A forgotten jewellery collection that had been stored in boxes in a Worcestershire attic for decades has sold at auction for £506,750. The final total was more than three times the original pre-sale estimate.
The 201 individual lots belonged to a late grandmother from Malvern. Her family discovered the full collection while clearing out the loft of her home. Auctioneers had initially valued the entire collection at around £150,000. However, international buyers later competed fiercely for the pieces online and over the telephone. Chorley’s Auctioneers managed the sale at its Prinknash Abbey saleroom in Gloucestershire.
Every lot found a buyer, giving the multi-hour auction a 100 percent sell-through rate.
Standout pieces and international bidding wars
The most valuable item in the collection was a rare Belle Époque diamond and gemstone brooch designed by French luxury jewellery house Cartier. The piece dates back to 1905. The brooch features delicate openwork platinum settings, a style associated with jewellery made during the Edwardian period. It attracted strong competition from collectors around the world.
Bidding quickly passed its original estimate of £10,000 to £15,000.
It eventually sold to a private buyer bidding by telephone for £48,000, before buyer fees were added. Another major highlight was an early 20th-century necklace made with natural pearls and diamonds. The necklace had a modest initial estimate, but interest increased after laboratory tests confirmed that the pearls came from natural saltwater sources.
Following competitive bidding from trade specialists in London and Geneva, it sold for £34,000. Other notable sales included a late Victorian sapphire and diamond cluster ring, which fetched £18,500, and a group of Art Deco diamond dress clips that sold for more than £42,000 combined.
Decades forgotten in a Malvern loft
According to statements released by Chorley’s Auctioneers, the late owner collected the jewellery throughout the middle of the 20th century.
Many pieces had been passed down from older family members. Others had been bought from dealers in London and at regional estate sales. After her death, the jewellery was packed into its original leather presentation cases, biscuit tins, and velvet pouches. The items remained untouched in the attic of her Malvern home for decades.
Family members found the collection while preparing the property for sale. They were unsure how much the dusty, tarnished boxes were worth, so they asked specialists from Chorley’s to inspect the items and value them at the property.
While cataloguing the collection, specialists identified marks linked to well-known jewellery houses, including Cartier, Boucheron, and Garrard. They also found pieces without brand names from the Victorian, Edwardian, and Art Deco periods.
Specialist reaction to the saleroom outcome
Auctioneers said the high quality of the jewellery and its well-preserved condition helped drive strong interest from buyers. Because the pieces had spent decades stored away from light and had not been worn regularly, many still had their original settings and gemstones that had not been polished.
After the sale, Werner Freundel, director at Chorley’s Auctioneers, described the team's reaction to finding the collection and the excitement surrounding the bidding.
"It was an absolute thrill to cataloguing such an extraordinary collection that had lain hidden for so long," Freundel said. "The late owner clearly had a fantastic eye for quality, buying pieces for their beauty rather than just as investments. To see the collection achieve more than three times its pre-sale estimate is a wonderful outcome for the family." Freundel added that collections from private estates that have not previously appeared on the market continue to attract strong prices. Collectors are especially interested in items with a documented history of private ownership. The total hammer price for the 201 lots reached £506,750. The proceeds will be distributed among the grandmother’s surviving heirs.