About Diamond Mills & Co
Diamond Mills & Co. is an independent firm of Auctioneers, Valuers and Estate Agents offering a wide range of residential properties for sale in Felixstowe and District. With over 100 years of association with Felixstowe the firm occupies two sites in Felixstowe with the main office being in the main town centre at 117 Hamilton Road and the specialist Auction Room situated on a prominent corner position adjoining Orwell Road and Leopold Road again close to the main shopping parade.
The three main activities of the company are antiques and fine art auctioneering, residential property sales, and lettings / property management.
Auction Trends in a Selective Market Place
Following a record breaking sales with a sales total of more than £265,000, Nigel Papworth from Diamond Mills & Co in Felixstowe reports on recent auction trends and a selective marketplace.
It’s clear from recent results around the country that the market for Chinese porcelain and works of art is continuing to attract strong competition. There was a sale in early August in Bath where a Yongzheng celadon coloured vase was sold for £220,000. Here at Diamond Mills on 31 July 2019, a Doucai porcelain vase went for £200,000 after brisk bidding at home and from abroad.
However, other areas are attracting many buyers. Gentleman’s wrist watches by manufacturers including Rolex, Omega, Patek Philippe and others are achieving record prices. In the field of taxidermy, cases of stuffed fish, particularly by J Cooper & Sons of London, are much in demand, and a bow front case of three rudd by Cooper were sold recently for £1,350.
Although in most cases, Chinese art is out performing Japanese and high quality Japanese items can do well. We recently sold a fine Japanese Meiji period fan with gold lacquered sticks and guards for £1,800. Strings of amber beads, in particular older yellow butternut examples, are also selling around the country in the hundreds to the thousands depending upon the quality and size.
Items which appear to have fallen out of favour include modern China figurines, tea sets and dinner services, reproduction prints and most modern dark brown furniture. However, some modern furniture is still in demand, including light or beech coloured Ercol and light oak items of Thomas Mouseman of Kilburn Furniture. Recently a pair of carved elephant and mouse oak bookends sold for £10,000 in the West Country. An important factor in all markets seems to be not necessarily age but the quality of the items themselves.
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