The partners bring an inaugural offering of 236 lots to the Westbury Hotel on November 30 valued at £2m.
This will be the first London sale for Fellows, which recently expanded its office space in the city with a permanent base off Berkeley Square, and the first jewellery catalogue for recently-launched Forum, eager to develop quickly beyond its bibliophile roots.
The Birmingham firm has provided both consignments and cataloguing expertise, while Forum’s continental European clients have consigned a range of high-value items following Andrea De Miglio’s appointment as the firm’s new head of jewellery and watches.
The sale will be taken jointly by Forum’s Rupert Powell and Fellows managing director, Stephen Whittaker, with a common buyer’s premium set at 25/20/12% (more than Fellows’ standard 20%).
International Viewings
Highlights from the sale are currently on view in Rome before moving to New York (during the week commencing November 13) and then London where they can be seen first at Shapero Rare Books’ Mayfair gallery (November 23-25) and then at the Westbury Hotel.
Forum’s founder Stephan Ludwig told ATG the collaboration provided both parties the chance to “enter the London market in a manner that gives buyers confidence”. He added: “Our common technology platform makes the logistics of the collaboration easy to manage and clients of both firms can only benefit from this relationship.”
Whittaker said the joint enterprise provided a cost-effective access to the international market, and welcomed in particular “the opportunity for our consignors’ lots to be viewed in New York.”
