Switzerland

A spring sale at Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer (25% buyer’s premium) in Basel was devoted to works of art from an impressive, wide-ranging Swiss collection.

A complicated astronomical carriage clock by Breguet & Fils, first sold in January 1826, went dramatically over the odds at Antiquorum (25% buyer’s premium) in Geneva.

The first part of an auction series offering a remarkable array of coins buried in Europe for over 50 years to prevent them from being looted during Nazi invasion kicked off with a focus on British and colonial milled coins from Charles II to George V.

A floral still-life by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, discovered only recently in a European private collection, was one of the stars at a recent sale at Koller (25/22% buyer’s premium) in Zurich.

Since the 16th century, silversmiths in Germany have produced so-called Brautbecher (bridal beakers), a tradition that still exists today.

It’s obviously a good season for Meissen hares.

Drinking vessels in the form of an owl were as decorative as they were practical.

Painting sold in Zurich was one of the series of views from the apartment where he spent his last months

A bronze vase by the Parisian goldsmith Lucien Gaillard caused a stir at Dobiaschofsky (25% buyer’s premium) in Bern.

Swiss coin auction house Numismatic Genevensis has sold a rare Roman gold coin featuring the portrait of Marcus Junius Brutus for SFr1.5m (£1.34m).

Old Master and Daumier artwork, bronze figure and Italian porcelain all on offer over three days

Items amassed by the late Eberhard Kornfeld feature in bumper series of five sales at the firm he ran

Once damned with faint praise, watches from Cartier’s Bond Street boutique are now winning fans among collectors for their adventurous case designs

Recent sales show the appetite for Chinese art from bidders with deep pockets is not at all diminished

Instantly recognisable and with a perfect provenance, a painting by Salvador Dalí (1904-89) more than lived up to its expectations at a sale held by Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer (22% buyer’s premium).

Swiss collectors were in a generous mood at Koller’s (25/22/15% buyer’s premium) recent Zurich auction.