Author Archive: Doerr Dallas Valuations

The one that got away…

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Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Back in 2005, I was newly married, London based and high on life. Money was tight, but we were cool. I’ve always loved poster art. Remember Athena? Later New York subway graffiti album cover art and band posters. Maybe because that’s all I could afford. At that time we read alternative magazines, went to all manner of clubs, listened to house music and drank Smirnoff ice.

However, the Country was also at war. Mobile phone and personal computers were becoming commonplace, and the traditional methods of communication and control were on the wane. There felt a real burgeoning of youthful expression against the ‘accepted norm’. Artists such as Faile, Eulus and Banksy, to name but a few, were hosting the odd show and having read an article on Banksy, an early Internet search took me to the now notorious and now defunct ‘Pictures on Walls’.

On their website was Banksy’s CND Soldiers and Jack and Jill. Signed copies were £156.50. I forget how much the unsigned copies were.

So, for my birthday we went all in and bought a signed Banksy CND soldiers. Limited Edition of 350. Arrived rolled up in a tube! It shows two soldiers in full combat gear surreptitiously painting a red CND sign on a wall. I loved it. It said everything about my views on the current war, the bold colours, glorious details and it was subversive in a very nice way!

We had it framed and it hung in our house, carefully shaded from sunlight for 10 years.

By 2016, I was a single mum of two boisterous boys whose parkour moves were practised upon all pieces of furniture and under the gaze of the, often wonky, CND soldiers. I had followed in the rise of Banksy and one day realised I really should insure it. An art broker friend suggested to have it insured for between £7,000 and £10,000. I was stunned. I simply did not have the money to ensure the picture, coupled with the fact I needed a new kitchen.

So, with the help of my broker, a nice Belgian gentleman offered an astounding £14,000 (inc fees) and also offered to pay for packing and transport. I did offer it to the Andipa gallery in Knightsbridge, but they felt £7,000 was the most they would go to.

So, off my Banksy went to Belgium, as part of a pension pot, and I built a lovely kitchen. However, within a couple of years the same picture went for £32,000 at auction and now commands in the region of £50,000.

Yes, I am gutted I sold the picture, as it would be in my pension pot now. However, that piece of art gave a single mum the chance to have a new heart to her home. To feel good about having people over and to look to the future. The one that got away, yes, but left great memories, and sometimes that might be more worthwhile.

The one that got away

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I don’t recall the life-changing opportunity that was missed; perhaps that’s just as well. It would be galling to know that one had passed up an opportunity to buy something that went on to make multiple times the purchase price.

I do remember seeing two wonderful pairs of enamel cufflinks being sold very inexpensively at an antiques fair. The seller was insistent that he would only accept cash, and as I didn’t have that sum of money on me I asked him to hold them whilst I went to a cash point. When I returned, having extracted the maximum possible from three bank accounts, he nonchalantly informed me he’d sold them to someone else. Hard money on the spot clearly talks.

I also remember the insurance valuation I did for a couple who had recently downsized. Referring to a previous valuation schedule I queried the whereabouts of an impressive Victorian inkstand by a well-regarded maker. They informed me that they had had to dispose of a great deal in the move and they had sent the inkstand to a local charity shop, believing it to be silver plate and of little consequence. They were stoic about the discovery. No point in crying over spilt ink!

What has got away from me is trends. I wish I could have called the rise and fall of gold prices better. If only I’d known that as cigarette smoking fell from grace, there would be an unexpected rise in the popularity of cigars and cigar related memorabilia. Thirty odd years ago American Marvin R. Shanken launched Cigar Aficionado, and this venture set off perhaps the most unforeseen social craze of the 1990s — the renaissance of cigars and an explosion in the popularity of all cigar-related paraphernalia. This too has now largely fallen away.

One of my career-long passions has been cufflinks. I have supplied literally thousands of pairs of antique and vintage cufflinks to organisations both here and in America. I’ve constantly been told that they would be going out of fashion and that no one would want the bother of double cuffed shirts anymore. However, even as the tie has fallen from grace, the tailored shirt has remained a wardrobe staple and notwithstanding the hiatus of the pandemic cufflink sales are on rise again as workers return to offices. I have just sourced an Art Deco dress set for a well-known film franchise that wanted the genuine article and not a modern copy. I’m really glad that one didn’t get away.

The great thing about our world is that there is always tomorrow. There is endless speculation about where trends are going and what individual pieces might make. It’s one of the things that makes the art world so interesting. We all bring our expertise to bear on determining accurate prices, but the marketplace can be capricious and that’s what makes it exciting. Fashions come and go, and unexpected left-field shifts like the rise of NFTs can cause a significant change in thinking. Being able to foresee these repositioning of market forces would be a really useful superpower.

Eventually, most people are pragmatic about missed opportunities, which sometimes presents a chance to rethink and learn. I have a huge collection of single cufflinks that are partnerless. I shall let you decide if this collection should be viewed as the ones that got away or the ones that were saved. I prefer to think of them in the latter category, however, I’d be overjoyed to find their partners and restore the marriages.

Philip Mould event

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We had a fabulous time at our latest Wednesday Club last night – ‘In Conversation with Philip Mould’ at his Gallery on Pall Mall: @philip_mould_gallery

Philip shared his knowledge with us, talking about the various works hanging in the gallery, a couple of highlights from his career and even a moment about the ‘One that got away’!

Watch out for Philip’s article, which he agreed to write for us as part of our current series by our team!

The evening was lots of fun, and it was lovely to share our passions with everyone!

Next week Wednesday 20th July, we will be at the NFT Gallery in Mayfair, enjoying an evening all about NFTs and unmaking the mystique around them.

If you would like to join us, email [email protected] for more details. We still have spaces available, and it is not one to be missed!

The one that got away…

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The “ones that got away” would be a more apt description of my career! Jan van de Capelle, Hugo van de Goes, John Constable, they have all slipped through my hands.

When you are young, you don’t always back your own judgement: you buy paintings speculatively and then start to research them. This involves showing photographs or the picture itself to whoever is the acknowledged expert. If they come back to you and say: “no, it isn’t by such and such”, you take it on the chin. You would never have the temerity to ask them to justify their opinion. That comes later, when you are older and have seen how fallible scholars are.

The picture I have chosen is a Transfiguration by Ludovico Carracci. I bought it at Phillips Son and Neale (now Bonhams) 40 years ago, catalogued as Italian School. I thought it was beautifully painted and probably Bolognese. It had a noble provenance “The Earl of Darnley” and was housed in a fine, if bulky, William IV carved and giltwood frame, all of which felt very positive to me. My brother, James, still has the frame with a mirror in it, in his hall.

After cleaning, which revealed a surface in remarkable condition, I had it photographed and sent images to the two most eminent scholars on Bolognese Baroque Art, one in the USA and the other in Germany. Their names are available upon request! Sadly, neither of them had a clue who painted my picture, nor did they show any enthusiasm for it. I advertised it in Apollo (Art Magazine) as “Italian School” and there was no response to that either!

Several years passed and I got a call from a friend who had found an old copy of Apollo and wondered if I still had the painting and, of course, I did. By some extraordinary fluke he had been working in a provincial museum Print Room and had come across two 17th Century engravings after my painting where the author was given as Ludovico Carracci, so he immediately realised the significance of what he’d seen. He asked me what the best price was and we shook hands on £6,000. It had cost me £3,000 before cleaning and reframing so it wasn’t a greedy price despite looking as if I had doubled my money.

He was not a rich man so I knew that he must know who the author of my Transfiguration was and that’s when he told me about the two prints. Good luck to him but, why on earth didn’t the two scholars I had consulted know about the prints and, therefore, the missing picture? Anyway, my friend kept it for decades, but in 2007 he sold it to the National Gallery of Scotland where it hangs to this day.

The moral of the story is… be patient and back your own judgement.

The one that got away…

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The world of watches is not only a fascinating one, but also a frustrating one. For example in 2014 had I known that the world of Rolex sports watches would have become such a lucrative market place I would have purchased their entire stock and waited for the elevated position that their most desirable watches currently occupy.

There are of course limited runs of pieces that you always would like to own, but only when as it transpires, they are all sold out and you are late to the party – this is a classic situation with the Rolex Submariner with the famous green bezel…

The year was 2009 and a Rolex Submariner was known to be one of the most desirable sports watches on the planet with… wait for it, sometimes a waiting list if the authorised dealer of your choice didn’t have the model you required, fast forward to today – you would almost be laughed out of a dealer if you asked to buy a brand new Submariner – it is that popular.

Rolex had made a bold move, they had issued the fairly conservative Submariner with a green bezel. Instantly every Rolex aficionado let it be known how appalled and disgusted they were that such a great mark could do such a thing.

So, back to that year of 2009 when I happened to be speaking to a Rolex dealer, whom shall remain nameless when I was offered the ‘Kermit’ (I don’t think Rolex nicknames were such a big thing then) for the unimaginable price of £4,800, and if I took two of them then it would come with a discounted price of £9,000.

Fast forward to this moment in time and the green bezel Submariner is one of the most desirable watches on the planet, with similar incarnations such as the ‘Starbucks’ and the ‘Hulk’ offering buyers additional variations on a theme, with secondary market figures varying from £18,000-£25,000 each.

The next incident is actually ongoing and may well change over the next year, but currently one of the hottest pieces on the secondary market is the Swatch and Omega collaboration the ‘Moonswatch’. A ‘bioceramic’ (basically plastic) quartz watch in the manner of the Omega classic moonwatch.

Announced on the internet with 48 hours’ notice, the range of watches instantly became the most sought after item from either Swatch or Omega with Swatch boutiques having to close and call in for police security after mobs started storming the little shops all around the world – the demand was so huge they had to apologise.

Within hours the watches were appearing on secondary market sites for up to £3,000 – and considering this was a £200 watch, it seemed rather sad and cynical however.

The one thing that we can be sure of though is that the watch market will be constantly reinventing itself with new and different ways to attract buyers and collectors and as long as this keeps happening, no doubt I will always be looking to make sure no more items get away!

IVB Vaults event

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We had a fabulous Wednesday Club evening at the @ibvinternationalvaults in Mayfair!

Due to popular demand, Doerr Dallas Valuations returned with Louis XIII Cognac to host an evening which was full of fun!

Keep an eye out for next month’s events, an Evening in conversation with Philip Mould on Wednesday 13th July and an Evening all about NFTs and unmasking the mystique.

We hope to see you there!

Staff day out Henley

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We had an amazing team day out at @henleyroyalregatta 2022 to celebrate another great year and to say a huge thank you to all the team for all they do! So much fun was had by all!

We would like to thank Richard and everyone at @vintagedaysout for a wonderful day on the river on board one of the famous Dunkirk Little Ships called Charles Cooper Henderson. The boat is a Watson 41 class lifeboat built on the Isle of Wight in 1933 and named after the benefactor.

Rachel Doerr, our Founder & Managing Director, said:

“The last 12 months have brought us closer together, and I feel privileged to work with such a supportive and amazing team. I couldn’t do what I do without them!”

The one that got away…

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Some time ago, I worked at Bonhams, in the jewellery department. Along with the regular monthly sales held in Knightsbridge were pawnbrokers’ auctions. These were comprised of any jewellery items which had not been redeemed by a customer and needed to be sold on the open market to obtain a fair price and hopefully achieve the best price for it.

The excitement and unpredictability of an auction never fades and each sale kept us on our toes. With pawnbroker sales, that unpredictability was tenfold. Because a pawnbroker client had until the very last moment to redeem his/her item, this meant that items could be withdrawn from an auction at any point prior to the item’s lot number being called out by the auctioneer.

In this case, the one that got away was a magnificent Burmese sapphire ring up for sale in the pawnbroker’s auction. Because pawnbroker auctions are so volatile, there are no catalogues and therefore no image, so I will do my best to convey this ring’s uniqueness.

The sapphire was Burmese. That in itself, is usually indication enough to express the velvety blue hue that sapphires from this part of the world have. Burmese, or Kashmir, sapphires are the most coveted sapphires, considered to have the deepest, intense and rich blue hue. Also known as “Royal Blue”.

Sapphires belong to the same family as rubies, they are corundum. Any coloured corundum, other than red, is called a sapphire. Sapphires differ from rubies in that they have iron as part of their crystal lattice.

Both sapphires and rubies from Burma make for the most exquisite gems. The value in a Burmese sapphire lies in the depth of colour and its dispersion. This is due to minute crystalline inclusions in the stone. Inclusions are small “imperfections” captured in a stone during its formation.
They are like fingerprints, unique to every gem. Below are a few examples of inclusions which are found in sapphires. These help identify where a gem formed, where it was mined and if the gem is natural (as opposed to synthetic, or man-made) and if it has had any treatment to enhance the colour or make inclusions less visible.

The sapphire in the ring that was up for auction had beautiful silk crystal inclusions and certainly had that “Royal Blue” hue about it. The most famous “Royal Blue” sapphire is probably the one set in Kate Middleton’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring, which belonged to her mother-in-law, the late Princess Diana.

The sapphire weighs 12 carats and is set within a surround of brilliant-cut diamonds. When it was made in 1981, the sapphire ring cost £50,000. Because of the provenance and history of the ring, it has become a priceless piece of jewellery, but one could estimate its current price to be around £500,000.

The world’s most expensive sapphire to sell at auction was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on the 7th October 2015. It weighed 27.68 carats of natural Kashmir origin and made $6,702,564, $242,415 per carat.

It is common for these exceptional sapphires to be accompanied by multiple certificates. If one is to buy a gem, whether for pleasure or investment purposes, it is recommended to buy one with a certificate from a reputable laboratory such as SSEF, GIA, Gubelin.

Don’t be fooled by reports sold with sapphires in markets which simply state that the sapphire is a corundum and details its shape and weight. The stone could well have been man-made in a laboratory in which case a report should state “natural” or “synthetic”.

A gem can also be treated to make it more desirable. It is common practise for sapphires to be heat-treated to bring out more colour in the stone. This should also be mentioned in the report, along with any other enhancements.

Whatever the price of the gem, look for clarity from the seller/dealer/jeweller. If there is transparency and one knows what they are paying for then an honest transaction can proceed. If in doubt, walk away.

I was convinced this sapphire ring was a good investment opportunity. And I would have been right! Sapphires, like rubies and emeralds for example, have seen a net increase in value in the recent years. A similar ring to this superb sapphire ring selling for £25,000, would probably exceed £100,000 at auction in the present climate.

Unfortunately, the sapphire ring was to be pulled from auction moments before the sale was to start and this will forever be The One That Got Away…

G for Garnet

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Garnet is one of the oldest known stones to man. It is the first gem mentioned in the Bible, in Hebrew “nophek”. Indeed the Talmud mentions garnet as being Noah’s only source of light in the Ark in the form of a carbuncle. A carbuncle often refers to ancient red garnet and red stones in general. It was one of four stones to be given by God to King Solomon.

Garnets have also been found to adorm Egyptian mummies, set in necklaces and other jewels. The oldest red garnet bead necklace to have been found is believed to be from 5,000 BC.

In ancient Rome, signet rings with carved garnets were used to stamp the wax that secured important documents.

Because the gem comes in such a wide range of colours, they each have a specific name.

The green garnets are also called tsavorite – named after the Tsavo Game Reserve in Kenya where it was first found by British geologist Campbell R. Bridges in 1967 and named by Harry Platt of Tiffany & Company.

My favourite is perhaps the demantoid garnet for the inclusion it sometimes hold: a horsetail. An inclusion is any material trapped within a stone during formation. In the case of a horsetail, a formation of golden feathery inclusions of chrysolite form in curves resembling the tail of a horse.

Rhodolite is a purplish red variety. Red garnets are also called almandine, pyrope, whereas the more orangey type are called spessartite, almandite and hessonite.

Red garnets were made even more popular in the mid-16th century when a large deposit was discovered in Central Europe. It became one of the most widely traded gems by the late 1800s.

Its current retail cost could reach £38,000 at a specialised antiques jeweller.

Garnet rates a 6.5-7.5/10 on the Mohs scale. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was created by Friedrich Mohs in 1822 and determines the scratch resistance of minerals when scratched by another mineral.

The Mohs scale is used to manufacture everyday objects: your mobile phone’s screen glass is made of a material that scratches at level 6, some at level 7.

Garnets are stable to light and chemicals which make it a popular choice to set in jewellery. However, it should always be cleaned with care as these gems are sometimes treated to make their appearance even more desirable. The most common treatment for this gem would be fracture filled: if there was a small fracture within the stone, it would be filled with resin or similar composite to fill in the gap and make it look “flawless”. The fillings can usually be spotted with a magnifier and causes a flash of light when positioned at the right angle.

In general, it is safe to assume garnets are untreated. But the economic impact on garnets such as demantoid and tsavorite can dictate whether a stone is treated or not. These two types are garnets are often considered to be the most desirable and usually found in small sizes, so their value goes up significantly with size.

Fabergé Platinum Round Demantoid & Diamond Set Halo Ring selling for £34,200. Mounted in platinum, it has a 2.50cts round demantoid garnet with an SSEF certificate indicating it is Russian, and has been heating to enhance colour, and set with 130 round white diamonds totalling 0.90ct.

If the budget doesn’t stretch that high, other garnets, like rhodolite, are far more common in larger sizes.

It’s easy to understand the appeal of garnet. It offers a multitude of different readily available hues to suit all sorts of budget. The key then when choosing an item with garnet is really to think with what outfit would look best with that colour.