You lovely readers often ask me about auctions and my response is always that you really must visit one (or a hundred) immediately, if not sooner! It is such a fun experience and you can make the most amazing bargains! The other day I had the pleasure of meeting auctioneer Catherine Southon – who has an auction coming up on Wed 19th November in Surrey – and I was able to get us some behind-the-scenes knowledge:
Just a few of the tempting pieces coming up in Catherine Southon’s auction sale on 19th November 2014
You might recognise Catherine from the BBC Antiques programmes Bargain Hunt, Flog it!, Antiques Road Trip, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is and Trade Secrets, and before she got involved in all of these exciting TV shows, she spent nine years with Sotheby’s Auctions. Initially Catherine thought that she would love to work with paintings, but she soon realised that she really liked the experience of being able to hold and examine objects – as opposed to just looking at a beautiful painting – and so she found her way to the collectors department, where we find non-traditional items like toys, dolls and rock&roll memorabilia!
Catherine brought along a few of the beautiful pieces that will be up for sale at the 19th November auction, for example this Edwardian gold triple flower head bar brooch, set with seed pearls and diamonds. Estimate £200-£300!
After nine years at Sotheby’s, Catherine’s path lead to the TV-program Bargain Hunt. In connection with the program she would give talks, and people would often came up and ask her where they could sell their pieces of jewellery. At first she would refer them to various auction houses, but eventually she decided to set up on her own, and in November 2012 the doors to Catherine Southon Auctioneers and Valuers opened up!
Catherine’s auction house brings us jewellery, paintings, sculptures and furniture – and she describes auctions as being such fun, as “you can go to buy a diamond ring yet come home with a painting!”
Diamond and Sapphire Bracelet from the sale on 19th Nov 2014 – Catherine Southon Auctioneers
I asked Catherine to talk us through an auction experience, and she started out by telling me about the catalogue, where you get a good idea of what items are up for sale. Here you can also read the auction house’s opinions on the items (their estimation of colour and clarity of diamonds, what period various objects date from, what gemstones can be found in the pieces of jewellery etc.). You can then visit the auction house a few days ahead of the actual auction date, take a closer look at all the pieces and ask the staff any questions that you might have. The beauty of viewing the items like this is that there is no one there to hurry you, so you can take your time to investigate the pieces – touch and hold them, and really get a feel for the things that you are interested in.
The prices are also very reasonable compared to the high street, because you are buying more or less straight from the source, without any fees added on by various middle hands. This week’s auction has something for everyone: vintage, Art Deco, Victorian brooches and costume jewellery, Georg Jensen… Now you all know that I love seeing the younger generation getting more involved in antique and vintage jewellery, and I can’t think of a better place for you to get started!
I can never help but try on every piece of jewellery that comes in my way! Here is quite a blurry photo of a beautiful diamond and sapphire ring from the Catherine Southon auction on 19th November 2014
Art Deco White Gold Diamond and Sapphire Ring £400-£600 in the Catherine Southon auction sale on 19th November 2014
If you are unable to attend the auction on the day, you will be able to place your bids online and follow the auction live there – and you can also revert to the classic way of phone bidding. As for selling your own pieces, everyone is welcome to bring them in for valuation and I know that some of us worry about having to pay a great deal of money to the auction house if the piece doesn’t sell, but Catherine told me that they only charge an administrative fee of £5-10 for unsold items, which is great news indeed! For items that do sell their commission is 16.5%.
So have a good think about what you might need or want – for yourself or for your home – and instead of popping down to the high street, visit this auction house during their viewing hours (tomorrow Tuesday 18th November 9:30am-5pm and Wednesday 19th November 9am-11am). The auction then starts on Wed 19 November at 11:30am and you can place bids for your favourite things and maybe come home with the most wonderful bargain!
And if you want to prepare some more before your visit, you can read the blog post Your guide to attending an auction, where we went through all the different things that happen during the day of the auction, and learn useful auction-related expressions!
Catherine Southon Auctioneers & Valuers
Farleigh Court
Old Farleigh Road
Selsdon
Surrey CR6 9PE
Decades of Elegance 