Among the latest Grima offerings at auction was a clutch of brooches consigned to Dorset saleroom Charterhouse (21% buyer’s premium) in Sherborne on August 23.
With estimates ranging from £600-3000, the four signature textured gold brooches were consigned in original boxes by the vendor, who had acquired them in the key period of the 1960s and ‘70s when Grima cemented his place as the go-to society jeweller for royals, celebrities, socialites and artists.
The top-seller was an 18ct gold and diamond brooch in the form of a shaped rectangular panel with eye aperture. Hallmarked for London 1976, it was bid to £5500 against a £1200-1800 guide. An abstract brooch with a single diamond and hallmarked for 1971 doubled its estimate to sell for £2400.
Leaves, tree bark and lichen found by Grima were cast using the lost wax process to achieve a more realistic and textured design.
An 18ct gold brooch in the form of a geranium leaf and set with a small diamond dew drop with pendant loop made £3600, over three times the top guide. A brooch resembling tree bark from 1968 sold towards its lower estimate at £2200.
