Fellows & Sons is an auctioneers based in the heart of Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter They specialise in antique jewellery, wrist & pocket watches, silverware, coins & medals, furniture, toys, glassware and ceramics. Fellows was established in 1876 and is one of the United Kingdom's oldest and most respected firms of auctioneers and valuers.
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History
The company's origin can be traced back to the collapse of an order for bicycles in 1876. When William Henry Fellows, who was based in Digbeth, was left with the unwanted order he decided to sell the bicycles by auction. The family, who were also pawnbrokers, used auctions to sell uncollected pledges. William Henry Fellows was followed by his son Francis Henry Fellows – who was known as ‘Frank H’ – in Loveday Street.
It was during the 1920s that the business grew, with Frank H selling items belonging to refugees escaping from the ravages of the Russian revolution.
Frank H was in turn followed into the business by his two sons William and Albert Fellows, who ran the business from Greenfield Crescent in Edgbaston, Birmingham.
The brothers also saw a wide variety of goods from refugees from the Nazi persecution who were able to smuggle out some of their worldly wealth. Sales in this era also included lost property from the Royal Mail.
William and Albert were followed into the business by Antony Fellows, the son of Albert, who based the company in Hagley Road, Birmingham. Fellows & Sons moved in 1990 to Augusta House in the Jewellery Quarter, the firm's current home. His daughter Jayne Fellows has taken over the running of the business with her husband Stephen Whittaker, who is the managing partner.
The couple have seen the company grow from five staff to twenty. The company now holds over 50 sales per year, more than half of which are for jewellery. This growth has been helped by the firm specialising in other niche markets such as watches, costume jewellery, toys, silver and furniture.
In 2007, Fellows expanded the company once more by opening an office in Mayfair, London, targeting new business in London and the south east.
Modern Technology
One of the first auction houses in the UK to launch live internet bidding back in 1999.In 2008 Fellows introduced social bookmarking and RSS feeds onto its catalogues and website.
Valuers
Fellows has a strong team of experienced valuers and auctioneers which includes Kevin Jackson.
Kevin is a furniture and toy valuer with over eighteen years experience. He has worked for both television and local radio appearing on Bargain Hunt, Flog It, House Call, Saga FM and Radio WM.
Charities
Fellows carries out several auctions at fund raising events each year for various charities such as the NSPCC, Marie Curie, Alzheimer's Society and the Birmingham Children's Hospital.
In November 2007, a collection of 24 Christmas cards sent from Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales to a founder member of the Prince of Wales's Committee, were donated to raise funds for the Alzheimer's Society. Four days before the sale the cards were withdrawn. The Alzheimer's Society had contacted Clarence House out of courtesy, but officials disapproved the auction as they regarded the cards as ‘personal and should not be in the public domain’.
Tommy Tranter
As part of its services, Fellows carries out house clearances a source of much of the furniture it sells and also one of its more notable sales. Tommy Tranter was a local antiques dealer who lived in a large Victorian terraced house crammed with pictures, bronzes, music boxes, coloured glass and militaria. It took the valuers two days to empty the house due to the sheer volume of items and was split into a two-day sale. A story had leaked that Tommy had died intestate and as a result Fellows were besieged by ‘wannabe’ Tranters. Fellows did however discover his sister who had been adopted at birth and she became a significant beneficiary of the value of her late brother's collections.
The second day of the sale went live on local TV. Queues of people formed outside the auction house, each wanting an item from the Tommy Tranter collection. It was one of Fellows’ more famous sales.
Record Rolex Submariner
Fellows recently sold a rare vintage Rolex Submariner - model number 5513 with movement calibre 1530. The model was sold in Fellows' Wrist & Pocket Watch auction in January 2009. It was estimated at £900 - £1,400 but surpassed this and was snapped up for a staggering £35,000 by a bidder in the room. This particular model is highly collectable so it attracted a lot of interest from people around the world.
Staffordshire VAT Scam Assets Auctioned
Fellows also recently sold watches belonging to Craig Johnson, Meaford Hall, Staffordshire currently serving 12 years for fraud and money laundering. He was the mastermind behind a mobile phone sales swindle which made a reported £138 million. Some of his assets included £200,000 worth of Rolex watches and jewellery. One of his watches sold for £37,000 breaking watch record prices at Fellows. The watch was a Rolex platinum and diamond set DayDate.