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On Friday, June 12, Michael Bloomstein of Brighton was paying the following for bulk scrap against a gold fix of: $1735.85 / €1526.63 / £1374.10

The market for vintage mechanical wristwatches, which began in earnest in Europe in the 1990s, is not yet fully 30 years old but is maturing rapidly.

Dual time zones watches first came into fashion in France, where they were used to show both ‘time’ in the traditional manner and also Revolutionary time, a short-lived idea based on the decimal system.

As collectors are squeezed out of the market for watches by Rolex and Omega, prices for vintage chronographs by ‘lesser’ makers are steadily rising in value.

The Longines WWW is deemed the second rarest of the ‘Dirty Dozen’. These watches, made by 12 different Swiss brands, were ordered by the British Ministry of Defence during the tail-end of the Second World War for issue to army ground personnel.

The lockdown may have reduced the number of UK auctions taking place but buyers have been looking more eagerly for opportunities at those events that have been staged.

A group of eight works by Maggi Hambling (b.1945) appeared at a recent online sale held by Welsh saleroom Rogers Jones (22% buyer’s premium).

Christie’s (25/20/13.5% buyer’s premium) has held its first live sales in Paris since lockdown.

MADAM – The Virtual Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair ended last Sunday (May 31) and we are now busy trying to gauge the short-term results. The main reason for putting it on was always to give all the exhibitors, who missed out on the real fair, a platform in May, and I am really touched by the many lovely messages sent to thank me and the team for our efforts.

From the 1950s-70s, the Rolex produced a range of memorabilia given only to dealers to promote the brand. A vibrant market has grown in the past decade that has broadened the world of watch collectors beyond horology.

Our regular listing of books and works on paper auctions the UK and Ireland.

Fifteen upcoming lots from auctions taking place around the UK.

Dealers, fair organisers and antiques centre managers are preparing to return to business with a mixture of enthusiasm and caution.

Auction houses in London have announced they are restarting live auctions in June.

A black chalk drawing of a skeleton drew an extraordinary competition at a German auction house Lempertz at the end of last month. Estimated at €3000-3500, it attracted at least 15 bidders and was eventually knocked down at €420,000 (£381,820) to a French dealer.

Among the best-performing lots at the latest mammoth sale held by TimeLine in Harwich, Essex was this 1st-2nd century hollow-formed bronze foot.

It was a case of interesting artist, distinctive painting and intriguing subject that sparked a strong bidding competition at a Glasgow sale.

On Friday, June 5, Michael Bloomstein of Brighton was paying the following for bulk scrap against a gold fix of: $1709.55 / €1516.24 / £1353.79