DEC 2009 CLOCKS AND CHRISTMAS

As the year closes, and before you sink into the sofa full of turkey and dissolve into the end-of-year newspapers' reflections, this is the Tavernicus take on 2009. As far as antiques are concerned it has been a story of the best and the rest, more or less across the board. A few eminent dealers shut up shop and the fairs reported mixed outcomes with some signs that traditional furniture was showing signs of revival after a long period of decline. Towards the end of the year, Old Masters showed some stunning auction results with £26m paid for a drawing by Raphael, Head of a Muse. However, the bizarre event of the year in the Old Master world was the revelation of the value of a fingerprint; a new scientific technique has revealed that a Leonardo Da Vinci finger print has been found on an unsigned painting of a lady which sold in 1998 for $19000. The said painting will, if the attribution is confirmed, be worth £100m. Maybe there is a Da Vinci code?

Back to the theme of the "best and the rest"; in December, Bonhams excelled in their offerings of clocks by Knibbs, Tompion, East and Ahasuerus Fromanteel. Sotheby's & Christies must be asking themselves whether it was wise to cease dedicated clock auctions and Bonhams are doing a great job. Their offering of the Fromanteel clock, c.1670 raised £400000, inc premium, for an early pendulum longcase. The Tompion (No440) sold for £288000 and the other great clocks typically sold for between £30-70k. So the trophy clocks are in fine fettle and down the scale the auction was very successful.

Tavern clocks were more numerous in 2009. Tavernicus recorded 18 unrestored clocks offerred at auction with prices ranging from £2.5k to £13.5k, (hammer). An unsigned tavern would have set you back between £2.5-5.5k . A signed tavern clock would have set you back between £4-13.5k with a typical figure being around £6k for a clock which has not been messed up by a friend who said they could paint. As with all antiques, originality and authenticity is key to value. An untouched wreck of a clock is more valuable to the trade than a poorly restored example. The movement has to be correct and this is not always so. Get everything right; the case, the lacquer, the signature and the movement; and the price pushes upwards. Then add a famous maker and the "best" effect takes over. Dealers did not have a great year at selling tavern clocks, even if auction activity was up. These things always go in cycles and owners of such clocks can rest easy that, unlike many asset classes, values are holding or rising.

2010 is going to be a fascinating year in so many respects with a general election, cuts in public spending and the hoped for end of the recession. All eyes are on the politicos but they will not help us, just look at the mess the political class made of Copenhagen. In the antiques world there is a confidence evident in the planned fairs diary which is more bullish than 2009.

My book, "The Tavern Clock", is at the final edit stage and printing will take place in January and then it has to be shipped from India. Expect supplies at the end of February or early March.

So, snowed in as we are, I wish all those who have followed this Blog and those who browse http://www.tavernicus.co.uk/ a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Let indulgence commence!!

NOV 2009 ANOTHER BUBBLE BURST

Tavernicus was sat in the Dubai Emirates club lounge on tuesday, en-route to Madras, mulling over the ghost town that Dubai airport has rapidly become. Planes empty as well. Tulipmania, the South Sea Bubble, the dot-com era, toxic debt and now the washing away of the World. All man-made crises built upon mountains of debt, greed and critically the stupidity of lenders. Back in our small world, we are looking for safe stores of value. Beware gold!! Is there a safe haven??

Timing is everything. Traditional antiques have had a long run of declining values, more a function of fashion, such that prices today are not that different to ten years ago. However, reports from Fairs indicate that traditional is doing rather well; such value and yes, green!! Tavernicus attended the dispersal sale of the effects of the late John Fane with many 18th century heirlooms in evidence and evocative of the country house look, once so desirable. Notionally there, at Dreweatts, to view the sale of the tavern clock by Burtt Wade. A very full room, with a raft of phone bidding and live bids from the internet. You should try the latter as it is the way forward, even if frightening the first time you have a go. Bidding for traditional furniture, art etc was brisk and good business was done mostly well above estimates. No bubble to be afraid of.

The Wade was once a great tear-drop tavern clock but it has been seriously impaired by well intentioned repainting. The signature is intact and the clock is mostly genuine. £5500, (inc premium), seems to be the going rate for a clock in need of extensive restoration and remedial work.

In contrast to Dubai, India remains on song. GDP is still growing by about 8% with no credit crunch and a well regulated banking sector. No toxic debt contagion here. A lesson that traditional methods may not have been as unimaginative as some would have you believe. Tavernicus receives the first proof copy of the book tomorrow. Excitement or what!!!

OCT 2009 KNEES UP--ART DOWN

Tavernicus is writing this in the immediate aftermath of a morphine induced coma for a knee operation, so lucidity may suffer. However the knees are up and all is well under the watchful eye of my co-director. This is more than can be said for art lovers or more specifically art buyers.

Anyone who bought contemporary or impressionist art pre the crash has now lost c.65% of their investment, (FT 10.10). However, they can at least take comfort from the knowledge that they know what they like. That will have to do for now as no recovery is in sight whereas many other asset classes are recovering whether it be residential property, the FTSE and markets in general. All of these are leading indicators for a recovery in GDP which Britain is awaiting, unlike everyone else. Have faith, the recovery is imminent, but apparently not yet for those art lovers who chased a two year bubble of between 313 to 390% up to September 2008, (FT10.10).

The clock market has remained steady and stable at the top end with the best being more or less recession proof. Down the scale, the same cannot be said as middling longcases are no more expensive than they were ten years ago, mirroring brown furniture trends. However, it might be time to buy as auction catalogues in traditional furniture are beginning to look more interesting. Certainly the fairs majoring on traditional furniture are reporting success. Christmas is coming and clocks do well around this time.

Only one tavern clock auctioned in October; an unsigned round dial with red lacquer and chinoiserie with a hammer price of £4200 and needing much work. A correspondent has alerted me to another of the National Trust tavern clocks at Peckover House, Wisbech. Go look, it is a white round dial by John Stone of Henley. Two others have come to my attention and will be listed on the Tavernicus archive in due course.

Last word on Experts, the subject of my September blog. The BBC fielded a person labelled as an "Etiquette Expert", on the subject of tipping in restaurants. The lady gave the advice that one should tip well in restaurants in order to prevent staff from peeing in your soup. Worth every penny of the license fee?

At the top of the blog is the first rush of the front cover of my book due out in January. More next month.

SEPT 2009 BEWARE OF EXPERTS

Every day we are presented with expert opinion in the media whether it be radio or TV. The BBC employs expert correspondents on every subject under the sun. If that were not enough, we are also expected to listen to the independent experts they wheel out on every subject. There are experts on the economy, the weather in a 100 years time, farming, industry, economic collapse, political intrigue, every disease under the sun, anti-social behaviour and so on. The list is endless. These experts have a couple of common threads; they are all paid by vested interest and before they speak you should ask yourself "Where does their interest lie?" Many of them are paid by us the taxpayer. If you are wondering what the other thread is- simple- they are nearly always wrong and rarely have to account for their error as their views are of the moment. You are wondering where is this leading-- stay with me.

The firm, Deloitte, which is an expert accounting firm, has offered its opinion on antiques about which, hitherto it was little known that they had such expertise. Yes, in the silly season of August, they put out a press release which resulted in the front page headline in the Antiques Trade Gazette "Deloitte's tell clients: buy antiques now". We need all the help we can get and let us hope that this is an example of an "expert" being right. Ask yourself the question above. Answers on a postcard.

Certainly tavern clock buyers have been heading this advice, as after the dearth of activity in August three TCs appeared at auction in September. Clock auctions have been held at Bonhams, Drewatts and Woolley & Wallis. Tavernicus viewed all three. The Drewatts offering was first out of the gate; alas no TC but a superb longcase with an ebonised case by John Knibb, brother of the more famous Joseph, was the star of the show at £23000. No TC at Bonhams either, but the very nice Sedan Clock for restoration was my favourite lot. These little gems seem quite undervalued.

The three TCs in the month were offered at; Sworders (Edwin Ram of Hull, a white round dial, very distressed and original, gilded but no chinoiserie, £4300 hammer), at ELR (an unsigned black round dial with chinoiserie, hammer £3900) and at Woolley & Wallis ( Wm Maurifs Yarmouth, a white round dial, distressed and original with rectification need to the dial surround. A very nice oval weight. Good chinoiserie to the door. Provenance, the Star Hotel Yarmouth pre 1932, hammer £6200). As always, provenance and untouched condition win out but none of these three clocks are particularly distinguished. Whilst in Salisbury for the W&W viewing I took time out to visit the Red Lion Hotel which is a must see as it has two beautiful TCs; one by Williams of Newport, which is just about the only Welsh TC, and a very rare unsigned large banjo TC which is real quality.

To finish, a TC (very late crossover) by McNab of Perth reappeared after restoration, having been auctioned in June 2008. It was on the display of a furniture and artefact specialist at the Lapada Fair in Berkeley Sq. The latter is a new event organised for and by Lapada members and a very fine show it was. Only one clock dealer, which is a pity but perhaps more next year. More fairs and specialist auctions to come, so please revisit.

JULY 2009 WIMBLEDON 2010 CANCELLED?

Imagine you are basking in the glory of another successful Wimbledon Tennis Championship and as a member of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club about a couple of weeks after the championship you receive an email advising you that next year's and all future years' championships are forever cancelled. You may come out of this dream as Wimbledon is secure. The unthinkable cannot happen; yes it can, read on.

The 75th Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair finished on the 17th June to wide acclaim. The hardback 2009 Handbook included a memory lane gallery of photographs with many members of royalty attending including Queen Mary in 1937, the Queen Mother in 1965 and even royalty from Greece (2007) and Belgium (1967); even Margaret Thatcher, not known for her love of the arts was a patron. The ATG reported in the w/e 4th July edition that GroHo had enjoyed a vintage outing. However, the fair organisers had emailed exhibitors on the 30th June to the effect that the fair was hereafter cancelled. The full story came out in the ATG edition for w/e 11th July. Marriot who operate the Grosvenor House Hotel had put the price up for the future events to such a degree that it could not operate in the future.

The premier venue for the display of the finest clocks ever made is now lost. The top punters seasonal outing is finished; what will the well-healed do in mid -June next year--Olympia??

Enough, we may have lost the venue which sees the finest tavern clocks on display every year but these things have a way of resolving themselves as money and ingenuity will always find a solution. The fine art dealers had already broken away from GroHo with dealer shows across town competing with Park Lane. Watch this space as there are moves afoot..........

July only saw one tavern clock fresh to the market with Bonhams auctioning a Justin Vulliamy tear-drop (c.1790) in distressed but reasonably untouched condition. In particular the trunk chinoiserie is exquisite and has never been messed with. The movement is number 231. Sold to the trade, it will hopefully reappear after a very careful conservation. Possibly next year at one of the substitute GroHo events??

Tavernicus has taken an extensive gallery of photographs of the Vulliamy for its archive. The latter also benefitted from a photo session of the earliest tavern clock made in c.1715 by the eminent clockmaker George Graham. The clock is on public display in a church the location of which I am not referring to for security reasons. Tavernicus was also fortunate to see a crossover tavern clock made by Wyke and Green of Liverpool in the late 18thC. Reported upon in January as an Ebay sale the buyer has now restored the clock and very fine it is; unique for its centre second hand.

Honest, Wimbledon has not been cancelled!!

JUNE 2009 FAIR GAME?

June is the season when the champagne corks start to pop, what with Wimbledon and of course the Olympia International Art & Antiques Fair and the Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair. Tavernicus visited both these fairs on the 10th of June in the middle of Olympia and on the opening Press Day of GroHo. Alas, Olympia was very badly affected by the tube strike on the 10th/11th. The metaphorical tumbleweeds were all too evident but Richard Price the Dorset clock dealer who was the only dedicated clock dealer was having a good show. In contrast GroHo has three dedicated top-end clock dealers and Press Day was packed notwithstanding the tube problems. Amazing what free champagne will do as a crowd puller. Business was apparently brisk with ATG concluding that this fair was a "recession buster". Good news.

Alas, no new tavern clocks in evidence and the only TC news for June was the re-offering of the Hancock of Bath white round dial on ebay for £9000. One interesting ebay lot was a so-called Tavern or Norwich clock case of probable 20th century origin and neither fish nor foul really, but, the movement was pure 18thC tavern clock with very nice curved cut plates. Sold for £485 and sniped in the last second, plus £50 delivery. Interesting as it puts a price tag on a genuine movement of £500-600.

Tavernicus is currently confined to barracks with the after effects of a knee operation but is fighting back and weaning himself off the crutches as there is a special lot coming up at auction in July. This will require a herculean effort to get back into his stride. Fair game!!

MAY2009 HOLD YOUR BREATH

It usually takes the arrival of some grey hair before an interest in clocks emerges. So, most of us have seen a recession or two. Not like this one; quite apart from the depth of the nation's problems which may take ten or more years to resolve so far as the debt burden is concerned, we have the concurrent political crisis the like of which we have not seen before.

Against this backdrop is anyone motivated to spend at the upcoming major events at Olympia and Grosvenor House which overlap each other in early June. Both of these events were a success last year notwithstanding the economic storms which were to affect the art market in particular later that autumn and since. This year there are major changes at both fairs with quite a number of dealers pulling out but with new ones taking their places. The nature of the shows is therefore changing with Olympia seemingly going up-market with fewer but larger dealers and Grosvenor House changing its mix of dealers ostensibly to provide wider collector appeal. The main clock dealers will still be at Grosvenor House which is good news as the best in the clock market has held up, at least so far albeit it is hard to tell as there has not been a great clock auction this year in my humble opinion. We need to hold our breath to see what happens at the two premier events of the season. Whilst all this is happening the Elections today and the skullduggery going on the Labour Party will deflect us all. If Brown is brought down by his own people next week then the mood for investment of any kind will suffer and the recent gains on the stock market and now also property will result in drift. The country needs leadership and yet the government is in meltdown thanks to the Telegraph expose (sorry cannot do acute accents). The latter must rank as the most determined savaging of a government in recent times. Historians will no doubt advise me of any parallels.

To the tavern clocks. Ebay provided the two new offerings this month with none in the trade so far as I am aware. A white round dial, signed Swaine of Woodbridge on the dial, was sold in the USA for $3500 and smallish white round dial signed by Hancock of Bath was offered but not sold for £9000 on a buy it now basis. Both clocks appeared repainted one more so than the other. Both had been listed in the Tavernicus archive prior to appearing on the market.

Tavernicus gave a talk to the Wales & Marches Horological Society at the village of Grosmont. Wales is not known for its tavern clocks albeit a few were mentioned to me and the www.tavernicus.co.uk site will be updated with the location of those on public display in Wales

APRIL 2009 BOYS' TOYS

What is it about boys and their toys? Us fellows are prepared to put good money into mechanical objects. This month's spectacular toy was not a clock but an airworthy WWII Spitfire which was purchased by a businessman for £1.58m plus premium and last September a non-air worthy example sold for just over £1m. At least the latest version has a passenger seat for one's partner. Now, not everyone has the means to acquire a Spitfire but men of a certain age go misty eyed at the thought of such a piece of machinery as we do at the sight of a Le Mans blower Bentley, a Jaguar E-Type and so on. Whatever this emotion is, it is the one at work when the right clock appears and clocks are available to suit all budgets. I do not believe that the gene responsible for this reaction generally extends to the female of the species. No emails please and if the thought police is reading this, no offence.

Now what has all this to do with tavern clocks--I confess this is the weakest of connections but I could not resist writing about the Spitfire. Continuing in this curious vein of boys' toys, a dealer in Scotland sold 7000 hickory-shafted golf clubs to a single buyer in China for £120000. It's a funny old world and time to move on.

Moving to the state of the market in April. A shoulder season month with no major clock events. The general antique market signals are mixed; private buyers are out in force and the trade not so strong. Some international events are well down on last year and the Sotheby's Doha event, albeit in March, fared badly. Nearer home Lyon & Turnbull's prestigious event at Blenheim Palace in April experienced a sale rate of less than 50%. On the other hand private buyers are out and about buying art and traditional pieces. In May, Drewattes will be holding another dealer's stock dispersal. So mixed all around.

The clock story of the month is the rescue of an 8-day longcase by the highly collectable Halifax maker Thomas Ogden. It was due to be trashed as part of a house clearance and someone spotted the gem, dated 1740, and estimated at £2-3000 by Frank Marshall it was knocked down at £22000. A very happy ending.

Three tavern clocks were offered in the month. Sworders sold a white round dial of full size, complete with a classic tavern movement and its original weight. The 18thC clock, minus its ears, was completely stripped of its japan and chinoiserie a long time ago. The clock was the property of Sudbury Museum and its provenance came with the clock. It had hung in Kentwell Hall to be transferred to the British School where it lost its lacquer and thence to the Sudbury Museum. The provenance report stated that the clock was made by local clockmaker Daniel Ray. It sold for a modest price to an Essex dealer who plans to restore it; an interesting challenge.

Later in the month there were two ebay offerings. The first was an unsigned octagonal with a painting or print of George III on the door with a buy-it-now price of £8000. This clock featured in an article in the Horological Journal some time ago.

The other was a modern recreation by Sheldon of Southampton which was offered on the same basis at £1850. The case was not accurately proportioned (and with a single sheet dial) but it was sold; this same clock has appeared at land based auctions twice in the last year so hopefully it has found its home.

If you are interested in a very accurate replica, one came my way last year and with some structural corrections it has now been lacquered. This is not a new Tavernicus venture but a one-off. Have a look at the For Sale section. http://www.tavernicus.co.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=33

The site also includes the result of my 30 year project to recreate the missing parts of a tavern clock. The link is on the home page but it is not for sale. http://www.tavernicus.co.uk/

I leave you with the thought that in the 18thC the term TOY was a collective noun encompassing many desirable objects including clocks. One would visit a Toy Shop, oh that such existed today.

MARCH 2009 8 TAVERN CLOCKS

There are not many months when 8 tavern clocks are brought to market. Five were auctioned and three were on display at the BADA Fair in Chelsea. More on these in a moment.

Market sentiment is still buoyant at the top end of the clock market and some of the smaller fairs are getting good reports. Christies' March clock offering was described as frothy although there were no blockbusters. And yet.... the top end of the market does not necessarily mean that all is fine. At least not yet. Some of the economic indicators are showing glimmers of hope.

Following on from the massive Yves St Laurent record breaker the underbidders and other well-heeled punters were out in force at TEFAF Maastricht and at the Gianni Versace dispersal. Both reported success. Nearer home, the BADA fair, which Tavernicus attended, was graced by five top quality clock dealers offering the best of the best. Two dealers showed tavern clocks; Raffetty & Walwyn and Derek Roberts. R&W offerred a small lacquered white round dial by Plumley of London and a lacquered "banjo" by William Gammon of Hereford. DR offered an oak trunk white painted round dial by Knight of Stafford. Without doubt, the Gammon of Hereford was the star of the show with the finest print I have seen on a tavern clock door. The so-called barn find Vulliamy regulator longcase, sold by Bonhams in December 2008 was offered by Montpellier Clocks in a restrained restored form: very special, very expensive. Interestingly, Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury offered another similar architectural cased Vulliamy (not a regulator); it sold for over 3 times mid-estimate at £40k in what looks like showroom condition.

The other 5 taverns offered were all at auction, 3 in the USA and 2 in the UK. The three overseas offerings included a fine small black round dial by Henry Lane of Bristol in very original condition. Here in the UK, a walnut cased round dial, the latter lacquered in green and gilt signed, Finch of London, was sold by Wilkinson's at over £10k, inc premium. A vaguely similar clock sold three years ago. The last of the offerings was an unsigned octagonal dial which had been faux oaked all over the clock, both inside and out. Even the oak boards were faux painted. A very unusual two train offering which sold for £3k.

So you pays your money and you takes your pick. These taverns ranged in price from about £3k to £25k. The best and the rest!!!!

Tavernicus sold a white round dial. Replacing it on the Tavernicus for sale page is another lacquered white round dial by listed maker John Harris of Keninghall in Norfolk dated c.1780. Look out for it on www.tavernicus.co.uk

The month of April starts with an unsigned white round dial being auctioned with an interesting provenance, but more of that next time. Bye for now

FEBRUARY 2009 CLOCKS ARE HOT??

Welcome to the February newsflow for clocks, in particular tavern clocks. Given the daily deluge of bad financial news how can anyone say that clocks are hot. Stay with me there is substance to this. We left January and before that December with some mixed signals. A great Vulliamy price, a good Knibb and an ok Tompion. Reports on the January NEC 6th National Fine Art & Antiques Fair were not out at the time of writing the last blog. Well, much to the surprise of exhibitors it was better than feared and good for those selling traditional furniture. Auction reports also confirm that furniture is selling again.

What's going on?? Well on the 10th February Drewatts held a near 200 lot sale of clocks, barometers & scientific instruments. The sale included the dispersal of tools and books of respected clockmaker John Hooper who passed away in 2007. Many of his tools were original 18th and 19th century devices which were still in regular use. This aspect of the sale attracted many horologists on the day. The weather in the lead up to the sale had paralysed much of Britain but on the day the saleroom was packed as the weather was a little kinder. The other major part of the sale was the disposal of the Alfred Loader Collection which included a Tompion longcase as the star attraction with an estimate of £30-40000.

In a full room with bidders in the corridor, on the phones and annoyingly on the internet, business was buoyant. Whilst none of us would give up the internet it is nothing short of a damn nuisance in the saleroom as there is a constant lag from the live internet bidders. At times this caused confusion and even uproar. I digress.

The sale was a great success with over 90% of lots sold and more critically numerous lots sold for well over the top estimate, often multiples of the upper end. Only the run of the mill 19th century longcases remain in the doldrums. Anything interesting or of quality did well. The Tompion, numbered 253, a marriage in a well matched "mulberry"case, was knocked down at £46000, hammer. A respectable price but not great; that would have required more untouched originality. However if all were correct then the price would have been significantly greater.

Tavernicus braved the dreadful weather to attend this sale as it included a round dial tavern clock. A reasonably correct example with roman and arabic numerals on a yellowing ground with a dot minute ring. The hands a little doubtful both counterbalanced. Nicely cut classic ears. Sadly this clock has lost all the detail on the trunk including the signature. The door chinoiserie is all visible. In distressed condition the clock was knocked down for £5500, hammer, against an estimate of £2-3000. A good result. With a signature the hammer would have been greater by a margin.

Later in the month Gardiner Houlgate conducted their regular sale of watches and clocks with accompanying clock jumble. Always of interest, this sale was less jumble and more finished article. The star lot for me was a very humble 30 hour longcase, very early, in a small case no more than 78inches tall. Bristol maker. Painted brown and absolutely untouched and in original condition. Knocked down at the top estimate of £8000 these rare examples of English domestic history are now few and far between. Hopefully its new owner will not improve it. With such a clock the danger is that it will be "improved worse". I am indebted to my good friend AG for that phrase. Just into March another tavern clock appeared up north but that will be reported on my my next blog.

So, just into 2009 there are definite signs that those with money, and yes there are still many, are fed up with interest rates at near zero and the substantial risk that paper asset classes remain problematic. The consequence of these feelings is that traditional assets begin to look like a safe harbour. More next time.

JANUARY 2009: WITHER ASSET PRICES??

If you want to know what is going on in the clock world then you have come to the right place. Of course any news of tavern clocks needs to be seen in the context of the antique market. So what is going on?? Some very prominent London antique dealers have ceased trading from premises and their stocks dispersed at auction. These dispersal sales have been quite successful. Elsewhere there are some fairs being cancelled and no doubt many where the organisers wish they were not now committed. And yet ... in December in Paris the year's record was set for a piece of furniture which sold for 3.6m Euro. Ok if you like commodes covered in ormulu, not my taste.

Nearer home, concern hangs in the air as to where our asset class stands as a safe haven or otherwise for money. All asset classes have fallen in value and the Christmas party chat was all about whether this or that asset has reached bottom. With clocks there are clearly two markets, the best and the rest. I shall come back to the rest but the best is showing mixed signals. In December, a Vulliamy longcase was auctioned by Bonhams as a barn discovery ( a stable actually). Don't you just love the romance. Well the estimate was £40-60k and the vendor must have been pleased with the hammer dropping at £100k. This was a classic Vulliamy longcase with the pedimented top encasing a regulator. Think how many of these you could buy in lieu of a certain type of commode.

Then the government began issuing new rescue initiatives every Sunday; have you noticed that nothing happens in parliament anymore and politicians only seem to work weekends?? Then of course we had Obamamania but none of this medicine is working yet and the car industry is being bailed out even though it is all foreign owned. I digress.

The small offering of clocks in the January 22nd auction by Christies had 15 lots on offer of which 12 sold. The key lots were the Knibb and Tompion table clocks. The Knibb estimate of £40-60k was respectably achieved with a premium inclusive price of £79250 whilst the Tompion estimate of £70-100k was met with a sale at £70850, premium inclusive. Draw your own conclusions but it is fairly clear that the top names are not producing estimate busting results even when estimates are being moderated. I wonder, when the market froths again, which of the three buyers made the best call as a store of value. Certainly with returns on cash at about 2% the braver will start taking a punt.

Tavern clock offerings in January were limited to ebay where a teardrop and a late mahogany example both reached their reserves and sold at under £2500. Not tiptop examples and a validation that the best and the rest are miles apart. However, for the budget buyer who would never stretch to the £20k+ levels of the best I thought the teardrop, at least, would make a handsome addition to a collection if well restored. If anyone wants further information about these offerings please get in touch.

Tavernicus added a shield dial to its inventory in the month, please have a look at the link.

http://www.tavernicus.co.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34&Itemid=33

Looking ahead, the big event in February is the sale by Drewatts on the 10th which has an unsigned tavern clock on offer and more importantly a Tompion longcase. Watch this space. For those who like to get their hands dirty Gardiner Houlgate have their two day watch and clock sale at the end of the month. Always nice to get some clock oil on one's hands and to rummage in the debris

Before I finish I said I would return to the "rest". The Antique Furniture Club's Antique Furniture Index now in its 40th year indicates that in 2008 furniture prices were only one percent down on 2007. The peak of the Index was 2002 with falls every year since. This suggests we may have hit bottom. This may be a proxy for general clocks; it may not be. Other anecdotal evidence is that clock restorers whose work has been predominantly for the trade are suffering as the trade does not have the throughput at the moment. Those restorers working for the end customer are faring better; grandma's old clock will always be fixed no matter what the cost.

Wherever you stand it is clear that the buyer has the whip hand for the moment and that buying for stock or for investment is a precarious affair. Good luck, I will be back in March with more.