Old and antique jewelry is selling in modern ways at some well-known London showrooms. The pieces are presented like art in an environment that suggests personal attention and discreet transactions. Vintage Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, pieces by designers like Suzanne Belperron, and other signed 20th-century designer jewelry is popular. Rare antique jewelry with great provenance and precious stones also sells well. A London dealer quoted in the Financial Times said: "It's easier to sell something for 500,000 British pounds ($839,000) than for 5,000 pounds ($8,397). People are looking for bigger and better." Prices include a 1780 paste moth brooch for $25,000, and a 1922 bold turquoise, onyx, and diamond brooch by French jeweler Fouquet for about $240,000. Similar great pieces in the United States, at least in the Midwest, sell for much less. We commented in our newsletter, "Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles," about some pricey artist jewelry sold at the December 2013 Design Miami show. We predicted rising prices in the United States for modern designer jewelry. Now we are suggesting you buy great antique jewelry soon because it, too, will be selling for higher prices.

Photo credit: Jewels du Jour