SHOWCASING THE WORLD’S FINEST PROPERTIES AND THE STORIES BEHIND THEM

For those who have
everything
by Nicky Rampley-Clarke

Not exactly box fresh, but a signed pair of Nike MAG sneakers – replicas of the ones Michael J Fox wore as Marty McFly in the 1989 film Back to the Future Part II –  are expected to fetch around £100,000 (~$121,000). The design, launched by Nike in 2011, was made in a limited edition of 1,500. (House of Assets)

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Once you’ve got the watches, the supercars and the houses – not to mention the art, the wine and the tech – what other valuables can you invest in that appreciate over time? Storied reporter Nicky Rampley-Clarke tracks the trends in seriously aspirational collecting.  

Since 2022, at least seven gargantuan prehistoric skeletons have gone under the hammer for eyewatering prices at auction houses around the world. Take your pick. A tyrannosaurus rex for €22 million? Or a gorgosaurus for $6.1 million?

The latter (probably gorgeous in a past life, but who really knows?) was sold by The House of Assets, a digital repository of curiosities and other covetable objets. Launched by former yacht captain James Ballard in 2024, the firm asserts a £1 billion portfolio that includes, for example, a Picasso medallion-style coin (value: £20 million), a watch from Paul Newman’s collection (£60,000) and Nike sneakers signed by Michael J. Fox (£100,000).

What makes a listing hot? “Uniqueness and rarity, combined with social resonance,” Ballard explains. “Our clients want something that money almost can’t buy.” Available items include artworks by Van Gogh, Warhol and Hirst, extremely rare whisky, racehorse shares and supercars. Plus countless other things you didn’t know you needed.

Jockey in blue silks on a racehorse, with two people in foreground

When you buy a share in a racehorse, you don’t get to choose which leg – or any other bit for that matter. But the collective winnings can add some 00s onto the thrill of the race. Pictured is Cachet, ridden by James Doyle, winner of the 1000 Guineas Stakes at Newmarket in 2022. Good news for owners is that the purse has increased since the first race in 1814 from a measly 1000 guineas or £1,200 ($1,480) to £500,000 ($615,000). (House of Assets)  

The House of Assets is not alone. A proliferation of online marketplaces make next-level collectibles accessible to those with the means. 1st Dibs, Catawiki, James Edition and Paul Fraser Collectibles all serve a growing appetite for the rare, the unusual, the expensive.

Is it any wonder? While traditional stocks and shares may maunder in the marsh of uncertain fiscal climes, collectibles let HNWIs diversify assets and hedge their bets – while indulging in things that spark their curiosity and stroke their personal passions.

Fun and games

Novelty is always high on the wish-list. Such as the full-sized luxury train purchased by an undisclosed royal client of Purple Design, a London-based interior design studio. Founder Orla Collins shrugs: “Who needs a gold four-poster bed when you can sleep in a full-sized luxury train as it chugs through your palace gardens? What’s life without a bit of whimsy?” As if that wasn’t enough fun and games, also the proud owner of 60,000 original Marvel comics and a life-sized replica of Fred Flintstone’s iconic Cavemobile car. Whoever the mystery royal, their clutch of Fabergé eggs evidently doesn’t scratch the edge of their ennui.

If your credulity hasn’t been stress-tested enough yet, you’re sure to find nothing unusual in this lot of eyebrow-raisers recently sold at auction: Judy Garland’s Wizard of Oz ruby slippers, the last violin played on the Titanic, a lock of Elvis Presley’s hair. Oh, and a slice of the moon. Yes, really.

elaborate jewelled ring with a great white shark design

Exuberant, exquisite, extraordinary. This Great White Shark ring by British jeweller Theo Fennell deserves its own film franchise and a menacing signature tune that warns off even the sirens of the deep. The head is encrusted with white and gray diamonds, a rubellite tongue and razor-sharp white gold teeth. The price? You’re gonna need a bigger wallet. (House of Assets)     

Who needs a gold four-poster bed when you can sleep in a full-sized luxury train as it chugs through your palace gardens? What's life without a bit of whimsy?

Real page-turners

Less surprising, perhaps, is that books are still big business. First editions can command extraordinary figures. Take the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Only 500 copies were printed, and 300 went libraries. It’s one of the rarest collectibles on the market. If you’re anxious to own a 1997 first edition first impression credited to Joanne Rowling instead of J.K., one is currently available from a reputable rare book seller on New Kings Road, London, for £110,000 ($134,000).

Even rarer is an 1865 first edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Only 23 surviving copies exist, five of which are owned by public institutions. After touring the book in London and the West Coast of America, Christie’s put a copy up for sale on 16 June 2016 in New York with an estimate of $2-$3 million. It failed to meet the reserve and did not sell.

Interior of elaborate Beaux Arts style bookshop in Porto, Portugal

They don’t just sell Harry Potter books in this Hogwarts-style store in Porto, Portugal. And you’ll probably search in vain for a forgotten first edition. But as you enter please remember to leave your quidditch stick by the door. (Shutterstock)

Chiseled features

When it comes to art, forget pieces to hang on walls. Garden sculpture is apparently the must-have next-level collectible de nos jours. Unsurprisingly, provenance is the key to the fortune, and the name to follow is Eleanor Coade. Renowned in her day (1733-1821) not only as an entrepreneurial business owner but for being a woman at the same time, Coade’s company designed and manufactured exquisite pieces in artificial stone that attracted the eye of two later architects of royal patronage, Sir John Soanes and Sir John Nash.

Any budding collectors would be well advised to visit the former’s Museum in central London as a guide to how many items of traveller’s exotica it’s possible to exhibit in one townhouse. Meanwhile, the price of artificial garden stone keeps rocketing. Time to start carving out a niche collection?

As with most collectibles, it isn’t the subject or the object that commands attention quite as much as the verbs behind the thing. Who made this? Who owned it? What’s the story behind it? Owning a piece like this one by Eleanor Coade comes with provenance ingrained, but the value lies in the rarity of the creator’s eye. (National Trust Images/Andrew Butler)

Meanwhile in America…

Again unsurprisingly, the Bank of America’s Private Bank 2024 Study of Wealthy Americans points to millennials and Gen Zers as the demographic most passionate about collectibles. Big-tickets items are watches, jewellery and wine. Those under 44 aremore likely to collect rare cars and sneakers than their older peers (no kidding?), and 83 percent of respondents either own art or intend to start a collection in the future.

“We’re living through a period of great social, economic and technological change alongside the greatest generational transfer of wealth in history,” notes the president of Bank of America Private Bank, Katy Knox. “Our study shows that wealthy Americans are focused on diversification, long-term goals and making a lasting impact with their wealth.”

While all the good old sages suggest we should “collect moments, not things,” clearly there’s a good argument to do the opposite. Good hunting!

Topics in this article

  • Reporter: Nicky Rampley-Clarke
  • Nicky Rampley-Clarke is an interiors, food and lifestyle journalist who regularly writes for the likes of The Sunday Times, The Telegraph and House Beautiful, amongst others. He is working on his first book, which will bring together his specialisms.

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