Category Archives: Our Team News

The Art Market 2023

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2023 in the Art Market has been one of readjustment and realignment, but thankfully not collapse – a market correction rather than the much talked about free-fall of the market.

2022 ended on a fever pitch high, with a slew of blockbuster auctions and record-breaking auctions – the Macklowe Collection brought in $922m at Sotheby’s, the Anne Bass Collection achieved $383m at Christie’s, and the Paul Allen Collection achieving just over $1.6b also at Christie’s – taking the honour of being the first sale to top the billion-dollar mark.

Yet even as these records were being made, savvy pundits predicted a gloomier future for 2023 which turned out to be true.

Surprisingly, it was the top end of the market, with its superior quality and strong provenance, that failed to deliver the goods in 2023. It was badly hit in comparison to 2022, generating a little more than half the sales value compared to the previous years. In 2023, the most expensive artworks at auction paled in comparison to last year. The top 100 lots at auction this year totalled $2.4 billion, compared to $4.1 billion in 2022.

Why is this? Experts cite higher interest rates, continued inflations, and the ongoing turbulence in the financial markets as reason for the dip – but economic jitters aren’t the only factor at play. The continuing war in Ukraine continues to negatively effect the global economy, as no doubt, the current Israeli/Palestinian war will too. Added to this, the post-pandemic exuberance of spending that fuelled the market in late 2021 and 2022 has certainly levelled off.

Across every category in the market, sales contracted in 2023 – but some were hit harder than others.

All of this has had a negative effect on the market – spooking all but the motivated seller from consigning their treasures to an increasingly unpredictable and volatile market. Just like the property market, why would you sell in a falling market? As a result, the number of works coming to auction hit a three-year low in the year’s first five months, and the contraction is most extreme on the high end. The May marquee auctions of Modern and Contemporary art in New York were noticeably underwhelming. The three main auction houses grossed an aggregate $1.4bn (with fees), significantly lower than the $2.5bn achieved the previous May, according to data provided by Pi-eX (the Londonbased art auction analysis firm).

Similarly, the up until now extra-hot, speculative/flip led market for young ultra contemporary artists also cooled down dramatically, with demand being far more measured than in 2022. In May 2022 in New York, Sotheby’s The Now sale of 23 recent works by coveted, hard-to-source names had been a bidding frenzy that achieved $72.9m. In stark contrast, just over a year later in June this year, Sotheby’s 14-lot London version of The Now format took £8.7m ($11m). This market had been characterised by heavy speculation and flipping by collectors keen to turn a quick (and often significant) profit on here to untested newcomers to the secondary market. However, market jitters have calmed this market down noticeably – with less activity from ‘flippers’ producing less demand and lower prices.

The biggest decline was in the Impressionist and Modern sector, whose sales plummeted by almost 30 percent year over year. The Postwar and Contemporary category had a slightly smaller dip of 23 percent. Ultra- Contemporary art, once the fastestgrowing category, took a tumble as the froth surrounding the market for young artists began to dissolve. It shrunk by 26 percent year over year. The most stable category turned out to be Old Masters, whose revenue declined a comparatively modest 6 percent. It remains one of the smallest markets by dollar value, second only to ultracontemporary (which covers around two dozen years of artistic production, while Masters embraces nearly six centuries).

Each of the big 3 auction houses saw their sales figures contract in 2023. Christie’s narrowly beat Sotheby’s in the race for the top spot, generating $8.9 million more in fine-art sales by mid 2023. Both houses saw revenue decline in the first five months of the year compared with the equivalent period in 2022. Christie’s was down 23 percent while Sotheby’s was down 20 percent. Hardest hit was Phillips, which reported $255 million in art sales, a 29 percent dip year over year, after reaching a record high in 2022.

In terms of the geographic split of the art market, the top three players stayed the same. The US reconfirmed it preeminence in this regard, albeit with sales down by 25 percent from the equivalent period in 2021, 2020, and 2019. China similarly reconfirmed its place as the second largest market, but in contrast to the US, its total sales spiked by more than 110 percent during the same period. The increase illustrates the continuing strength of the Chinese collector market, but it also reflects a statistical anomaly whereby several Chinese auction houses, including Poly International and Yongle Auctions, postponed their 2022 autumn sales to early 2023 in order to comply with government lockdowns, boosting the country’s spring results.

The UK market experienced a decline in sales of 27 percent but still held third place in the global art market. The impact of Brexit and the increase in overall in logistical and importation costs still continue to effect the profitability of Britian’s historic art market.

During the pandemic and the associated lockdowns, online and digital sales increased out of necessity and market survival and drove global art sales for this period. Now that in-person auctions have fully returned, online fineart sales are hitting a plateau—but they remain far above pre-pandemic levels. A total of $155.8 million worth of fine art was sold in online-only sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Phillips, Bonhams, and Artnet Auctions in the first five months of the year. That’s down 5 percent from the equivalent period in 2022 and down 64 percent from 2021, when many high-profile sales had not yet returned to being held in-person. The 2023 total remains more than 300 percent higher than 2019, when online sales generated just $35.5 million in the year’s first five months. What has changed is the comfort level of collectors to purchase via online routes – the average price in 2023 for an online purchase has dropped to $17,794 which is lower than since 2019.

In conclusion, 2023 – whilst certainly not a bullish year, it has still proved to be a strong market with no collapse foreseen in the near future. Bearing in mind the overall global uncertainties, and the fact that purchasing art is not a survival purchase, this is no mean feat!

Adoration of the Magi and Shepherds

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“A cold coming, we had of it, just the worst time of year for a journey and such a long journey”, is how T.S. Eliot’s ‘Journey of the Magi’ begins. Semi-desert can be very cold on a clear night, and we know it was clear, because the wise men were following a star.

No-one knows when our saviour was born, but the early, persecuted Christians, probably celebrated Jesus’ birth on December 25th because the Romans were celebrating ‘Sol Invictus’, the birth of the unconquered sun, and Saturnalia when people feasted, exchanged gifts and did not have time to watch what the subversive Christians were up to.

In 336A.D., when Constantine, a Christian convert was Emperor, the church in Rome began to formally celebrate Christmas Day on December 25th.

As a child, I was fascinated by descriptions of the aftermath of his birth – the Adorations by Magi and Shepherds and started a collection of secondhand Christmas cards of these subjects. What particularly fascinated me was the contrast between the elaborately dressed Magi, a Magus is a wise man, with their extravagant and costly gifts adoring the Christ child and the simplicity and piety of the shepherds in their ragged clothes and offering a precious lamb as a gift.

Two of my favourite treatments of this subject are The Adoration of the Shepherds by Gerrit van Honthorst in The National Gallery and the Portinari Altarpiece in the Uffizi. Honthorst (1592-1656), was a Dutchman from Utrecht, who with two friends visited Rome in the early 17th Century and fell under the spell of Caravaggio and adopted his dramatic use of chiaroscuro (light and shade). He was known as Gherardo dalle Notti, Gerard of the Night, in Rome. This picture was painted there in 1610.

Adoration of the Child by Gerard van Honthorst

The Portinari Altarpiece was commissioned by Tomasso Portinari, a prominent banker, working for the Medici in Bruges, from the brilliant Flemish artist Hugo van der Goes (c.1430/40-1482) around 1472-5. The shepherds have coarse, sunburnt faces, rough hands and grimy fingernails, all of which is accentuated when one looks at the beautiful Virgin Mary, with her pale skin and delicate hands.

Portinari Altarpiece Hug van der Goes

Contrast these depictions of simple, pious shepherds, with Benozzo Gozzoli’s (c.1421-1497) ‘Procession of the Magi’ in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence.

The richly caparisoned horses, the smartly attired attendants and the exotically dressed Magi exude a sense of wealth and power. Benozzo and at least one assistant completed this miraculous fresco over a few months in 1459.

Procession of the Magi

These paintings remind me of happy Christmases past, and my scrapbook of Old Master adorations.

Winter Landscapes

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Have you ever stopped to wonder why, in the ‘Golden Age’ of English landscape painting (1750-1850), there are so few winter landscapes by the major practitioners of the genre. In the 18th Century there are none by George Lambert, Richard Wlson or Thomas Gainsborough and one has to rely on examples by lesser fry such as de Loutherbourg, J.C. Ibbetson and George Smith of Chichester.

In the next generation we have just a handful. ‘A Frosty Morning’ painted by J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) of 1812, a copy of Jacob Ruysdael, by John Constable ( 1776-1837), who loved Ruysdael’s paintings and owned 4 of them and two by Francis Danby, A.R.A (1793-1861). The Danbys are ‘An Ice Slide’ of 1849, exhibited at the R.A. in 1850 and a study of children skating outside a woodman’s cottage, painted in the early 1820s.

It seems to be very odd there are so few, when one considers how many winter landscapes were painted in the Netherlands in the 17th Century and how prized by collectors and admired by artists in England such paintings were.

I think in large part it is due to studio practice in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. Artists would go out sketching from Spring to Autumn, when the weather was relatively clement and then work up the sketches into finished easel pictures in the winter.

Constable travelled with a large and a small sketchbook everywhere he went, to record things of interest, including on honeymoon. I would like to hear from anyone who has a better explanation!

12 Days of Christmas

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In 2014, Sotheby’s sold a copy of ‘Mirth Without Mischief’ for $23,750, dating from 1780 in which the first version of the famous Christmas carol Twelve Days of Christmas appeared for the first time.

Some historians believe it could be French and could have been created as a memory game, to help Christians learn and remember the principles of their faith. Though this could and has been refuted by some, let’s have a look at what is gifted during the Twelve Days of Christmas.

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree.

Day 2: two turtle doves
Day 3: three French hens
Day 4: four calling birds
Day 5: five gold rings
Day 6: six geese a-laying
Day 7: seven swans a-swimming
Day 8: eight maids a-milking
Day 9: nine ladies dancing
Day 10: 10 lords a-leaping
Day 11: 11 pipers piping
Day 12: 12 drummers drumming

Someone on the internet has very kindly converted what the cost of all those presents would be in today’s currency and this comes to approximately £35,000.

With this budget, here is my choice for what I would wear during the Twelve Days of Christmas.

The Twelve Days start on the 25th December, and in keeping with the festive red and religious aspect of the celebrations, an early 19th Century garnet and pearl cannetille cross pendant, which sold at Bonhams for £1,500.

On the 26th, with the nights still closing in early, a moonstone necklace such as this Edwardian pendant necklace selling for £995, to shimmer and capture all the starlight.

On the 27th, an emerald and diamond three-stone ring, such as the below selling for £2,950 at Fenton to echo the Christmas tree which might be losing a few needles by now…

On the 28th, it always feel like dates have ceased to matter, so as a special reminder, this Rolex DateJust 1601 in stainless steel, selling for £4,400. Discreet and elegant, it is worn as jewellery.

On the 29th, perhaps a night out in a restaurant dreaming of that sky trip would require novelty cufflinks, as these enamel and silver cufflinks by Francis & Deakin, selling for £315.

On the 30th, one will have a quiet night in before the New Year celebrations. It could be a night to remember and remind that wonderful person just how much you love them with a fancy coloured-diamond ring from De Beers. The below cluster ring is set with a 0.52ct fancy yellow diamond, VS1, within a surround and shoulder set with brilliant-cut diamonds and retails for £7,250.

On the 31st, to celebrate the new year offered to us as a gift, one could purchase these vintage Chanel earrings for £1,370 decorated with bows, like a gift to unwrap.

2024 will be the year of the Dragon in Chinese culture. Dragons symbolise courage, power and protection.

Therefore, to start the year, on the 1st January, let us internalise all these elements and choose to wear a dragonset jewel such as the Fabergé Palais Tsarkoye Selo Red Locket with Dragon Surprise by Fabergé, retailing for £12,000.

The 2nd January calls for a quiet cuppa, and how best to accessorise than with Tea for Two bangle by Hermès £485, decorated with enamel.

On the 3rd, perhaps one is gifting the last few presents of the season and this trio of brooches would make a lovely addition to any jewellery collection, sold for only £280 at Dawsons Auctions a few days ago.

The list wouldn’t be complete without referring to The Princess of Wales jewellery. The Princess is one to reuse dresses and outfits so we could certainly get inspired by her look from last year with the goldplated earrings she wore last Christmas from Cezanne, retailing for £100. No one will notice they aren’t sapphires…!

Finally, as we look to the future and the warmer weather to come, on the 5th January I would recommend the mother-of-pearl Sweet Alhambra bracelet by Van Cleef & Arpels, retailing for £1,300. The butterfly motif reminds us that spring is not too far away, and with it the promise of longer days filled with possibilities…

All these gorgeous gifts bring us to a total of £32,855, well within our budget and enough to splurge on that meal, extra gift or trip away. Best Wishes to all.

Christmas Wines

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Christmas tips from a seasoned tippler

“Any fool can serve a good wine by spending a fortune on it”, my father used to say, “but the trick is finding something delicious to drink that isn’t ruinously expensive”. He was particularly good at it and I have tried to emulate him.

With Christmas around the corner, expenditure at an annual high and entertaining on a larger scale than normal, I thought it might be helpful to share some things I have found or been introduced to by Hels, my P.A., that Serena, my wife, and I have enjoyed drinking without breaking the bank.

I am going to do this in a chronological order, starting with aperitifs, first course companions and then what to have with meat, fish and, of course, Turkey, and finally, what to drink with cheese and pudding.

I know next to nothing about spirits, so if Milk Gin is your tipple or you adore cocktails pre-prandial, forget my wine choices and go for things you like.

At times of celebration one immediately thinks of Champagne, but when it’s going to be drunk in industrial quantities, one tends to think again. Do you really want to spend between £35 and £55 a bottle for an average Champagne?.

Instead, we drink the Crémant de Bordeaux that Jane Macquitty habitually praises in The Times. It comes from M&S at £10 a bottle and has small bubbles, which I like, as I’m prone to sneezing if they get too big, and has a creamy texture. In fact, try any of the Crémants from Bordeaux, the Loire, Jura or Bourgogne. They are made the same way as Champagne but don’t come from the region so have to be called something else by French Law, and cost a fraction of the real thing.

If you don’t like fizzy drinks, you might like to try something white and light. I agree with my dear friend Ben Collins, who co-owned Bibendum and tragically died two years ago. He liked to drink thin, slightly astringent wines on an empty stomach and a more robust Chardonnay, like a white Burgundy, when accompanied by food. I like the grape varieties Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Torrontes, Albarino and Assyrtiko in this category, where acidity and minerality are the buzzwords.

In the under £10 price range, try Ned, a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from Majestic and Marques de los Zancos from Tesco, a bargain at £5.85.

Now we have arrived at the moment critique! Many of my friends have become disaffected with Turkey, as the legs (the only flavoursome bits) dry out before the breast is cooked and you can’t spatchcock a bird that is meant to be full of stuffing, they go for beef instead. Whatever meat you choose, or vegetable if you are vegetarian/vegan, try a red wine.

There is little point buying cheap red burgundy (Pinot Noir) as it doesn’t taste of anything and even when you spend £100 a bottle for red wines from this region, it is easy to be disappointed. I would go for a claret, (the red wine of Bordeaux) and my favourite in the reasonable price range is Château Beaumont. It is a vast estate in the Haut Medoc, just under 280 acres and producing, on average, half a million bottles of delicious, well-made Claret every year. Your best bet is to buy it well in advance of using it, i.e. about six years. The 2020 is readily available, although not yet drinkable for £10 a bottle in bond. You then have to pay duty, currently at £2.67 a bottle and VAT at 20% on the total, to take it out of bond, but it is well worth the effort. The 2014 is drinking now and is available from Richard Kihl in Suffolk, still at £10 a bottle in bond, which works out at £15.20 a bottle delivered.

If £15.20 is beyond your budget, you could do a lot worse than buying Cote du Rhone from Lidl at £5.29 a bottle. Like the Beaumont, it will benefit from a couple of years aging so that the tannins are absorbed, otherwise, it is totally drinkable now.

Next comes the Stilton. It has such a strong flavour that it overwhelms most wines, but not the fortified ones. So, I would recommend Port with this course. A vintage port from a great year such as Fonseca 1994 will set you back £100+. From a less good year, say 2003, you are still looking at spending between £35 and £50. However, if you plump for late bottled Vintage Port, such as Taylor Fladgate’s, LBV 2016 from Wand Wines or Hard to Find Wines for £15.99, you will find a delicious round and hearty glass that punches the same weight as the cheese.

Finally, what about pudding wine? I think that most sweet things at Christmas are so sugary – Christmas Pudding, brandy butter, mince pies that to have a sweet wine with them would be cloying. Open some more Cremant!

However, if you are serving Foie Gras or a pudding that is quite tart, a Sauternes is your answer. Of course, Chateau d’ Yquem is by far the greatest of them all, arguably the finest wine from Bordeaux, but at £3-400 a bottle for a recent vintage, you need to have a big cheque book! A bottle of the 1811 was bought for £75,000, making it the most expensive bottle of white wine ever sold.

However, there is an incredibly rigorous selection policy at Yquem and the 150 pickers go through the vines picking the grapes several times, as they ripen at different speeds due to the presence or absence of Noble Rot, a fungus that weakens the skin of the grape to allow evaporation. This makes for a very sweet wine due to the percentage of sugar to liquid. In 1964 the pickers went through the vines 13 times, only for the makers to decide the grapes were sub-standard and declared a non-vintage making no Yquem at all. This doesn’t mean they make no wine in such a year. In most years only the best grapes are used and the lesser ones go into a ‘de-classified’ wine, such as “Sauternes” from Vineyards Direct, which was selling for £16 a half bottle when released. Try and find one of these.

To end on a note of thrift, Christmas is the time to search for that bottle of wine a friend brought you and you know you would hate and had put aside for the Tombola at the village fete. This is a gift that is heavensent for mulled wine, where the wine is just a vehicle for cinnamon, orange peel, cloves and nutmeg and where the heating process ruins the wine. A glass of mulled wine on a cold winter’s day is a thing of good cheer. Enjoy it and have a very Happy Christmas.

Victorian Christmas Paintings: A Glimpse Into Festive Traditions

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Much of what we associate with Christmas today, with the exception of After Eights and Christmas jumpers, stems almost entirely from the Victorian era (1837-1901). Prince Albert introduced all of his German family’s Christmas traditions to the Royal household following his marriage to Queen Victoria in 1840. Christmas trees, cards, turkeys with all the trimmings and Christmas stockings were all enthusiastically taken up by Queen Victoria and as the key influencer of her day, her loyal subjects followed and fully embraced all the young Queen’s new and exciting festive family traditions.

Charles Dickens wrote about Christmas and Victorian painters in Europe and America alike brought these Christmas scenes and people to life. Santa Claus was brought to life by the American illustrator Thomas Nast who also invented the Christmas Card, another stroke of Victorian genius that brought a little bit of festive splendour through letterboxes around the world during the festive season.

Here are some common themes and elements found in Victorian Christmas paintings:

1. Family Gatherings: Victorian Christmas paintings frequently feature scenes of families coming together to celebrate the holiday. These gatherings often take place in beautifully decorated homes, with family members enjoying each other’s company.

2. Decorations: The Victorians were known for their elaborate Christmas decorations. Paintings from this era often showcase festively decorated Christmas trees adorned with candles, ornaments, and tinsel. Mistletoe and holly were also commonly used to decorate homes.

3. Gifts and Presents: Gift-giving was an important aspect of Victorian Christmas celebrations. Paintings might depict scenes of children eagerly unwrapping their presents, or the presentation of gifts to family members.

4. Caroling: Christmas carolers, often dressed in traditional Victorian clothing, are a common subject in these paintings. Carolers would go from house to house, singing festive songs to spread cheer.

5. Snowy Scenes: Many Victorian Christmas paintings depict snowy landscapes and scenes, introducing the idea of a “white Christmas.”

6. Feasting: A Victorian Christmas feast was an important tradition, and you can find paintings that feature festive tables laden with roast meats, puddings, and other holiday treats.

7. The Yule Log: The Yule log was a symbol of warmth and light during the Christmas season. Some paintings show families gathered around a fireplace with a burning Yule log.

8. Christmas Cards: Victorian Christmas cards, which gained popularity during this era, often featured sentimental and picturesque scenes. Paintings might show people exchanging or displaying these cards.

9. Acts of Charity: The Victorians placed a strong emphasis on acts of charity and goodwill during the Christmas season. Some paintings depict scenes of people helping the less fortunate, emphasising the importance of giving during the holiday.

10. Father Christmas: The modern image of Santa Claus, known as Father Christmas in the UK, started to take shape during the Victorian era. Paintings might feature the jolly figure of Father Christmas, sometimes dressed in green or other colours, distributing gifts to children.

Prominent artists of the Victorian era, such as John Callcott Horsley (British, 1817-1903) Thomas Nast, (American1840-1902) and Sir John Gilbert (British1817-1897), created Christmas-themed works that have become iconic representations of the holiday. These paintings continue to be cherished for their ability to capture the nostalgia and spirit of Victorian Christmas celebrations.

Watches in the Movies

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Thirty years ago, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. The art of film making in the early 1990s meant that story telling ranked far higher above the constant worry that film makers these days have that a prop might have been out of place, or even worse out of period.

My first experience of this was very early on in life (clearly, I was destined to be picky). It was after watching the fantastic film Backbeat about Liverpool’s finest export during the early Hamburg days. Now whilst the script may have embellished a few historical truths, what was clearly incorrect was some of the equipment used by The Beatles during the film – and if I at 12 years old could tell that some of the microphones were from the 1980s, well I am pretty sure that some other people could too, but – these were those halcyon days before the internet – where once ignorance was bliss, now there would be threads appearing and probable apologies by the directors.

So, in 2023, details count more than ever, and in recent years there has been a concerted effort to make sure that nobody can pick up on the little things that the average movie goer would never actually pick up on, but somebody would notice…. probably on the internet.

In the recent Oppenheimer film, we saw what can only be described visual love affair between Christopher Nolan and Hamilton watches, all historically accurate pieces for the film and when worn in chronological order by (the soon to be Oscar winning) Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, and Matt Damon. Nolan is a particular chap, and in this case, it has worked incredibly well – at the point of writing this, he has been rumoured to be talking with the Broccoli family – and I for one would love to see what he does with the Bond watch, especially after the last 20 years of pretty much the same Omega Seamaster.

Going back a little bit, let’s look at a few watches that got it totally 100% right before the time of internet forums and continuity enthusiasts….

First of all, if any watch defines the understated magnificence of a military piece, it’s the classic that is the Porsche Design Orfina Chronograph. As timeless as Tom Cruise’s face appears to be, it was one of the stars of the 1986 film Top Gun, and again was used in the visually incredible 2022 Maverick incarnation. As a true aerophile and pilot, Cruise will have made sure that the PVD coated watch was totally correct, and it was – and still looks amazing to this day.

Panerai are one of those brands that you love or cannot stand… and for those of you that have met me, you will know that I have a small collection of the oversized military based watches, that do get worn regularly – as far as utility watches go, they don’t get much simpler. Daylight was one of the first major times that one of the watches appeared on the silver screen with no less than Sylvester Stallone appearing alongside the PAM5218-201/A as pretty much co-stars in the film.

Panerai up until 1993 had not actually been available to the public, so this outing was really one of the first times the brand had been given major exposure, and subsequently went on to be a mainstay of the oversized watch world.

watches in the movies - Daylight

What is clear, as has been indicated by such modern films as Oppenheimer, and even the Barbie film (check out Ryan Gosling’s TAG Heuer collection) is that the watch world care about details, and because of that, film makers are paying more attention….

watches in the movies - oppenheimer

The Rebirth of the Icons

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There are many designer handbags which have stood the test of time and remain iconic, bags like the Chanel Classic and the Hermès Birkin. But this year has seen a rise in handbag icons being sourced from the archives, from the Gucci Horsebit design through to Prada’s re-issue nylon collection and unsurprisingly that’s driving up interest in the vintage originals.

We already know that over the last few years there has been a substantial rise in demand for preowned designer handbags. Brands such as Hermès, Chanel and Louis Vuitton make exceptional prices on the resale market with consumers paying a premium for a second-hand handbag. However, this year, with some retailers reissuing designs from the archives it has prompted a resurgence in some classic vintage styles. This has had a positive impact on what they achieve on the resell market. Here are our most popular designs for 2023, you may want to check the back of your wardrobe!

GUCCI

The Gucci Horsebit

This year Gucci has reissued Tom Ford’s 2003/2004 Horsebit clutch. The new designs feature the Italian fashion house’s signature hardware, and an updated chain. It comes in an array of colours and prints, including Gucci’s classic monogram design and iconic stripe. 20 years ago, this design was hugely popular for Gucci and this reissue has prompted an increase in the resell value for the original early noughties models. Here are some of the new designs issued by Gucci:

The Gucci Horsebit 1955 in Crocodile retails on Gucci’s website for £21,970.

HERMÈS

The Kelly

We can’t discuss popular handbags without mentioning Hermès. The Kelly was first popularised by Grace Kelly, and appeals to both investors and buyers alike.

Here is a vintage Kelly selling for £9,562.50 at Bonhams in 2021:

Hermès accessories are a real investment and will always stand the test of time. Their limited availability only adds to their desirability, and it is always worth hunting for that special piece.

Below is a charm selling at auction for between £4,000 – £6,000:

The Birkin

The Birkin is always in huge demand, with limited availability and exceptional craftsmanship, they remain, as ever, elegant and recognisable. They make real collector’s items.

Named after Jane Birkin, this example is her original black Togo Birkin 35 selling at auction for £119,000 in 2021.


FENDI

The Fendi Baguette handbag

There’s a huge appetite for Fendi at the moment, specifically for the Baguette, with sales of the style booming.

Thanks to the Y2K trend, the Fendi Baguette has proved popular this season. Channel your inner Carrie Bradshaw with a sequinned version.

DIOR

Dior Saddle Bag

Dior’s Saddle Bag first made an appearance in Dior’s 1999 spring/summer ready-to-wear show. It is thought to have been inspired by a 1976 Helmut Newton photograph entitled ‘Saddle I, Paris’. However, this theory has never been verified by Dior.

Here is the Saddle Bag selling at auction for €2,040:

Lady Dior

The iconic Lady Dior packs a lot of history. It was first created in 1995 and named after Diana, Princess of Wales. It was originally gifted to her by Bernadette Chirac, the First Lady of France at the time. During the most recent season of ‘The Crown’ the Lady Dior started to gain a lot of attention on social media.

In 2022 Dior launched what they described as “the (re)brith of an icon”, the Lady 95.22.

An example of a Lady Dior selling at auction for £7,650:

PRADA

First released in 1984, Prada’s Nylon Bags are just as desirable as they were 40 years ago. The revival has been so popular, that last year’s Prada’s Re-Nylon Re-Edition 2000 mini bag was named as Lyst’s ‘Handbag of the Year’. It’s reported that web searches increased by 131 per cent, with views for #pradanylonbag generating over 4.2 million views.

Proof that practicality and luxury can go hand-in-hand!

Gucci Horsebit Handbags - Handbag icons

 

If you need a handbag valuation, get in touch today using our Contact Form.

Discovering Sotheby’s Auction

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Vienna 1900: An Imperial and Royal collection

On the 6th and 7th November, Sotheby’s Geneva will be auctioning some of the finest antique jewellery from the 1900s, described as Belle Epoque jewellery. This collection is unique in that it groups prestigious gems, such as emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and natural pearls, but also in that these pieces have been kept intact all this time. It is becoming increasingly rare to find pieces from over a century ago. Jewels are very often broken up and stripped of their gems and metal. It is, in my opinion, a great shame, as the craftmanship of that period was stunning and very refined.

Belle époque jewels are characterised by bows, ribbons, swags and flowers, and items mounted en tremblant. Meaning to tremble, en tremblant diamond-set flowerheads (for the most part) are attached to a thin metal wire spring which trembles with movement. This gives the illusion of life and allows light to reverberate into the diamonds, bouncing off and reflecting “fire”, all the colours of the rainbows. It is often found on tiaras, brooches or devant de corsage such as lot 1089 of the sale.

Gifted by Philipp, Duke of Württemberg (1838-1917) as a wedding gift to his bride Archduchess Marie Therese of Austria – Teschen, Duchess of Württemberg (1845 –1927 in 1865, it is composed of natural saltwater pearls and approximately 60 – 75 carats of diamonds. It comes with an estimate of CHF270,000 – 450,000 (approximately £245,000 – 410,000).

Selling with the same estimate is a natural pearl and diamond brooch, circa 1865.

It is set with a first button-shaped pearl, measuring approximately 14mm and suspends a larger drop, measuring approximately 19mm. They are highlighted by approximately ten carats of diamonds.

This piece and its estimate are an indication of exceptional provenance but also reinforce the importance of having certificates for unique gems. These two pearls have reports from the reputable laboratory SSEF in Switzerland. When looking to insure or sell, reports will be a key part of valuing an item correctly.

In the example of the above brooch, if the pearls were not natural, its value would be mainly in the diamonds. It is their natural origin that give it a hefty price tag.

What do we call natural pearl?

Natural, as opposed to cultured pearls, are created in the wild, without human intervention. Cultured pearls are grown in farms and commonly are bead nucleated. This means a nacre has been formed around a nucleus as way for the pearl of defending itself. The pearls are then collected anywhere from six months to 3 years depending on the type and environment in which they are grown.

To illustrate further the uniqueness of the pearl and diamond brooch sold by Sotheby’s (above), the retailer Hancocks, who deals with antique jewellery, currently sells a natural pearl and diamond brooch for £22,500 (below). The pearl measures approximately 11mm and there are close to five carats of diamonds.

There are a variety of jewellery for women of course in this sale but also for men. Beautiful emerald cufflinks for example are also for sale.

The above cufflinks are centrally colletset with rose-cut diamonds within a navette-shaped emerald terminal. They belonged to the Tsar of Bulgaria and have an estimate of CHF3,600 – 5,500 (approximately £3,200 – 5,000).

Cufflinks and medals were worn with uniforms for balls, together with neck badges such as the below.

This beautiful gem-set neck badge has an estimate of CHF36,000 – 55,000 (approximately £32,000 – 50,000) and is adorned with a Ceylon sapphire, accompanied by an SSEF report stating it has no indication of heat treatment.

In this instance again, a report is essential and its findings are reflected in the estimate. Heat treatment is often used in sapphires to deepen a stone’s colour and, although a common practise, can detract from a gem’s value. The key factors of quality of this sapphire, together with provenance and other gems in the piece makes it a stunning piece.

This collection embodies the late 19th century, early 20th century era of court, wars and balls with delicate attires and military uniforms. Waltzes and lavish court dinners with men and women draped with the most exceptional jewellery, reflected who they were in society, and if judging by the quality of these pieces, it is no surprise they could have been considered semi-Gods.

On a personal note, I wish great success for this sale in association with Duke Philipp of Württemberg, who I had the extreme pleasure of working with at Sotheby’s.

The World of Wristwatches where do we go now?

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Whilst we all knew that the market for luxury watches could not continue after the booming nature of 2020-2022, scalping was rife, and speculators were buying up watches as business assets and in turn driving up the price of average watches such as Rolex Submariners, Datejusts and GMTs.

Let’s not be coy though, the vast majority of Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Phillipe watches will still be a long way from being a ‘spur of the moment decision’ – one cannot simply pop in to one of these brands boutiques and expect to walk out with a shiny box. There has been good news, however for those wanting to purchase one of these ‘grail watches’ in that the availability that is reducing those prices is actually meaning more clients are finally getting those watches that they have been waiting for. The most up to date figures are showing that 1.6 million Swiss watches are being exported every month this year so far, which is a huge number compared to even six months ago.

89 of Rolex’s current models, or pretty much 80% of their catalogue still trade at above retail price meaning that anyone is still insured for the figures that they either bought for, or worse what they think they could buy a replacement for.

Patek Phillipe has always been a strange entity in this area as a significant amount of their watches have never actually had a strong performance on the secondary market – the complications models for example have never had the huge presence that the Nautilus, or Aquanaut did, and for the most part still have. That being so Patek Phillipe still have 43 watches sitting above retail, which represents 48% of the total models they currently sell, which if anything is a bigger indicator than the Rolex figures. Audemars Piguet were, and still are to many collectors the ‘definitive’ boom watch, and despite the recent value changes have 34 watches above retail, coming in at a whopping 71% – again let’s not forget that AP still sell some stunning dress watches, that despite complications and amazing craftmanship – drop like a stone on the secondary market.

From these figures, it is clear that the market still desires certain models, and the availability of them (or lack thereof) has given the market such a huge boost over the last few years, that it’s still going to be difficult to purchase these watches from retailers for quite a while yet, and as we all know outside of the handbag market (see my other articles) the luxury watch market can dictate who buys their wares, when they buy them, and where they are purchased.

So, what happens now? For the last three years the market has been allowed to release watches that instantly have sold out, or instantly on back order – which to be honest in some situations, have not been the most inspired of choices, with very slight variations on a theme – but instantly worth at least a 25% uplift on the retail price, just because of the desire to own anything by a specific brand.

Whilst nobody can predict the future, I would say that more watches will be sold as a result of the drop in prices, and more customers will be happy to spend the kind of money that one might seem more reasonable for a luxury watch – without the premiums that we have been used to, and even become accepting of.

What we have seen in the last few months is a great array of further interesting models, not least the latest ‘disruptive’ model from Swatch X Blancpain.

When the model was mooted, and then launched, I for one was flabbergasted that a serious heritage brand like Blancpain would even consider such a collaboration – especially after the recent MoonSwatch, but after much consideration, and in fact purchasing one of them I can see where the sense comes from – it has raised the profile of the brand and where many people had not even known Blancpain (including the majority of purchasers) now they can legitimately long for one of their normal range, with some experience of the marque.

What other collaborations will arrive – we can only imagine, but I am fairly sure Swatch can’t be the only player in this game for too long, and other brands will be looking at this fairly exclusive market contemplating the six figure sales that could ensue…..