On Friday 1st September as part of Batemans specialist bi-monthly Jewellery & Watches, Silver & Gold, Coins & Banknotes Sale a particularly desirable set of pearls were offered for sale as lot 211. Desirable because they were made by the stellar jewellery 'Maison' - Cartier, and also desirable because they were both vintage and in good condition.

The necklace was offered with pre-sale estimates of £1,000 - £2,000; however it sold for a new auction house record of £39,680 (including 24% Buyer’s Premium)!
 
Bidding opened at £800 and six different bidders fought it out against a sizable absentee bid taking things up beyond £3,000 - already a sum that would have been triple the low estimate! Then things really started to take off... two bidders emerged to battle it out. One based in London and the other in New York, it was to be an Atlantic sized fight!
 
For a further 78 BIDS and ELEVEN minutes of action the two traded blows, until finally the American bidder was forced to concede. Auctioneer David Palmer brought the gavel down on a new Auction House Record for Batemans at a staggering £32,000! Incredibly, the winner bidder, who used the easyliveAuction bidding platform, won the lot having paid the £3 flat fee. This means they saved a massive £1,600 in commission fees, compared with other major online bidding platforms.
 
Managing Director Greg Bateman said “It was a complete shock to have sold this beautiful Cartier pearl necklace for such an unexpectedly enormous sum of money! I anticipated it selling well, but my expectations were completely blown away - frankly it was a real treat to be so wrong!”