The £120,000 silver, jewellery and watches auction included a nine carat gold cigarette case made by A. E, Poston & Co Ltd, Birmingham, which sold for £1,940. The case was inscribed ‘presented to H.A. Lambert Esq....1938-1940'.

The gold cigarette case that sold for £1,940.

“It’s quite unusual to find a nine carat gold cigarette case rather than silver and gilt examples,” said Maryanne Lineker-Mobberley, Halls Fine Art’s silver and jewellery specialist.

“The sale result was very good way to start the year and augurs well for the coming months. Our pictures, ceramics and collectables auction in February has so many entries that we’ve extended it to two days – February 7 and 8 – instead of one.”

One of a group of 12 collectable watches commissioned by the British Ministry of Defence to be durable, accurate and reliable, which were named the 'Dirty Dozen', sold for £900.

This Cyma military wristwatch from the ‘Dirty Dozen’ group sold for £900.

The Cyma wristwatch, which belonged to a collector, was discovered at an antiques valuation event held at Halls’ Oswestry office last year.

The part of a collection of 14 carat gold jewellery from a Wolverhampton seller sold for £8,000, bringing the total from two auctions to £15,000. Another jewellery collection from Shrewsbury sold for £6,000, which included £1,100 for an opal bead necklace and a pair of opal ear pendants.

Other highlights from the auction included a Victorian style diamond set hinged bangle at £1,200, £920 for an 18 carat gold bracelet and £900 for a Napoleonic white metal mounted mother of pearl snuff box.

This Victorian style diamond set hinged bangle sold for £1,200.

This Napoleonic white metal mounted mother of pearl snuff box made £900.

The watches section included a nine carat gold open face pocket watch with a gold Albert at £900, two ladies’ 18 carat gold bracelet watches, an 18 carat gold pocket watch and a silver cigarette box at £850, a 1926 nine carat gold open face pocket watch by J. W. Benson, London at £700 and an 1876 lady's 18 carat gold open face pocket watch at £650.

Halls’ watches specialist Alexander Clement highlighted the value if having watches valued by an expert, after a 1923 Rolex nine carat gold half hunter pocket watch sold for £600.

He explained that the watch was not identified by the owner as by Rolex as the name was on the inside movement rather than on the dial.

“It always pays to get watches assessed and valued,” added Alexander. “Some watches bear the name on the movement rather than the dial and there are some obscure Swiss watchmakers who wouldn’t be readily recognisable.

“Valuations are also great for identifying military watches that are very popular, but owners may not know what they are. A good example is an IWC 1950s pilot’s watch that I found in a biscuit tin at a remote Mid Wales farmhouse ended up selling for £2,800 at auction.

“What makes our job exciting is that you never know what you are going to find when you make a house visit, especially when it comes to watches that are tucked away in a cupboard.”

To book an appointment with the Halls Fine Art team contact Tel: 01743 450700.