Fellows and Sons | Established 1876

The Blue John Sale – 5th October 2015

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Fellows are offering over 250 remarkable Blue John lots for sale on the 5th October in our saleroom in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter.

This sale is thought to be one of the largest collections of Blue John and uniquely brings together a vast range of objects, from small souvenir bowls and jewellery through to museum-quality (or monumental) pieces. With these items on sale from £30 to over £30,000 there is something to suit all tastes and pockets.

Derbyshire Blue John is a semi-precious mineral, a notoriously fragile yet beautiful form of fluorite with purple-blue or yellow bands of colour which create striking patterns in the rock. These colours are what are believed to give the material its name – in French ‘bleu jaune’.

The use of this wonderfully coloured mineral became increasingly popular in namely the second half of the eighteenth century, where it was mined for its ornamental value; used to create various objects and for architectural purposes in decorative arrangements.

This material is found only at Treak Cliff Cavern and Blue John Cavern at Castleton in Derbyshire, during the 18th  and 19th century it was mined for its ornamental value, and with mining occurring on a very small scale in today, it is extremely rare and collectable.

Keen collectors and enthusiasts will already be aware of Blue John and its mythology and there are many mysteries surrounding the name itself. Whatever the truth, it’s not hard to see how Blue John has captivated collectors for hundreds of years.

Want to be the first to know when the auction is online and open for bidding? Click here to register your interest or email info@fellows.co.uk