UK

Wristwatch expert Adrian Hailwood has joined Dreweatts as a senior specialist.

A Lesser George sash badge of The Most Noble Order of the Garter was the stand-out lot in a dedicated auction of honours that once belonged to the last Duke of Cambridge to have held that title before Prince William in the present day.

The House of Lords plans to recommend amendments to the ivory bill in the hope that it will be “less damaging” to the art and antiques trade.

An early 17th century work on …the Whole Practise of Artillery made a record sum in sale held by Tennants (20% buyer’s premium) of Leyburn.

This Tudor period gold finger ring with the initials RB was found by a detectorist on land to the west of Crewkerne in 2017.

More than £47m of Modern British art changed hands in a bumper series held in London, as buyers competed fiercely for blue-chip pieces and lots offering best value.

West London fair’s June edition meets with mixed response from exhibitors.

With the Meteorological Office showing that roasting temperatures are ‘here to stay’ at the beginning of July in the UK, and people sweltering on packed beaches, cooling off in the sea is essential. And what better than in a vintage swimsuit?

A hairwork bracelet offered at auction was inscribed to a gold mount: From the Mane of the Charger Copenhagen which carried the Duke of Wellington 18 successive hours on the 18th June 1815, The Battle of Waterloo.

Woolley & Wallis is currently selling across a number of sales a cache of items from the family of HG Murphy (1884-1939), whose Falcon Studio produced some of the finest English silver of the inter-war era.

Two 1859 firsts of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species…, neither in what could be called good condition, made very strong prices in recent weeks. This is a book nowadays so desirable that such shortcomings can be overlooked.

Important works of European sculpture were stars of the London auction season’s highpoint last week.

The July Old Master auctions in London were a mixed affair with the lack of blockbuster lots meaning the overall total was down on the levels of the last two years.

An archive relating to three Suffragette sisters has been bought at a Hansons auction by a well-known dealer in memorabilia.

This red coral necklace had formed part of The International Fisheries Exhibition staged at the Royal Horticultural Society grounds in South Kensington in 1883.

New auction records were achieved for two of the four Scottish Colourists in the space of a week.

Antiques street markets and fairs are a boon to local businesses, a popular and lively addition to any small well-visited town, particularly in the summer when these are buzzing with tourists.

As the market develops, some of the ‘secondary’ niche Swiss brands have entered the mainstream collecting arena. The Bonhams (25% buyer’s premium) Fine Watches and Wristwatches sale on June 20 offered a range of 46 Heuers from a single-owner private collection.

Air-conditioned Masterpiece London concluded its ninth edition last week after running from June 28-July 4.