Valuable Nest of Teak & Afrosia wood Tables
All Things
Auctioneering Sometimes objects are not what they appear to be; but how can you tell the difference? The illustrated yellow beads are a point in question. Are they cheap baubles or are they something to be treasured forever? Well, the simple answer is that they are particularly good example of a well designed string of amber beads probably dating from the 1950s or thereabouts. Amber is found in many different colours including dark brown and green. The most desirable amber is the mottled bright yellow which looks
quality and worn antique furniture brings poor results which is
somewhat like scrambled eggs. The clear amber comes next
disappointing for all concerned, including ourselves!
and often includes insects in the beads which were trapped in the original resin. Many people like the dark red amber – but
My heart did leap with joy a few months ago at a Wirral
it is all a matter of personal preference.
property which had been totally furnished with teak furniture in the 1960s and 1970s. I explained to the beneficiaries that
As far as I can remember the top price paid at auction at one
this furniture was now very much in demand and worth more
of the Cato Crane 5 Counties Auctions was over £3,000 about
than antique furniture nowadays. They said they watched the
three years ago for the ‘scrambled egg’ variety. If you have
TV shows and that they would soon decide what to do; a few
any good large amber beads please let us know and we can
days later I passed the property and noticed three skips full
place them in one of our specialist monthly BidLive-OnLine-
of the furniture, broken up and out in the rain – it was worth
RealTime auctions where people bid from all four corners of
about £6,000!
the globe. Just send me a photograph by email and they are easy to post to us to be included.
Teak was never an inexpensive wood. It was difficult to
Good gold and diamond jewellery is in high demand, and I can
transport as it did not float and had to be drawn overland by
make a visit to you to discuss the sale of good items.
elephants thus increasing the costs enormously. As it was so expensive many pieces of furniture used teak veneers over
Since writing my last page, I have covered over 4,000 miles
a low-cost frame. Furniture designers across Europe and
by car and appraised more house contents than usual of
especially Denmark and the UK took teak furniture design
extremely good quality antique furniture right across the
very seriously and the name of G-Plan is known to everyone
Northwest, Cheshire, Wirral and North Wales, where we are
but there are hundreds of small and large high quality
now extremely active.
designers to choose from and collect! The ‘cut-off’ date at the moment seems to be around 1980 when mass production
A client asked me, the other day, if my heart jumped for joy
designs were perhaps not so desirable.
when I discovered antique furniture? The simple answer is ‘YES’, when it is of exceptional quality as this will still encourage
Our business is expanding again so follow us on Twitter &
enthusiastic bidding on auction day in Liverpool! Mediocre
Instagram and remember: ‘Don’t skip it - Cato Crane it!’ n
John Crane runs Cato Crane Auctioneers which offers a free pre-sale valuation service at its busy Valuation Office in Wirral. It also offers a home visit valuation service throughout North Wales, which is ideal if you would like advice on a few objects. Cato Crane’s selling commission rates are competitive, and a rate of 8% (or lower for very high value items) is available to clients in North Wales during December 2019. You can call Cato Crane’s head office in Liverpool on 0151 709 5559 or their office in Wirral on 0151 342 2321 for further information or, alternatively you can ring John directly on 07836 209995 if you would like any auctioneering advice. You can also follow Cato Crane on Twitter and Instagram: @CatoCrane www.catocrane.co.uk
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