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Lay's Auctioneers

Name: Lay's Auctioneers
Address: The Penzance Auction House, Alverton, Penzance, TR184RE, GB
Telephone: +441736361414
Price range: $$$

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Lay's Auctioneers

Lay's Auctioneers – Specialising in Fine Art, Antiques & Collectables since 1978

09/06/2026

How Time Changes

Our upcoming watch sale spans everything from modern masterpieces, contemporary creations with cutting-edge engineering, to vintage classics: highly coveted sports and dress watches from such titans as Rolex and Omega.

But for our specialist, Carl Nielsen, it is the 21 historic Georgian pocket watches that tick all the boxes. These watches feature the perplexingly complex fusee movement, an early system designed to keep a watch running at a constant speed. Each movement relies on a hair-fine miniature steel chain running from the mainspring to a cone-shaped pulley.

Remarkably, these mechanisms were made some 250 years ago. Yet wind them up today, and they still tick.

Featured here are:

Lot 502 (3rd image): Made in 1732, this watch has a heavy, completely plain gold case paired with a magnificent, highly ornate gold dial.

Lot 501 (2nd image): Made in 1737, it features a plain white dial and a heavy, highly ornate gold case.

Lot 505: A fine early 18th-century silver calendar pocket watch, signed CHENEVIERE LONDON.

View the full selection by searching “fusee-verge” in our Watch Catalogue.

Watches
11 June, 2pm | Lanner and live online

07/06/2026

From the estate of Bernard Leach. Admired in a family home for generations, this remarkable early Alfred Wallis holds St Ives and its community at the heart of its story, one we can't wait to share with you.

For now, we invite you to appreciate the piece for what it is: an earnest depiction of two luggers heeling to a strong offshore breeze, rendered in soft browns, greys, blues and pale green, with pencil defining the rigging. Painted on a piece of wooden board, most likely from a packing case, it is quintessential Wallis.

‘Mizzen Topsail Luggers’ will feature in our next Cornish Art, Fine Art & Studio Pottery auction, held on the 9th and 10th of July. And, in the coming weeks, we’ll share the fascinating provenance behind this piece, one that makes its journey as compelling as its view.

05/06/2026

For a dedicated philatelist, a stamp’s appeal extends far beyond its age. Collectors prize scarcity, unusual printing errors, and the remarkable histories these small artefacts have witnessed and survived.

Our current stamp auction, which explores the rich postal history of the Ottoman Empire, the Levant, Arabia, and beyond, offers numerous examples of what makes a stamp truly rare. In some cases, a stamp is more than a collectible, it is a tangible piece of political history.

Take this fascinating 1920 provisional issue (1st). Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the newly established Arab Kingdom urgently required postage stamps. Rather than commission new designs, existing Ottoman revenue stamps were overprinted in striking red and violet ink with the inscription “Al Hussein Malek El Arab” (Hussein, King of the Arabs). These scarce overprints are surviving artefacts of a momentous political transition.

Then there are the great rarities of the philatelic world: printing errors. When a stamp is produced with an inverted centre, an everyday postal item can become one of the hobby’s most sought-after treasures. Lot 124 (3rd) provides a wonderful example, with its mauve centre printed upside down.

From provisional overprints born of political upheaval to dramatic printing errors, these tiny pieces of paper are remarkable witnesses to history.

Explore the full auction on our website, before bidding closes this Sunday from 4pm.

03/06/2026

Featured: Mid 19th century Staffordshire spaniels, modelled as ‘Majesty’ and ‘Grace’.

This rare pair will be in auction this Friday in our Antiques, Oak & Country and Interiors auction.

Find out more by searching for lot ‘683’ in the auction catalogue (available online via the link in our bio).

Antiques, Oak & Country and Interiors
4th & 5th June, 10 am | Penzance & live online

30/05/2026

June brings a season of luxury with our Fine Jewellery and Watch Auctions now live.

There is something for everyone in our Fine Jewellery auction, featuring an elegant selection of timeless pieces of diamonds, silver, gold and more. Something to suit any and every occasion.

Our Watch Auction pairs modern prestige with historic craftsmanship, showcasing exceptional names including Rolex, Bremont, Audemars Piguet, and Omega, alongside a collector’s selection of remarkable 18th-century pocket watches and horological treasures.

Both auctions are held on the 11th of June, with beginning times as follows:
Fine Jewellery: 10 am
Watches: 2 pm
Lanner & live online

View both catalogues online at https://www.davidlay.co.uk/

28/05/2026

Developed in Staffordshire during the mid-18th century by the celebrated potter Thomas Whieldon, Whieldon ware became renowned for its richly mottled glazes, tortoiseshell effects, and naturalistic forms that transformed English ceramics. Whieldon’s innovative techniques, often combining vibrant greens, browns, yellows and creams, helped establish Staffordshire as the centre of English pottery production.

Our upcoming auction features several fascinating survivals from this golden age of English pottery, including a charming Whieldon-type lion figure, a creamware recumbent lion, the rare and characterful Martha Gunn pipe, and a delightful pearlware “Fair Hebe” jug commemorating the recovery of King George III in 1789.

These pieces capture the humour, politics, craftsmanship and artistry of 18th-century ceramics, objects made not simply for use, but for display, conversation and collecting.

Explore these pieces and more by searching 'ceramics and glass' in our current antiques auction, or follow the link below.

Antiques, Oak & Country and Interiors
4th & 5th June, 10 am | Penzance & live online

https://www.davidlay.co.uk/auction/details/a0116-antiques-oak--country-and-interiors/?au=551

23/05/2026

Our Antiques, Oak & Country and Interiors catalogue is now live! An auction of over 800 unique and interesting lots.

Viewings will take place on Saturday, the 30th of May, 9am to 1pm, and Monday, 1st to Wednesday, 3rd June, 9am to 5pm.

Featured here is a charming North Devon slipware harvest jug, probably from Barnstaple, Circa 1770, decorated with incised designs including a two-headed eagle below a crown, a camel, a lion, a stylised tulip head and other flowers.

Find out more and view the full catalogue online now via the link below.

Antiques, Oak & Country and Interiors
4th & 5th June, 10 am | Penzance & live online

https://www.davidlay.co.uk/auction/details/a0116-antiques-oak--country-and-interiors/?au=551

22/05/2026

Now live is The Timed Specialist Stamp Sale, Ottoman Empire, Levant, Arabia and Beyond...These stamps travelled through conflict, revolution and shifting empires.

Palestine, Damascus, Jeddah, Hejaz, Zanzibar. The ancient names of ancient places are almost unspeakably romantic. Perhaps romanticism for the history of these exotic lands inspired the compiler of this rather special stamp collection in our next timed sale. And unusually, the philatelist responsible is a woman, one who chose to collect some of the rarest and most niche stamps that our specialist Steve Prescott has ever catalogued.

These are the stamps that the enigmatic Lawrence of Arabia would have used to send his many letters during his time in this most conflicted region of the world.

As most of the collection consists of covers, ie, handwritten envelopes bearing these wonderful, rare stamps, we cannot help but wonder at the lives of the people who sent them, the troubled periods of history that they were living through. Handling them gives us an extraordinary and privileged connection to their past; it feels right that these tiny, yet very important components in their lives are now so highly prized and collected.

View the full collection online now (link below)

The Timed Specialist Stamp Sale, Ottoman Empire, Levant, Arabia and Beyond
Now - 7th June, 16:00 | Online

https://www.davidlay.co.uk/auction/details/ss01-the-timed-specialist-stamp-sale-ottoman-empire-levant-arabia-and-beyond/?au=562

21/05/2026

In support of: The St.Ives Jumbo Association

Boats in the Bay began in 2006 to promote The St.Ives Jumbo Association and secretary Jonny Nance’s idea to reintroduce the St Ives Jumbo as a means of heritage revival and community regeneration. A handful of surviving luggers sailed ‘round land’ from Newlyn to join the pilot gigs and smaller craft arriving by road to help launch a fundraising programme for the “Jumbo Project”, which also included a charity auction at Tate St Ives, with our own David Lay as auctioneer.

Twenty years on, the Boats in the Bay event and the Jumbo community are thriving, but still need support. The association engages with the local community and beyond to teach seamanship and the traditional skills required to sail these historic luggers.

On 30 May, organisers of Boats in the Bay have arranged a wide variety of exhibitions, demonstrations, and shore-based events, while the Jumbo Association continues to organise events afloat, showcasing bygone skills and creating a spectacular display of sail and oar in the harbour roads.

The St.Ives Jumbo Association embodies the very best kind of heritage work, creating living history for all to enjoy and learn from. Lay’s are thrilled to be supporting their work and hope it will encourage others to find out more about what they do and get involved themselves.

The second image compares a painting (top) by John Anthony Park, completed around 1906–1909, with Rupert Manley’s photograph (bottom), taken during Boats in the Bay in 2012, more than a century later. “Their striking yet completely coincidental similarity reveals not only the accuracy of Park’s rendition, but also the degree of authenticity achieved by these heritage events, and shows how close we came to reproducing the very scene that inspired John Park that day!” — Jonny Nance.

Find out more about The St.Ives Jumbo Association and their work here: http://stivesjumbo.com/

19/05/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us last Thursday and Friday for another excellent sale! We achieved some fantastic results, all of which can be viewed on our website.

Our next Cornish Art, Fine Art & Studio Pottery sale is just around the corner, taking place on 9th and 10th July.

If you’re interested in consigning with us, we’d love to hear from you. Simply fill out an online valuation form today or contact our enquiries team at [email protected].

Address

The Penzance Auction House, Alverton
Penzance
TR184RE

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441736361414

Website

http://www.laysauctioneers.co.uk/

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