Brochure 2023/2024
Another year and another wonderful Humphrey Butler brochure.
It has been a great year for us and this year’s brochure is our largest ever, filled to brim with wonderful things, both subtle and spectacular. It is always huge fun putting these brochures together, sourcing pieces over the year and sitting down to bring them all to you.
You can find a copy online here.
In a quieter market, jewels of the quality we are proud to show here are becoming harder to find and we are thrilled by the positive reaction already induced by pieces like the exquisite tremblant diamond butterfly on our back cover, the stonking 34 carats aquamarine ring on p.50 and, of course, three fabulous tiaras (pp.5, 49 and 70), all of which we have defended stoutly in order to be able to present them now. The Victorian leaf and scrollwork example is particularly magnificent.
For those with a taste for something more discreet, we have a very fine showing of smaller, but exceptionally high-quality gemstones this year; the Burmese rubies on pp.20 and 21 and the no-oil Colombian emerald on p.10 are particularly worth seeing. So too is the necklace on p.54; a huge weight of almost 50 carats of diamond rondelles, which we have mounted on the simplest of rose gold chains to make a necklace that is at once subtle and striking. Equally striking is the 9.64 carats Ceylon sapphire on p.69 which has hugely benefitted from its re-setting in a chunky modern gold mount.
Other rarities include the impressive flowerhead on p.62 and the necklace on p.22, both survivors from the Georgian era, and looking as magnificent now as they would have by candlelight two hundred years ago. For enthusiasts of the more contemporary, the beautiful and silkily articulated gold and diamond leaf necklace by Boucheron on p.61 is a standout, not forgetting the two powerful gold bracelets on p.65 and 66. We also have an enchanting little menagerie of stickpins on p.76, and a wider selection of gentleman’s accessories on pp.75 and 72, while the silver and gem-set photograph frame by Cartier illustrated on the frontispiece would make a Christmas present to impress the in-laws. We would promise to remove the questionable image it contains.
As ever, we hope there is something here to suit all tastes and budgets, but if you are looking for something special or just waiting on a sunny day (to quote rock & roll’s greatest wordsmith), please do not hesitate to get in touch - we are always happy to help where we can. Equally, if you have pieces you are no longer wearing and would like to discuss either updating them or selling, we would be delighted to offer our opinion without any obligation on your part. We look forward to seeing some of you in the coming months, but don’t forget you can always keep track of what we are up to on Instagram and online.
