A lot of talk in our industry has recently focused on the acceleration of auctions moving online, and there’s no doubt about it, the internet has been the biggest game changer over the past twenty years, never more so since the pandemic started.

The move online has also meant that even fairly modest auction houses in the more remote parts of the UK have gained access to global audiences, to the extent that any half decent sale can now expect to attract bids from upwards of fifty countries.

This has been a boon to our industry and has undoubtedly made selling your belongings at auction a more attractive prospect as demand and prices rise.

As someone who has spent decades on the rostrum, though, I firmly believe that the live selling experience, with bidders in the room, will always play an important part in the process. This is partially because it offers auction houses an unrivalled opportunity to show what they can do in person, while for the visitor, whether they are bidding, bringing something in to be valued, or simply enjoying a browse through what is coming up for sale, a visit to an auction house always provides a memorable and enjoyable outing.

The thrill of coming across something you love at a view is definitely more acute in person than online. The opportunity to talk to a specialist and chat about art and objects when they know so much about them is a rewarding experience that does not come across in the same way via an email exchange. All in all, it can be a grand day out.

So by all means, please keep bidding online, but why not pop along and inspect the goods in person before the next sale or, better still, bring in something you are thinking of selling for a valuation.

Did it come from space? Can it really be one billion years old? No wonder this extraordinary gem, weighing about as much as a banana, is called The Enigma.

At 555.55 carats, the ancient black rock coming up for sale at auction is said to be the largest cut diamond in the world, with 55 faces, and is expected to sell for more than £4.4 million as I write.

It is certainly a phenomenon and one of the oldest items ever to come up for auction, although it is a mere youngster compared with the four billion-year-old meteorite that sold at auction in 2017 for a rather more modest £14,000.

As is widely known, diamond is one of the toughest substances known to man, having been forged deep within the Earth’s crust under intense heat and pressure so that the carbon atoms crystallise.

They are rare because so many of them remain hundreds of kilometres beneath the surface, although some emerge via magma.

Even rarer is the carbonado, black diamonds like this one that are especially tough and have only been found in Brazil and the Central African Republic.

So if diamonds are forged

In the bowels of the Earth, how come they think this one came from outer space?

Apparently it is because it also contains osbornite, or titanium nitride, a mineral so far found only in meteors. Perhaps, though, the osbornite was captured by the bubbling early planet when a meteorite crashed into it, then was transformed into the carbonado as the crust cooled and processed it. If so, The Enigma is documentary evidence of our home world’s earliest days.

It’s fascinating to see how changing social and intellectual values directly affect changing monetary value at auction.

Traditionally, craftsmanship, classic design and artistry stood at the forefront of sales in the form of Regency furniture, Georgian silver, as well as Old Master paintings and drawings.

Today, while Old Masters are still highly valued at the top end, changing tastes and dwindling supplies of the best material mean that these disciplines have faded into the background when it comes to bidding.

Replacing them are the bright, brash new designs of leading fashion brands and digital art and its associated features. Trainers (in the US: sneakers) now command five- or even six-figure prices, with collectors displaying them proudly in stacked perspex boxes. Designer handbags by Gucci and Birkin change hands for eye-watering sums, while NFTs, still so loosely understood by many of those swooping down to acquire them, sell for millions.

Status has always been a driving force behind the acquisition of high-end art and objects – nothing shouts rich and successful like having a Warhol or Van Gogh on the wall – but what has become the cult of self in society today, with its social media influencers, reality TV and celebrity culture, has helped shape what has become most desirable in the salerooms.

What will come next? Will there be a backlash against all this self-indulgence? Perhaps we will return to some of the more traditional values, and with that overlooked gems such as Victorian watercolours may come back into vogue…

Everyone must have had the dream of finding something valuable in their attic or cellar. But now, with all the TV programmes, from Cash In The Attic to Fake or Fortune, we must have arrived at a time when there can be nothing left to find?

Don’t be too sure. As reported in the past week, an auctioneer trawling through the contents of a dusty old garage in Bath recently came across several treasures: an autograph book dating back around 120 years and containing the signatures of no less a cricketing celebrity than W.G. Grace and other greats from the crease; and several letters handwritten by Grace himself from the mid to late 1890s.

What’s more, the provenance was impeccable: they came from the estate of John Douglas, who played the great game with Grace and his son.

The autograph book also contains the names of players from the touring sides of Australia and the West Indies.

The letters were written to Edward, Lord Somerset and discuss life at the time around Bath and Bristol, hunting, shooting and, of course, cricket.

The autograph book took a cool £11,600, while the letters totalled £1,000.

Still think it’s not worth digging about in the dust and cobwebs?