London

A “very rare” First World War pair of medals and memorial plaque to a female casualty of the SS Lusitania came up for auction at Mayfair saleroom Noonans (24% buyer’s premium) on July 16.

A riverside view of Lindsey House in London’s Cheyne Walk drew decent interest at a recent Bonhams (28% buyer’s premium) sale but ended up selling for markedly less than its last auction appearance 10 years ago.

The only known portrait of the inventor Reverend Edward Barlow (1639-1719) was sold by Bath horology specialist Gardiner Houlgate (20% buyer’s premium) earlier this summer.

Jeweller Hancocks London has teamed up with style expert Sarah Harris for a digital series focusing on engagement rings.

The Decorative Fair marks its 40th anniversary this autumn.

A set of pictures thought to be the largest collection of portraits of British prime ministers in private hands emerged at Sloane Street Auctions (26.5% buyer’s premium) earlier this summer.

Image of room with indoor swimming pool is set to star in second auction staged by Messum’s

When Clementine Ogilvy Spencer Churchill, the wife of Sir Winston, first saw a now-famous bronze sculpture by Oscar Nemon showing her late husband reclining in his seat, she remarked: “This is how I see him and that is how I love him.”

Marchant Asian Art is under way with its move to its new home in Brook Street, Mayfair (to open in January 2026), and has unveiled details of some of its centenary celebrations.

Sotheby’s €7m sale of the original Hermès Birkin handbag, custom made for late actress and singer Jane Birkin in 1985, has given some welcome exposure to the market for preloved luxury accessories. And for many of today’s collectors, vintage is best.

With a trio of leading dealers bringing the best of British horology, the Treasure House Fair has become a focus for the clock trade, just as Grosvenor House and Masterpiece were before it.

A previously unrecorded Elizabethan gold and enamel signet ring, a gift from the influential Tudor financier and merchant, Sir Thomas Gresham (1519-79), sold for £42,000 at Noonans (24% buyer’s premium).

Crowning the summer jewellery sales was the spectacular Cartier London turquoise and diamond tiara from 1930 offered by Bonhams (28/27/21/14.5% buyer’s premium).

For a sector often tainted by an inadequate supply of fresh and top-draw material, the latest series of Old Master auctions in London certainly had moments where the core market woes seemed mysteriously absent.