The complex and often opaque industry of antiques trading can be difficult to navigate, even for a high-net-worth collector. That’s why the advice of a leading antiques expert can prove invaluable.
An experienced antiques adviser can lend their specialist knowledge of particular fields to help collectors to source, purchase and sell antiques in a prudent manner. Many are able to find off-market opportunities for collectors interested in a particular niche, and introduce them to items of which they might otherwise be unaware.
Provenance and authentication is all-important, and an independent adviser, unbiased by any relationship with the seller, is the best way to make sure you are buying the real thing and not a clever copy.
The best antiques experts in the Spear’s index do all of this and more and are experienced in dealing in fields including jewellery, English furniture and ancient artefacts.
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Best antiques experts: names to know
Travers Nettleton – New addition
Firm: Garden Art Plus
Founded by Travers Nettleton and his wife Katie, Garden Art Plus is a leading supplier of original garden antiques in the UK. Nettleton often collaborates with garden designers and exhibits at the Chelsea Flower Show.
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Read Travers Nettleton’s full profile on Spears500.com
Judith Nugée – Returning to Recommended
Firm: Hornsby and Nugée
Together with her business partner and fellow Christie’s veteran Sarah Hornsby, Judith Nugée runs Hornsby and Nugée, an independent consultant specialising in ancient Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Near Eastern and European art from 5000 BC to 1200 AD.
Read Judith Nugée’s full profile on Spears500.com
Simon Phillips – Returning to Recommended
Firm: Ronald Phillips
It’s all in the family for Simon Phillips, who took over his father Ronald Phillips’s business selling fine antique English furniture in the 1990s. It is now, as it was then, one of the world’s top dealers and restorers in the field.
Read Simon Phillips’ full profile on Spears500.com
Methodology
In selecting and ranking the best antiques experts, the Spear’s Research Unit conducts extensive research of the market, including interviews with well-informed observers, industry insiders and of course the advisers themselves. These take place both face-to-face, and on video and telephone calls. Candidates for inclusion are asked to fill in a form to provide data and a description of their work and client base. In finalising its selections and rankings, the Spear’s Research Unit employs a proprietary methodology that includes a weighted scoring system. This takes into account factors including an adviser’s standing, reputation, client base, recommendations and testimonials, the firm they represent, their level of engagement with the process and certain industry-specific criteria.
Best antiques experts: the complete list
Click on the individual names to be directed to more detailed profiles of each adviser on The Spear’s 500 website. The table is ordered by ranking and then alphabetically by surname.
Find out more
To explore all the Spear’s indices, and to use our find-an-adviser tool to identify the private client adviser who is right for your specific requirements, go to the Spear’s 500 website.
To receive relevant research updates from Spear’s – and thereby give you and your firm the best chance of being included in future Spear’s indices – please register here. If you are an adviser featured in an index and would like to update your profile or provide additional information, please email research@spearswms.com. If you are not featured but would like to be, please fill out our form.
