Brunk Auctions March Sale Features 160 Lots, Art Deco Gold Mesh Purse

A 14kt gold Art Deco ladies' mesh purse weighing 131 grams served as the centerpiece of Brunk Auctions' March 11 Jewelry & Luxury Goods sale, a catalog spanning more than 160 fine jewelry lots alongside designer pieces by Bulgari, Rolex, Cartier, and Tiffany & Co. The total catalog, as listed on the auction platform, counted 224 lots including luxury accessories and vintage collectibles.

The mesh purse, a form that reached its apex in the 1920s when jewelers wove fine gold links into supple, draped pouches, is among the most materially compelling objects in the Art Deco canon. At 131 grams of 14kt gold, the weight alone signals genuine substance: that's more than four troy ounces of metal in a wearable object. No lot number, pre-sale estimate, or realized price appeared in the available catalog data for the purse, making it a priority follow-up for collectors tracking the secondary market for early twentieth-century gold objects.

Where results were available, the sale showed a pattern common to mid-tier auction jewelry: realized prices frequently fell below the low estimate. Lot 515, a 14kt solitaire radiant cut diamond ring estimated at $1,600 to $2,200, drew three bids and sold for $900. Lot 516, two gold blue sapphire and diamond fashion rings estimated at $1,000 to $1,500, also attracted three bids and closed at $650. Lot 517, a group of three 14kt vintage-style solitaire diamond rings estimated at $1,400 to $2,000, fared better with five bids and a $1,300 result.

Not every lot underperformed its estimate. Lot 518, a 14kt pinecone branch brooch set with diamonds, attracted six bids and sold at exactly its low estimate of $2,000. Lot 523, a 14kt gold mariner link men's bracelet estimated at $4,000 to $6,000, drew six bids and landed at $4,500, within range. The sale's strongest documented result came from Lot 524, a 14kt solid mariner link chain with a high estimate of $18,000: it attracted five bids and closed at $10,000, below estimate but still the highest confirmed price in the available data. The substantial gap between that $18,000 ceiling and the $10,000 result reflects the ongoing softness in the market for gold chain jewelry, where melt value often sets a floor but collector premiums remain hard to predict.

Lot 522, a 14kt vintage floral basket brooch set with multicolored sapphires, pearls, and enamel, estimated at $3,000 to $5,000, sold for $1,500 on a single bid. That result is worth noting: enamel work on gold, particularly in naturalistic Victorian and Edwardian basket forms, has historically attracted a small but devoted collector base. One bid at half the low estimate suggests the piece either lacked condition documentation or simply didn't reach its audience.

Beyond jewelry, the sale offered Gucci, Dior, Chanel, and Prada women's handbags, an antique Goyard steamer trunk, and a collection of men's Hermès ties and Hermès scarves sourced from a Florida collection. Lot 525, a Victorian belt clip chatelaine with a leather case, was listed in the catalog but no estimate or result appeared in the available data.