The staff at Smiths Auction Rooms in Newent would like to wish all their customers Best Wishes for the New Year.

It has been a really successful year for the saleroom with a number of fantastic auction prices and record sale totals–proving that this little saleroom continues to punch above it’s weight when it comes to service and client satisfaction.

Smiths next sale will be held on the 4th & 5th of January at 10am and the fully illustrated catalogue is available to view online all over Christmas and the New Year. Viewing for the sale is on the 2nd & 3rd of January 10am-5pm and on the morning of the sales 9am-10am.

With over thirteen hundred lots the sale includes a wide range of furniture, paintings, silver, gold, jewellery, ceramics, glass, coins, stamps and collectables. The jewellery section boasts a number of really special entries including a fine diamond and turquoise bracelet, set with over eighty diamonds and estimated at £2,500/£3,500. If this seems a little extravagant then an Edwardian gold bracelet is set with five delicate turquoise and diamond flower head form clusters and is expected to make £1,000 to £1,500.

Other fine antique jewellery includes a Victorian diamond set star form brooch and a fabulous quality Ceylon sapphire and diamond crescent moon brooch. Coming from different vendors they actually go rather nicely together in the jewellery cabinet. There is also plenty of inspiration in the cabinet for Valentines Day and many private customers love a bit of ‘window shopping’ using the online catalogue as well as coming to the saleroom for viewing. The jewellery cabinet area is always a flurry of activity, with customers enjoying a chat with staff and trying on anything which catches their eye.

In contrast the coin sections tends to be far less busy now, as many buyers place their bids online based purely on the photographs and information given in the catalogue. Highlight of the coin section is an Elizabeth II 1972 Jersey Royal Wedding Anniversary coin set to include five 22ct gold coins and four sterling silver coins – estimated at £1,800 to £2,200 it is likely to be bought as an investment piece. A wide selection of other coins includes a good range of gold sovereigns and an interesting selection of silver and antique coins.

For those of you who want to be more environmentally conscious in the New Year then auctions make the ideal place to buy your furniture of furnishings. With no carbon footprint to speak of and very local transport requirements, a saleroom can provide almost everything you need for your home without the need to economise on style or quality. Smiths January sale includes a good selection of antique pine including a very capacious Victorian kitchen cupboard, three pine dressers, chests of drawers and dining tables. Other furniture is more traditional and therefor sometimes unpopular–but all of it represents excellent value for money as well a having faultless green credentials. If you have a flair for interiors, then it is easy to achieve a really stunning and unique home at a fraction of the cost of buying new.

The January sale also includes a good selection of retro toys which are always popular as well as a fine Victorian Ayres style rocking horse and an early wax doll which could attract specialist interest. The doll is unusual in that she has wax arms and legs as well as head and is in very good condition – these dolls are very prone to damage and, for obvious reasons, need to be kept away from heat. Wax dolls were first made in the 18th century but were later superseded by the more attractive and durable porcelain headed dolls towards the mid to late 19th century. An early Space Invaders style games table is bound to perform well against it’s £300/£500 estimate – especially as staff have tried it out and it is in working order.

The sale also includes over two hundred and fifty lots of ceramics and glass including a wide range of attractive Majolica glazed kitchen pottery from a large estate in Worcester. You can also find coloured glass, Moorcroft, Worcester, Staffordshire animals, decorative vintage tea services, drinking glasses of all shapes and sizes and a range of dinner services – all of which generally represent excellent value for money. Also of note is a good selection of silver, a wide range of paintings and prints both antique and modern and a large collectables section including everything from antique tools to fine Regency tea caddies.

Of particular note is a GB stamp album estimated at £1,500 to £2,500 and a selection of early 20th century circus postcards. A rather haunting WWI postcard of a very young soldier astride an early military motorbike on a muddy track shows him staring directly at the camera and makes one wonder what happened to him! Postcard collecting has become popular in recent years and offers a fascinating glimpse back into history.

Smiths fully illustrated catalogue will be available for ‘window shopping’ online all over Christmas and the New Year at www.smithsnewentauctions.co.uk

Entries of good quality antiques are invited for the February sale which also includes a specialist section for medals and militaria. Please telephone 01531 821776 to talk to a member of staff.