Auction alerts: Antiques & Collectables sale, Stamford Auction Rooms

This week, we’re sharing information about the upcoming Antiques & Collectables sale at Stamford Auction Rooms. It happens on Saturday 30^th July 2022, from 10am.

There’s an eclectic mix of all sorts; vintage enamel advertising signs, Scandi glass, Belgian studio pottery, beautiful antique brass and more. Everything we’ve picked out below we’d happily give house room… if we had any left!

The buyer’s premium stands at 24% of the hammer price. There’s an added 3% commission if you bid via SARoom LIVE, the auction room’s own online bidding service.

Online bidding is also available via the-saleroom.com and EasyLiveAuction. If you bid via the-saleroom.com you’ll be charged an extra 4.95% on top of the 20% (+VAT)  buyer’s commission. Alternatively, if you bid via EasyLiveAuction you’ll be charged an extra 3% or £3.00 flat fee on top of the 20% (+VAT)  buyer’s commission.

Stamford Auction Rooms Ltd offers a delivery service. Please note that while we offer to post and pack for the convenience of our bidders, most items are uninsurable by the Royal Mail and we take no responsibility whatsoever for the items once they have left our premises.
Prices start at £12 +VAT.
We advise all our clients to use a professional packing service such as Mailboxes Etc. for ceramics/glass/breakables. Please contact the office for more information.

Lot 24: A Holmgaard smoky glass mid century ice bucket
With rattan handle and matching brushed steel pair of tongs, engraved Holmgaard 8715 to the base, 16cm high.
Estimate: £40-£60

Lot 28: A 19th century oil lamp
With a light reflective dome over a glass inner shade.
Estimate: £50-£80

Lot 40: A French brass antique coffee percolator
On stand with burner and cover, 25cm high.
Estimate: £20-£40

Lot 63: Attributed to Georges Pelletier (Belgium b.1938): a ceramic lamp
With pierced and applied decoration in the Cubist abstract style, mark not apparent, but may be incised under baize base, 41cm high, complete with original lampshade, 81cm including shade.
Estimate: £600-£800

Lot 78: A Castol GTX steel and enamel sign
30cm by 60cm.
Estimate: £100-£150

Lot 79: A steel and enamel Golden Shred marmalade sign
60cm by 40cm
Estimate: £200-£300

Lot 112: Six pairs of late 19^th / early 20^th century glasses and pince nez
Together with a leather collar box.
Estimate: £20-£40

Lot 124: A Wall’s glass counter top display cabinet
Estimate: £120-£150

Lot 221: A Le Corbusier style white leather chaise longue
With polished chrome frame base / stand.
Estimate: £800-£1,200

Win a Swannies bundle from Swanwick

This month, we have a review and giveaway in one. Swanwick has provided us a pair of Swannies blue light blocking glasses to try out as well as a Day & Night bundle for one of our readers.

Swanwick was founded in 2015 by two sleep-deprived brothers over in Australia. They learned that the blue light emitted from electronic devices wreaks havoc on the body’s production of melatonin, a hormone that helps to regulate sleep patterns. That’s when they set about designing and producing a range of fashionable eyewear that blocks out the offending blue light.

I’ve long been an advocate of blue light blocking glasses, this time it was Justin’s turn to give them a go.

He’s been wearing off-the-shelf reading glasses for a few years now, so we requested a pair of 2.50+ daytime blue light blocking glasses to test drive.

When the package arrived and he ‘unboxed’ his new specs, he was very impressed by the initial look of them. They’re very well made and have a real quality feel – robust, without feeling heavy. He finds them very comfortable to wear, even after long periods of use.

If you spend a good deal of time working at a computer, playing computer games, reading e-books, scrolling on your phone or watching TV, you’re probably exposing yourself to excess blue light.

Even if you don’t need to wear vision-correcting glasses, you can benefit from wearing Swannies. They’re available with both magnification and non-magnification blue light filtering lenses. They’re also available in kids’ sizes too!

To be in with a chance to win a Swannies bundle of your choice, tell us in the comments section below how many hours per day you reckon you spend on or looking at electronic devices.

A Swannies bundle from Swanwick

What staring at a screen all day can do to your health

If I work out the number of hours per day I spend staring at a screen it’s shocking. Working at a laptop day & night, checking my phone for messages a few times per day, watching films or binge watching box sets at night, I’d hazard a guess at around 12 hours per day… every day of the week.

Yes, I know about taking a screen break every 20 minutes – but, if I’m perfectly honest, I only do it if I go to make a cuppa or go to the loo! I know I’m straining my eyes (they’re often dry and gravelly) and I know it’s affecting the quality of my sleep. I had my biennial eye test this month and yes, my eyesight has deteriorated… again!

So, when EyeWearThese offered to send me a pair of prescription glasses with digital blue light protection to review, I didn’t need convincing – it would be good for my health! I chose a pair of fashionable Ray-Ban frames; they have a large range of other brands available – including Armani, D&G, Oakley, Prada and Versace. As well as the digital blue light protection coating, the lenses have a scratch-resistant hard coat and a hydrophobic coat that makes them easier to keep clean!

When my glasses arrived I was really impressed, the coated lenses look practically identical to ‘ordinary’ versions; there’s an almost imperceptible blue tinge if you hold them up to the light. These special lenses filter out the damaging blue light that’s emitted by screens, fluorescent and LED lights. The younger you are, the more of this blue light that’s transmitted to your retina. I’m 50, and have been regularly staring at a screen for, give or take, 25 years – half my life so far. Imagine the damage that will be done to someone who’s half my age and has been staring at multiple screens since year dot!

Even if you don’t ‘need glasses’, if you’re glued to your smart-phone/computer/television/games console for any length of time, a pair of specs with non-prescription lenses with a digital blue light protection coating is highly recommended. In addition, use an app like Fl.ux on your computer and enable Night Shift on your iPhone (Settings→Display & Brightness) or install an app like Blue Light Filter on your Android device.

How long do you think you spend staring at a screen each day? Does it worry you or are you trying to cut down?

[disclosure*]

I can see clearly now!

Hey everyone – we hope you’re enjoying the May Bank Holiday weekend. Has the weather been good where you are? It’s been grand here! We have a fab new competition starting today – you could win a pair of Scout frames fitted with prescription lenses from the people over at Glasses Direct.

Ordering my specs online from them was such a great experience from beginning to end. Their website allows you to take a photo of yourself, upload it and then try all their glasses on ‘virtually’. When you’ve short-listed your favourite four, you can ‘try before you buy’. They will send you out the frames in the post for you to try on ‘in the flesh’. When you’ve decided on the ones you like the best, you simply send them all back (they pay postage both ways), upload your prescription and place your order. It’s as simple as that!

They often have special offers on such as free second pair, free postage or other discount codes. I took advantage of one of these offers to get myself a pair of prescription sunglasses for when I’m working on my laptop in the garden on sunny days.

Here’s your chance to win a pair of Scout frames of your choice fitted with prescription lenses*. Simply hop over to the Glasses Direct website to check out the range of frames Scout have to offer. Then come back here and leave a comment saying which are your favourite – there are nearly 50 from which to choose!

_{*No prescriptions over -/+ 8.00. Only basic lenses – no coatings or upgrades.}

Scout prescription glasses

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Tag: glasses

Auction alerts: Antiques & Collectables sale, Stamford Auction Rooms

Win a Swannies bundle from Swanwick

What staring at a screen all day can do to your health

I can see clearly now!