This week we served up a sparkling £200,000 pictures, silver jewellery and coins auction with Rolex watches, diamonds and coloured stone rings grabbing the headlines.

Star of the watches section were 18 carat gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Chronometer wristwatches for gentleman and a lady, which sold for £6,000 and £3,600 respectively.

Diamonds again proved a girl’s best friend in Shropshire. A three stone graduated diamond crossover ring sold for £4,600, an 18 carat gold single stone diamond ring sparkled at £4,000, a 19th century emerald and diamond cluster ring made £3,800 and a De Beers diamond ‘Board Walk’ ring found a buyer at £3,000.

Other leading prices were £3,000 for an emerald and diamond oblong cluster ring, £2,900 for a graduated amber necklace with 37 oval beads, £2,400 for a pretty 19th century sweetheart bracelet, £2,400 for a three stone sapphire and diamond ring, £2,000 for a late 19th century diamond cluster brooch and £1,450 for an Art Deco style diamond and sapphire oblong cluster ring.

In the coins section, a Shropshire vendor’s collection, including fine examples of hammered silver coinage dating to the reign of Elizabeth 1, sold for £6,300. Top price in the collection went to a George I shilling, which sold for £460.

Top sellers in the section were six gold sovereigns at £1,200, a large collection of pre-1947 silver coinage at £1,100 and Royal Mint cased proof Victorian anniversary and Queen Mother centenary £5 coins which sold for £900 each.

The silver section was headed by a set of five Victorian knight topped decanter labels from Linley Hall, near Bishops Castle, which sold for £1,650, a Victorian four piece silver tea and coffee service at £1,300, a part canteen of George V Hanoverian and rat tail pattern silver flatware at £850 and a Russian silver and cloisonné enamel cigarette case at £500.

Maryanne Lineker-Mobberley, head of silver and jewellery department, reported that in excess of 90 per cent of the jewellery lots were sold.

“The two Rolex watches and rings with diamonds and coloured stones, most notably sapphires and emeralds, sold very well,” she said. “The market for coloured stones is definitely rising as buyers start to appreciate them more. A good quality coloured stone can be rarer than diamonds if it is the right shape and clarity.”

She said the strong demand for amber necklaces with large beads continues unabated, following the sale of an example for £2,900, maintaining our record for selling good quality amber.