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There were two horological offerings last month at Christie’s South Kensington (17.5/10% buyer’s premium). The auctioneers kicked off on October 3 with a mid-range clocks and barometer selection then followed it up on the 10th with a grander offering styled as Important Watches.

The German-based Oetke Group are currently in negotiations to sell the Bond Street galleries of Colnaghi, one of the oldest names in the London art trade, to the London and Munich Old Master dealer Konrad Bernheimer.

Early Qing imperial porcelain has long been the darling of the Hong Kong Chinese auctions so when a Qianlong (1736-95) mark and period dragon vase with a previously unpublished pattern came up at Sotheby’s (20/15/10% buyer’s premium), Hong Kong on October 29, sparks flew and an auction record was set for a piece of Qianlong porcelain.

Christie’s are to make 23 staff redundant in Los Angeles, their second largest saleroom in America. The decision is part of an ongoing, worldwide cost-cutting programme undertaken by the company following the settlement of the $256m lawsuit over commissions and the downturn in the art market this year.

Listed on eBay on October 15 with an opening bid of just $75, within seven days this gold plastic PEZ space gun dating from the late 1950s/early ’60s had attracted a final bid of $6262 (£4540). At today’s prices, that’s more than 22 times the cost of an ounce of real gold.

Britain’s third and fourth largest auction firms, Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips, finally merged on November 1 to create an enlarged company, called simply Bonhams.

Windsor Chairs: An Illustrated Handbook by Wallace Nutting published by Dover Publications Inc. NY ($14.95) and distributed in the UK by David & Charles Ltd of Newton Abbot. ISBN 0486417255 £15.70