Features

With the disappearance of Christie’s South Kensington the London market is in a state of flux. ATG looks to the future and considers the opportunities for the firms that seek to take its place.

The closure of Christie's South Kensington has meant several firms are vying to gain a slice of the market in one of London's wealthiest area as well as draw the specialist staff who are moving on.

I grew up with Christie’s South Kensington. In late 1975, when I joined the fledgling four-year-old Antiques Trade Gazette, CSK was in its first year of existence.

Landmarks along the Christie’s South Kensington memory lane...

Christie’s veteran Nic McElhatton believes the CSK model will be hard to replicate...

South London auctioneer seizes chance to hire specialists as it looks to plug gaps in its offer...

ATG's selection of quotes about the closure of Christie’s South Kensington...

The business of trading in art and antiques is fraught with risks. With the added complexity of Brexit looming, ATG outlines the insurance steps buyers and sellers can take...

The UK and European Union now face an uncertain future, with cross-border controls a key concern for exporters and importers as politicians debate memberships of the single market and customs union. What does this mean for the art market and its insurance needs?

“There are insurers in the market who purport to be specialists but who have little, if any, experience in settling difficult claims, such as those involving depreciation as a result of damage. Their premiums are very competitive, but brokers have no knowledge of how claims will be settled.

This medieval gold posy ring with a Lombardic inscription is a type that was common in England and France in the 13th and early 14th centuries. After around 1350, Gothic script became popular.

A selection of stand-out jewellery lots from regional auctions.

For previous generations of artist jewellers, from René Lalique to Andrew Grima, retail sales and private commissions were everything. Typically it was only much later in the collecting lifecycle, after a period of posthumous reassessment and rediscovery, that their work appeared at auction with any great regularity.

Indian design was a prolific influence in Carlo Giuliano’s style. Already seen at the 1851 Great Exhibition, interest in technicolour jewellery from the sub-continent rose to new levels when Victoria became Empress of India in 1876.

Dendritic agate – a pale chalcedony with treelike inclusions caused by traces of iron or manganese – is a relatively lowly stone but was a favourite of Russian jewellers in particular. Carl Fabergé used it in many pieces in a country where it is considered a stone of longevity, good health and prosperity.

The collection of Tiffany jewels offered by Christie’s New York (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) on June 20 was the finest at auction in recent memory.

Ahead of the autumn sale of a star lot, Phillips' watch expert Aurel Bacs tells ATG why the time is right for the firm to expand its US watch business

Tiaras have enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years, particularly in Russia and the Baltic States where jeans and a diamond fascinator are de rigueur at informal high-society events.

Bonhams’ (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) sale in Knightsbridge on June 14 included a group of pieces attributed to the British Arts & Crafts jeweller and designer Dorrie Nossiter (1893-1977).

Stealing all the headlines at Sotheby’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) Fine Jewels sale in London on June 7 was the £540,000, 26ct ’tenner’ diamond, bought by the vendor at a boot fair in the 1980s. However, among the 370 lots were items with more illustrious provenances.