PETERBOROUGH, N.H. — Molly Williams, who manages the jewelry department at The Cobbs, knew she had a winner. Before the sale, she was asked which of the several pieces of fine jewelry in the sale had drawn the most interest. Her immediate response: the sapphire ring. It was a 19-20-carat blue Burmese sapphire, diamond and platinum ring. The ring was GIA-certified as having no indications of heating and that it came from Burma (now known as Myanmar). The unmarked platinum setting had stepped baguette diamonds around the sapphire. It exceeded the estimate, selling for $156,000 to a phone bidder who also bought other pieces of jewelry in the sale.

In addition to the jewelry, the sale included several tall case and banjo-style clocks and a selection of ethnographic pieces from Northwest Indian tribes, Polynesia and elsewhere. There were Indian peace medals, Audubon prints, Oriental rugs, paintings by well-known American artists and early American furniture. A full report will follow.