Sotheby’s to sell the George Daniels Horological Collection, greatest watchmaker of 20th century

I’m not sure what George Daniels would have made of the iPhone. Apart from making voice calls and texts, for as little outlay as free, or 99 pence at worst, it’s possible to have the thing tell you the time or the weather anywhere in the world, the air temperature in Wirral and even when high tide will be tomorrow in Rhyl, constantly recalibrating itself to take into account leap years and phases of the moon. He’d probably have bought one just to take apart to see how it was made.

Dr Daniels, who died at his home on the Isle of Man in October last year, had that kind of inquisitive mind. When he was five, he opened up the back of a broken watch to reveal its complex mechanism of wheels and cogs, shedding a light on a new universe, which he said transformed his life.

On November 6, Sotheby’s will sell the personal collection of watches and clocks George built over a lifetime devoted to horology: unique timepieces George made himself, together with fine and important antique clocks and watches by makers who inspired him. They are expected to raise £3.8 to 5.8 million.

Proceeds from this landmark sale will be added to the £11 million raised for his collection of vintage cars, sold last June. The funds will go to the George Daniels Educational Trust, set up by him to further the higher education of pupils studying horology, engineering,

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Golf clubs auction set to score hole in one

At the outset, let me make it clear I am not a golfer, nor do I have any desire to become one.

That said, I could become an armchair golfer, or rather a collector of the implements associated with the sport. My interest stems from watching an auction of golfing memorabilia some years ago in which a single golf club sold for a record £49,000.

Dating from the earliest days of golf, the club had been made by a blacksmith, so it was pretty crude, to say the least. It was discovered in a garden shed in Edinburgh and the story made international headlines.

It was not unlike the "Very Early and Important Square Toe Light Iron, circa 1600" pictured in the slideshow here. Indeed, it may be the very same club. Either way, prices have spiralled in the meantime.Read more »

Pop diva Cher to mount Sotheby’s sale of cast-offs

The highest bidder gets to sleep in Cher’s bed – though the Academy Award-winning actress, singer songwriter and half of the pop duo Sonny & Cher – will have taken the money and ran. She’s signed up with Sotheby’s to sell the contents of her Malibu home in California.

Around 700 lots of furniture, works of art, jewellery, original costumes and a four-wheel drive Hummer are expected to raise around $1 million (£540,000). There’ll be viewing in London and New York for some of the highlights before the Beverly Hills sale on October 3.

Battle of the Canalettos and the winner costs £18.6m

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Record-breaking Canaletto

The champagne corks popped at Christie's when their Canaletto sold for a record-breaking £11.4 million but the celebrations moved to Bond Street when Sotheby's Canaletto smashed that price and was knocked down for a cool £18.6 million. Nice work if you can get it, but as supply of such top end paintings dries up, the problem now is finding another blockbuster. Read the BBC online report of the sales here.