Sotheby’s London Auction “A World of His Own”: Private Jewellery of Freddie Mercury, the late Queen frontman, at auction

On 6th September, Sotheby’s London held an auction of late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury’s personal effects, “A World of His Own”, which featured 59 lots, including pianos, stage fashions, handwritten lyrics, vintage jewellery and other personal items used by Freddie, with a total of $15.4 million, representing a 100 per cent sell-through rate.

Freddie Mercury was born in 1946 in British Zanzibar (now Tanzania), East Africa, of Parsi descent. He moved to London in 1964 due to the war, and went on to study art at the Aylworth College of Art and Crafts, before joining Brian May and Roger Taylor’s band ‘Smile’ in 1970, which he later changed to Queen as the lead singer. Mercury played around 700 concerts as a member of Queen and is known for his work on “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “We Are The Champions” and “Killer Queen”, and is regarded as one of the greatest rock singers of all time, and was ranked 58th in the BBC’s “100 Greatest Britons” poll in 2002.

This auction presented 8 Freddie Mercury’s private jewellery lots, the highest price was a snake-shaped silver bracelet made in 1975, the snake body is a 5-ring chain structure, the snake’s eyes set with 2 green faceted glass, Freddie Mercury has worn this bracelet on many public occasions. The bracelet sold for £698,500, more than 100 times its pre-sale estimate of £7,000.

Cartier sold for £273,000 an Art Deco style yellow gold ring from 1975, a gift from Elton John to Freddie Mercury, with two hexagonal cut onyxes on the face and a trapezoidal cut onyx on each side of the band, in a geometrically striking form.

Cartier’s yellow gold brooch, designed as a monogrammed ‘Queen Number 1’, was a gift from Queen manager John Reid to Freddie Mercury after ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ reached number one in the UK charts in 1975. The brooch had a pre-sale estimate of £6,000 and eventually sold for $206,700.

“Lot 28” snake bracelet, 1975.
Price: £698,500
Crafted from silver with green faceted glass eyes. Appears in Bohemian Rhapsody.

“Lot 32′ diamond ring, by Cartier, 1975.
Price: £273,050,000
Set with custom-cut onyx and round brilliant diamonds.

’29’ Diamond Brooch, circa 1950
Price: £171,450,000
Set with stepped and round brilliant diamonds.

“Lot 35′ Queen Number 1′ gold brooch, by Cartier, 1975
Price: £165,100

“Lot 34′ diamond ring
Price: £165,100
The main stone is a 9.04ct round cut dark orange-brown diamond, set with round brilliant cut coloured and colourless diamonds.