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THE FINANCIAL TIMES, December 27 2000 Pulling power in a spiralling market When you open your wine over New Year, you’ll probably be more interested in the contents of the bottle than the corkscrew you’re opening it with. But that humble, but essential, item of home equipment is worth a second look before you shove it back into the sideboard or kitchen drawer. Has it been in the family for generations? Is it in good condition with the handle uncracked, the metal spiral in good shape and its point unblunted? If so, then you might just be tempted to crack open some Champagne. A private collection of corkscrews was auctioned at Sotheby’s a fortnight ago, and the 140 pieces sold made a total of £27,000. The top seller popped past its top estimated of £4,000 to reach £4,485. The highest recorded price for a corkscrew is about £18,000, but most old ones sell for well below £1,000. Nonetheless, even quite humble examples can be worth more than £100… So what is the fascination of this rather basic piece of equipment? “I became intrigued by the shear variety on offer,” says the London owner at the collection sold at Sotheby’s. “Financial gain was never the object. If it was affordable and I wanted it, I bought it.” Like many collectors of vintage items of all kinds, he insisted on remaining anonymous. Collections are for private appreciation, and corkscrews have a number of attractions. First, there are thousands of varieties, some very rare, made by inventors and manufacturers eager to produce a more effective implement than those of their rivals. They are made of sold, non-perishable materials such as brass, pewter, bone and seasoned wood, and suitable for display in a wall or table cabinet. “There is no doubt that values are moving up all the time,” says Robert Johnson, joint owner of Bacchus Antiques in Cartmel, Cumbria (www.bacchus-antiques.com). “I think interest has been generated by the increase in wine drinking and by the increased interest in antiques in general.” Most of his sales are outside the UK, and finding good examples is difficult. “Condition is almost a prerequisite, and its value will be reduced if, for example, it has not got a good point on the screw or a part has been replaced,” Johnson explains. “One of the ways you can occasionally find corkscrews is in the contents of a kitchen drawer at a local sale.” Some collectors specialise in novelty items, some in particular materials and others in early hand-made corkscrews. The earliest include some of the most expensive as well as the rarest examples. The oldest ones are also the most complicated, and some were issued with a side handle for winding up the cork out of the bottle as well as the brush in the main grip. Age and such complexities make damage more likely, and even slight cracks in bone handles or ends can knock a few hundred pounds off the value of a desirable piece…
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