Name: Gordon Watson Age: 54 Owner: Gordon Watson, Pimlico Road, London Follow Gordon on Twitter: @gordonwatson1
Read Gordon's First Live Chat Read Gordon's Second Live Chat
Gordon Watson is recognised as one of the world's leading authorities of 20th Century design. He says he was always destined to work in antiques having caught the 'dealer bug' at a young age.
"Being in this business is something I always knew that I was going to do," he recalls. "I pretended I wanted to be a lawyer because that's what my family wanted, but I was always rooting around at antique shops and markets trying to buy treasures. I used to take pieces of silver to school and try to sell them. I was always buying and selling. It was my destiny."
Realising that a career in Law was not for him, Gordon headed towards Sotheby's and began a six year career with the world famous auctioneers in the 1970s, aged 20.
"The best period of my life," recalls Gordon, "I learnt so much, I was like a sponge absorbing everything. The art world was so exciting then, auction prices were extraordinary for new markets like Primitive Art, Contemporary Art and Art Deco."
Six years later he left Sotheby's to open up his gallery. This was the first time the furniture and objects of the Art Deco period had been presented in such a chic and exclusive format in the heart of trendy Chelsea. On the opening day he sold almost all his stock, and had clients queuing outside, ringing up an amazing sales total of over £150,000.
Gordon had his shop there for over 30 years selling to the likes of Catherine Deneuve, Barbara Streisand, Rod Stewart and Mick Jagger. Five years ago he had a single owner sale at Sotheby's, Bond Street, entitled 'Gordon Watson - End of a Chapter.'
"I was beginning to feel stale and I sensed a downturn in the market. My lease for the shop was coming to an end so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to dispose of an insane number of stock items, over 1,500 pieces. Thank goodness the sale was a great success. So much so, that Sotheby's offered me a job as a Consultant which I readily accepted. So life really seemed to have taken a full circle: here I was, 30 years later back home with my beloved Sotheby's."
"I quickly realised that being the compulsive buyer I am, I needed to have a retail outlet, so I happily moved to a fantastic space on the Pimlico Road. I'm sure I'll be there forever."
Items bought by Gordon:
Episode 3: Tracey Emin Monoprint Episode 4: Vivienne Westwood Hats Episode 6: Bird Feather Chandelier Episode 6: Ammonite Episode 7: Pygmy Spears Episode 7: Ancient Egyptian Statues Episode 8: Mummifies Mermaid
