The best collectible pieces rarely go looking for buyers – and in the world of luxury assets, they tend to stay hidden unless you know where to look.
The market for collectibles – antiques, jewellery, watches, classic cars and other luxury items – remains notoriously opaque, and genuine access is hard-won. For HNW buyers, that makes insider knowledge on what to buy, and how to buy it, essential to expanding a serious private collection without compromising on quality or rarity along the way.
Getting the appropriate value for money requires deep historical understanding, provenance and authentication expertise, an extensive network and an extremely well-trained eye, which is why bringing in an experienced collectibles expert is more than just a luxury.
[See also: Price of fame: more HNW investors are buying into pop culture collectibles]
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‘When people believe they can [source antiques] themselves, they end up spinning themselves in a web, because there are rules and regulations regarding importing things and exporting things,’ fine antiques dealer Lennox Cato of MEUM Private tells Spear’s. ‘There is a proper way of doing things. They try to do things on the cheap, and sometimes doing things on the cheap is not cost-effective.’
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The specialists in the Spear’s 2026 Collectibles Advisers Index perform valuations and appraisals, conduct provenance research, advise on regulatory compliance and provide strategic insight into collection management.
In many cases, their services are tailored to their time-poor clientele; they do ‘the groundwork and the legwork’, assisting (U)HNW collectors during the entire ownership process, from sourcing, to purchase, to resale.
[See also: Big four auction houses scramble amid $10 billion art market slump]
Their areas of focus vary: Sarah Hornsby, Judith Nugée and Charis Tyndall, for instance, focus on antiquities, while Simon Kidston, a new addition to our index, advises exclusively on cars. Cato and Jeremy Morrison work across antiques and collectibles more widely, while Rachel Doerr offers valuations on everything from comics and handbags to furniture, weapons, ceramics and cars.
Trends in 2026
Provenance
Our research found that many buyers misunderstand the importance of provenance. Having a documented record of ownership for a collectible supports authenticity, provides historical context and, importantly, can affect the item’s value.
However, some buyers skip this due diligence entirely, while others fail to request documentation or to retain it.
There is also a misconception about the ‘pre-1970 provenance threshold’ in relation to antiquities, Tyndall explains. The international agreement adopted by UNESCO in 1970 was created to help stop the illegal trade of cultural objects, and while some collectors assume that a pre-1970 paper trail is legally required, it’s often just a blanket policy adopted by museums.
Advisers also noted that trusted, reputable dealers already conduct this due diligence. With access to specialist databases and private archives, they are able to confirm authenticity, spot forgeries and identify quality pieces that less-trained eyes might overlook.
Collection management
Along the same lines, some of our advisers highlighted the importance of collection management, from thorough record-keeping to cataloguing, creating inventories and managing storage and conservation.
Working alongside a client’s other advisers, a collectibles expert can also contribute to wider wealth and legacy planning, helping to navigate difficult conversations around inheritance and offering objective valuations of a family’s collection, or advising on loans or donations to galleries and museums.
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- Methodology
- The best collectibles experts: some names to know
- The best collectibles experts: the complete list
- Contact us
Methodology
Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.
Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.
[See also: A guide to The Spear’s 500: Everything you need to know]
Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.
The best collectibles experts: some names to know
Sarah Hornsby
- Focus: Ancient art and antiquities
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Hornsby + Nugée
Ex-Christie’s directors Sarah Hornsby and Judith Nugée founded their antiquities and ancient art consultancy in 2009. At that time, says Hornsby, ‘There were the auction houses and there were the dealers, but there were very, very few independent consultancies.’
Based in London, Hornsby + Nugée specialises in antiquities from Europe, Greece, Rome, Egypt and the Near East. They offer advisory, sales and negotiations services, handling artefacts both privately and at auction. Valuation, insurance, family division and taxation are also covered, with discretion and independence valued above all.
Read Sarah Hornsby’s full profile on Spears500.com
Lennox Cato
- Focus: English 18th- and 19th-century works
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: MEUM Private
Fine antiques dealer Lennox Cato reveals that he has sold to passionate collectors and high-profile institutions, but emphasises to Spear’s that ‘customer confidentiality’ is of the utmost importance.
‘Chemistry between myself and the client’ is also a key consideration, he adds. ‘If it’s hard work, then it’s not going to work.’ A stalwart of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow for the past 20 years, his shop in the Cotswolds stocks ceramics, furniture, horological pieces and objets d’art from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
Read Lennox Cato’s full profile on Spears500.com
Simon Kidston
- Focus: Classic cars
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Kidston
When a rare 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé sold at a private RM Sotheby’s auction auction in 2022, it was Simon Kidston’s bid on which the gavel fell.
Acting for an anonymous private buyer, Kidston secured the car, considered one of Mercedes’ ‘crown jewels’ and one which has been referred to as the ‘Mona Lisa’ for its rarity, for a record-setting €135 million.
Read Simon Kidston’s full profile on Spears500.com
Judith Nugée
- Focus: Ancient art and antiquities
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Hornsby + Nugée
Judith Nugée has over 40 years of experience in the commercial antiquities market. Between 1985 and 2009 she worked as a specialist in the antiquities department at Christie’s, where she was an associate director, head of department and senior consultant.
Now working as an independent consultant alongside her business partner, Sarah Hornsby, at Hornsby + Nugée, she offers impartial advice on all aspects of the ancient art market.
Read Judith Nugée’s full profile on Spears500.com
Rachel Doerr
- Focus: Fine art, antiques, jewellery, watches and classic cars
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Doerr Dallas Valuations
Rachel Doerr, a trusted valuer of fine art, antiques, jewellery, watches, classic cars and other luxury goods, has been working in the industry for nearly four decades. She founded Doerr Valuations in 2016, and in 2019 appointed David Dallas chief executive, creating Doerr Dallas Valuations.
Today, a team of specialists provides clients with independent valuations – for probate and tax reasons, in cases of divorce or family division, and during the sale and acquisition process – alongside other art-related advisory services.
Read Rachel Doerr’s full profile on Spears500.com
The best collectibles experts: the complete list
Contact us
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