion said: "It is so rare to find a gold set, so often you find these sets in silver, but to have an example commissioned in 18ct gold by two of the very best makers of their time is exceptionally rare.

"It was incredibly exciting to sell. There was such a buzz in the saleroom, it was electric."

The next lots to light up the saleroom were a fascinating collection of letters which were unearthed in a routine house clearance and consigned to the firm’s September auction.

A set of letters written by some of the biggest and most important names in the late 19th century art world, including members of the Pre-Raphaelites, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and his brother William Michael Rossetti, also sold for £25,000 at the auction.

Auctioneer Aaron Dean said: "Christina and I spent many long hours transcribing the letters and it was wonderful to think that we were some of the first people to see these letters for many, many years.

"It was so exciting to handle this internationally important collection. It really was the stuff that dreams are made of. We worked incredibly hard, not only in transcribing the letters but marketing them to all the right places and informing interested parties, and it showed in the results achieved on the day.

"It was a record-breaking and very memorable day."