vintage pieces

WITH EXPERIENCE, COMES EXPERTISE

We have unique experience in buying, trading and selling estate jewellery. We have hundreds of previously owned items such as: diamond rings, gold coins, bracelets, earrings, pendants etc. Call or visit our store if there is a particular item you are looking for.

May 3, 2024

IWC Ingenieur AMG special edition ref:3227 42mm titanium $5,200.00 CAD. 501-00314

Sometimes finding a large watch that is nothing more than a watch is a difficult task. The IWC Ingenieur is above all else a durable time-telling tool designed to take almost anything you throw at it. Water resistant to 400 feet, magnetically resistant 1000 gauss, tough scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, threaded crown/case back, large 42mm case, highly luminous hands/hour markers, all housed in a super tough sandblasted titanium case with integrated bracelet. This watch makes a statement without a lot of extra do-dads. Quietly ticking away inside the case in an International Watch company in-house designed movement. The IWC calibre 80110 offers superior shock resistance along with IWCs Pellaton winding technology employing ratcheting pals instead of gears to lock the winding wheels. A useful 44-hour power reserve isn’t exceptionally long but in line with industry standards. Large applied hour markers are filled with highly luminous pigment for visibility in any lighting condition. A splash of red on the second hand and 10, 20, 30….. minute track markers adds a bit of contrast to the dial. This watch looks like new. There are no dents or dings anywhere on the sharp case edges. The heavy gauge titanium bracelet is secured by locking fold buckle and clever spring locked rivets in every single link. The smart system allows simple length adjustment with the included little tool. This special Mercedes AMG version features a specific case-back. AMG is the factory hot-rod division of Mercedes Benz. They tweak and tune Mercedes cars to a higher level of performance and handling. The right side of the Mercedes-Benz AMG logo illustrates a cam, valve, and valve spring. These engine components represent a passion for engineering and are some of the critical parts AMG massage for higher performance. On the left side of the Mercedes-Benz AMG emblem, you see an apple tree, with a line underneath the tree representing a river. This is the historic coat of arms is for Affalterbach, Germany, the town where you’ll find the Mercedes-Benz AMG headquarters. The watch is running well and keeping great time. We are including a complimentary 1-year warranty (prorated 5 years) for the next owner. This watch comes with all the original documents and packaging. It was purchased at Govberg Jewelers but the warranty card wasn’t dated. The estate price for this IWC is $5,200.00 CAD. Stock #501-00314.

May 2, 2024

0.76ct. SI1-HI Canadian “ADURA” radiant cut diamond ring, 2.9gr. 18kt. $1,855.00 CAD. 101-00526

A radiant cut is basically a square princess cut diamond with the corners cut off. This greatly reduces the chances of chipping one of the pointy corners, at the expense of a the extra weight that gets lost. This is one of the reasons a radiant cut costs a little bit more compared to a square princess cut. The truncated corners also allow for a much more discreet sized/shaped prong. It’s a wonder we don’t see as many radiant cuts as we do princess cuts. This ring is the popular Lucida style setting with its trademark crossover gallery claws. The example is notable because the shank is quite thin and delicate at 2.5mm in width. The European bottom is squared off to help keep the ring pointing up. There is a tiny surprise princess cut diamond Gypsy set into one of the bottom corners. The centrepiece is of course the Canadian origin diamond with it’s unique laser etched serial number (ADURA IGI 30059583C). We don’t know much about the ADURA brand except this little snippet we found online “HRA Investments Ltd., has branded a multifaceted princess cut diamond brand called Adura. The Adura diamond, displaying a dazzling 85 facets is issued with a Certificate of Brilliance, illustrating the enhanced light return of every Adura diamond. Sun Gems International, will be the exclusive distributor of the Adura Brand that is marketed in Canada. Adura translates from Latin to “light on fire” which fits this diamond to a ‘T’. Feel free to dive in that rabbit hole and let us know you found out about this specialty cut diamond. What we do know is it sparkles much better than most radiant cut diamonds as the cutting geometry is excellent, unlike most generic square cuts. The ring measures a size 6 1/2 and can easily be adjusted up or down. The diamond itself is calculated to weigh 0.76 carats of SI1 clarity with an H/I colour. This unique diamond solitaire is estate priced at $1,855.00 CAD. Stock #101-00526.

May 1, 2024

7.15ct. Natural Ceylon sapphire & diamond ring (1.65ct. tw. SI-GH) 6.3gr. 18kt. sz. 8 1/2. $17,500.00 CAD. 206-00518

The sapphires you’re likely to encounter at your the local jewellery store certainly don’t look like this, either in size, colour, or transparency. This is a very special ring that we are thrilled to showcase for you. We don’t see many 7 carat sapphires of even marginal quality normally. We think this example comes from Ceylon (Sri Lanka). The bright, sightly violet blue is typical from this part of the world, but not the size. It’s cushion shaped dimensions of 11.8mm x 9.5mm x 6.4mm suggest it weighs somewhere around 7.15 carats. Sapphires make a great alternative to diamonds when it comes to an engagement ring. They are second hardest of all gemstones, their colour is stable and doesn’t fade over time. They can also stand up to heat encountered when the ring is being sized or retipped. The most famous recipient of a sapphire engagement ring was the late Princess Diana who received her 12 carat oval Ceylon sapphire in 1981. From what we understand, Prince Charles purchased the ring as an off the shelf item from luxury jeweller Asprey in London for the equivalent of $60,000.00 USD back in 1981. Today her original ring is being worn by Catherine the Princess of Wales as her engagement ring. The only regal connection we can make with our version is the “royal” blue hue. Styled in much the same fashion as Diana’s on a smaller scale, our ring is surrounded by 14 round brilliant cut diamonds (just like Diana’s). It is also crafted in premium 18 karat white gold as is Diana’s. The shoulders on our estate ring have been pave set with an additional 68 tiny brilliant cut diamonds. All of the natural diamonds are of SI-GH quality. A decorative filigree scroll pattern keeps the ring from being top heavy and adds some delicate elegance to the design. This ring is in remarkable condition looking almost unworn. It still retains its original finish and has never been repolished or re-rhodium plated. There is zero wear on any of the claws securing the sapphire and diamonds. The ring measures a slightly larger 8 1/2 but can be made a few sizes smaller if necessary. This would be a very difficult ring to replace as Ceylon sapphires of this size and shaped are quite rare and very expensive. Engagement ring or dinner ring, this one of a kind sapphire would make the lady in your life feel like a princess for the rest of time. It is estate priced at $17,500.00 CAD. Stock #206-00518.

April 30, 2024

Oris pointer date chronometer 7467B solid 18 karat bezel 35.5mm $1,500.00 CAD. 501-00331

You don’t normally associate the Oris brand with high accuracy chronometer rated watches, but they do exist. Oris was founded in 1904 in Hölstein Switzerland, producing affordable watches that perform like much more expensive brands. In the 1960s they were one of the top 10 Swiss manufactures in terms of watches produced. They were the Timex of watches before Timex even existed, manufacturing inexpensive pin lever watches for the masses. The no jewel pin lever watches were admirable performers that could be made for less than what is cost a higher specification watch to clean every few years. They were so good at producing highly accurate pin lever movements that they even were able to meet chronometer accuracy standards when subjected to testing with a specially prepared calibre 652. Our Oris is a very rare more modern fully jewelled officially certified chronometer model 7467B. This example was sold originally by Bill Le Boeuf Jewellers when we were official Oris agents. It was sold to a customer looking for a Rolex chronometer but didn’t have the budget. The Oris was only about a quarter of the price and had similar specifications. The pointer date is an interesting feature that works just how it sounds. There isn’t a “date window” but an extra hand with a red semi-circle tip framing the day of the month printed on the chapter ring of the dial. Another interesting feature of this watch is the small subsidiary seconds hand at the 9:00 o’clock position. In fact, almost everything about this watch is interesting and unusual. The arrowhead and Arabic hour makers are quite vintage looking and the arrow shaped hour hand is different. The bezel on this watch has been crafted from premium 18 karat gold. It is very curiously that Oris stamped their name on the bezel, in a very conspicuous location. A threaded crown with guards, threaded case back and sapphire crystal offer a conservative water resistance rating of 50 meters. Powering this rare Oris is the equally rare 27 jewel Oris calibre 641. This movement is based on a production ETA2836-2 then modified to Oris specification. It is visible through the display case-back. It operates at a modern frequency of 28,800 cycles per hour with around a 40 hour power reserve. Attached the the case is the original gold plated and stainless steel bracelet with a concealed locking butterfly clasp. It has never been polished or refinished, it shows typical wear and tear associated with a couple decades of use. We recently serviced the watch and are happy to report it is keeping great time with all functions operating as designed. We are happy to provide the next owner with a complimentary 1 year warranty. You have likely never seen one of these before as they are quite rare and seldom turn up on the preowned market. The watch is estate priced at $1,500.00. CAD. Stock #501-00331.

April 28, 2024

32mm wide, fancy link bracelet, 7 1/2+ inches long, 53 grams, 14 karat gold. $4,050.00 CAD. 441-00347

With the price of gold on the rise, it is one of our fears that fabulous pieces like this will be worth more melted down than as beautiful jewellery items. We estimate this wide flexible bracelet is around 40 years old. At that time it contained around $400.00 worth of gold, 15 years ago it contained $1,150 in gold, today is contains over $2,900.00 is just recyclable gold content. If the gold price continues to increase it won’t be long before this bracelet is worth more melted down than it is as a finished piece of jewellery. Here’s another way to look at it; the cost of this bracelet really hasn’t changed too much, it’s the depreciating value of currency due to inflation makes it seem like it costs more. For thousands of years gold has been the benchmark to which other things have been valued. While a bracelet like this is a decorative accessory, it is truly a passive investment in something of actual value. The nature of money sitting around it that it becomes less valuable everyday due to inflation. Wear it, enjoy it, and watch its value gold increase as the price of gold moves higher and higher. This bracelet was crafted in Italy from 14 karat gold (58.33% pure). It weighs 53 grams or 1.70 troy ounces. If we multiply its weight (1.70 ounces) by it purity (58.33%) we end up with very close to 1 full ounce of pure gold (0.99oz).  I’m not sure if the bracelet was designed with that in mind, but it’s certainly a fun fact to be aware of. If the price of gold appreciates to $5,000.00 per ounce, this bracelet will contain just shy of $5,000.00 is gold content alone. By the way, there is also around 2/3 of an ounce silver alloy in this bracelet that is worth an additional $23.00. Get a fantastic piece of jewellery and invest in some precious metal too, all for the estate price of $4,050.00 CAD. By the way $4,050.00 is waaaaay below this items wholesale replacement cost. Stock #441-00347.