Special One-Off & Timed

We identify the right format, build the right audience and create the right presentation to generate maximum attention and competitive bidding.

From important Welsh art and sporting history to the contents of landmark properties and specialist collections, we combine experienced auctioneering with targeted marketing, specialist research and meticulous cataloguing.

The result is an auction designed around the collection — not a collection fitted around an auction.

For single-owner collections, the provenance and story behind the works can be just as important as the works themselves. Our approach is to bring that story to life and give collectors the context they need to understand the significance of what they are bidding on.

This approach is demonstrated by The Family Collection of Gwilym Prichard & Claudia Williams, which brought together works by two highly regarded Welsh artists, consigned by their family.

Rather than treating the collection as simply another group of artworks, we created a dedicated auction that took collectors on a journey through Gwilym and Claudia’s lives, supported by a thoroughly researched catalogue featuring essays from the family, as well as Professor Robert Meyrick and Dr Harry Heuser, friends of the artists and co-authors of Gwilym Prichard: A Lifetime’s Gazing and Claudia Williams: An Intimate Acquaintance. 93% of the lots sold, with a total hammer of £160,280.

Our expertise is particularly valuable when a collection appeals to a highly specialist collector base.

The rugby jersey collections of JPR Williams and Sir Gareth Edwards CBE demonstrate this particularly well. Both collections comprised match-worn jerseys and jerseys exchanged with other players — lots with exceptional sporting provenance and a worldwide audience.

For The JPR Williams Collection, we created a dedicated auction and produced a high-quality physical catalogue supported by essays from Sir Gareth Edwards CBE, JPR's family and the WRU, along with comments made by JPR Williams about each jersey. It was a 'white-glove sale', with all 29 lots selling and a total hammer of £65,470.

For The Rugby Jersey Collection of Sir Gareth Edwards CBE, we developed the sale around the extraordinary provenance of the jerseys and the history behind them. Again, we produced a physical catalogue with researched essays and memories from Sir Gareth Edwards himself, giving collectors both a detailed reference to the lots and a permanent record of the collection. All 39 lots found a new home, with a total hammer of £351,500.

The sale also achieved a world record £240,000 for the Barbarians jersey worn by Gareth Edwards against the All Blacks in 1973.

These results demonstrate what can happen when an exceptional collection is presented to the right market, with the right research, storytelling and marketing behind it.

Our expertise extends beyond specialist collections to major estate clearances, where the logistical challenge can be as significant as the auction itself.

Our handling of the Plas Teg House clearance remains one of the strongest examples. We were appointed to manage the extensive contents of the celebrated seventeenth-century Jacobean mansion in Flintshire and the remarkable collection assembled there by Cornelia Bayley over several decades.

The project required the careful removal, cataloguing and secure storage of hundreds of items. Rather than bringing large numbers of visitors into a sensitive historic property, we created specialist off-site viewing facilities near Wrexham.

We then staged a major online auction featuring high-profile furniture, oriental carpets and garden statuary, alongside a series of carefully catalogued specialist sales for the extensive collection of antique ceramics.

Plas Teg: Principal House & Garden Contents saw every one of its 407 lots sell, with a total hammer of £251,137.

A timed online auction is not simply a different way of selling. For the right collection, it can create a different kind of buying environment.

With bidding open over an extended period, collectors have time to discover the sale, research individual lots and return to bid as competition develops. This can be particularly effective for specialist collections where buyers may be spread across different markets and time zones, or where the strength of the collection lies in the depth and variety of its contents.

The Studio Sale of Gareth Thomas is a good example. Running over three weeks, the timed format gave collectors time to engage with the collection and allowed competition to build throughout the sale. 89 of 90 lots sold, with a total hammer of £26,785, more than £10,000 above the top estimate.

Timed auctions can also be particularly effective for collections containing a large number of related specialist items. A Massive Single-Owner Collection of Model Kits achieved a total of £26,430 — more than 2.5 times the top estimate — with an exceptional 92% of lots selling above estimate.

Our strength lies in combining decades of auctioneering experience with the flexibility to tailor every sale to the collection we are entrusted with. 

Whether a consignment is best suited to a high-profile live auction or a carefully managed timed online sale, we select the format that will achieve the widest audience, generate the strongest competition and maximise returns. Supported by our proprietary, surcharge-free online bidding platform and experienced specialist teams, this approach consistently delivers outstanding results for our clients.

To discuss a single-owner collection, estate clearance or specialist consignment, please contact our Head of Auctions and Partner, Ben Rogers Jones.