Agatha Christie and the mystery diamonds

An auction at Bonhams in London on October 8th features Agatha Christie's diamond jewellery "found hidden in an old suitcase".

The auction house said during the 2006 house contents sale of the Greenway estate, the Devon home of the late murder-mystery novelist, a “die-hard Agatha Christie fan paid £100 for an old travelling trunk”.

“Inside the travelling trunk was a locked strongbox but the key was long lost. Years passed and the box remained sealed. It wasn’t until four years later that the owner of the suitcase was having building work done and saw the opportunity to wrench open the box with a crowbar. To her delight, inside she discovered a purse of gold coins, a diamond brooch and a three-stone diamond ring”. The jewels were owned by Agatha Christie’s mother. The woman is now selling the 19th-century diamond brooch (€7,500-€10,000) and the diamond three-stone ring (€3,750-€6,200).

Agatha Christie, who died in 1976, was a best-selling novelist and playwright whose most famous fictional character was Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.