our experts
Centuries Of Combined Experience
Our friendly and professional team of industry-leading specialists cover a wide range of expertise and are happy to advise you and answer any questions you may have.
Our friendly and professional team of industry-leading specialists cover a wide range of expertise and are happy to advise you and answer any questions you may have.
With nearly 35 years’ experience in the auction world, Jonathan Pratt brings exceptional authority and breadth of knowledge to his role as Managing Director at Dawsons. Inspired to pursue the industry in the 1980s—helped along by the BBC’s Lovejoy—Jonathan began his career with Phillips in Edinburgh and Guildford before holding key roles at Dreweatts, Gurr Johns, and Sotheby’s. He later served as Managing Director at Bellmans from 2005 to 2018, and again at Dreweatts until 2024, where he successfully oversaw a doubling of turnover.
A qualified gemmologist (FGA) with a degree in Fine Art & Chattels Valuation, Jonathan has spent decades cultivating specialist knowledge across jewellery, furniture, British art, and Persian rugs. His dissertation, Antiques of the Future, explored leading contemporary furniture makers and reflects his forward-thinking approach to the market.
Jonathan is also well known to UK audiences as an expert on the BBC’s long-running antiques programme Bargain Hunt, where his insight and approachable expertise have made him a familiar face.
Over his career, he has uncovered many notable finds—including rescuing a fine Hadji Jalili Tabriz carpet from a skip, later sold for £8,500, and the recent discovery of a Fernando Amorsolo painting hidden in a London property. A passionate collector himself, he enjoys decorative pieces, antique furniture, carpets, jewellery and British art, and relishes being back in a hands-on valuation role at Dawsons.
With fifteen years’ experience representing some of the world’s most prestigious jewellery houses—including Dior Fine Jewellery, Mikimoto, Jessica McCormack and leading independent designers—Helen brings exceptional commercial insight and deep stylistic knowledge to her role as Joint Head of Jewellery at Dawsons. Recently joining the auction world, she combines luxury retail expertise with a lifelong fascination for gems and craftsmanship.
Her love of jewellery began in childhood, inspired by a father who was an amateur geologist and summers spent fossil-hunting and collecting rocks and minerals. A natural magpie, she has always enjoyed hunting for treasures in charity shops and flea markets, often creatively altering or converting pieces—sometimes with mixed family approval, as with her early reinvention of her First Holy Communion rosary beads.
Helen originally studied Costume Design and Construction at the London College of Fashion, developing a strong grounding in historical fashion, technical making skills, and decorative arts. Her dissertation, The Evolution of the Corset: Form, Fashion and Fetish, reflected her interest in the interplay between design, symbolism, and craftsmanship. She has since furthered her gemmological training with the GIA.
Among her proudest professional moments is the high-pressure task of restringing a diamond and conch pearl necklace moments before its new owner boarded a flight to China—an essential condition of a £1 million sale, carried out successfully without damaging a single fragile pearl.
Helen has a particular affinity for late Victorian jewellery, especially Art Nouveau pieces and original Fabergé, as well as modern masters such as Suzanne Belperron and JAR. Drawn to colour and character, she especially loves opals, emeralds, rubies, and the charming individuality of old mine-cut diamonds.
With 20 years of experience in the jewellery world, Annabel brings deep specialist knowledge and an instinctive eye for exceptional pieces to her role as Joint Head of Jewellery at Dawsons. A lifelong “magpie,” her passion began at the age of four with a small dog brooch gifted by her mother—a moment that sparked a lifelong love of jewellery, brooches, and antique yellow gold embellished with enamel.
Annabel’s career has seen her work across multiple respected auction houses, beginning as a bids coordinator with one of the major international firms before quickly moving into their jewellery department. She later broadened her expertise in the luxury sector by valuing high-end assets for private lenders, and went on to establish and run the valuations department for a leading London-based luxury asset lender.
She studied Classical Civilisation and Literature at the University of Birmingham, where a research project in Rome—focusing on what jewellery revealed about Roman women—cemented her passion for the field and set her on the path to a jewellery career.
Annabel has been involved in many memorable moments throughout her career, including working on a white-glove Andrew Grima sale and, more recently at Dawsons, identifying a Victorian sapphire and diamond bangle during a routine home valuation. Initially thought too low in value for auction, the piece was later confirmed as Kashmir and achieved £75,000, to the delighted surprise of its owner.
Her specialist interests span mid-century bold gold designs by Grima and Kutchinsky, optical-illusion gems such as star sapphires, rubies and fine opals, as well as the symbolism and sentiment found in late 17th- and early 18th-century jewellery.
With three decades of experience in the art world, Veronique brings exceptional scholarly insight and market expertise to her role as Head of Pictures at Dawsons. Her passion for art began in childhood with a romantic fascination for Medieval history, leading her to admire the works of the Pre-Raphaelites—particularly Rossetti and Burne-Jones—an early influence that shaped her academic and professional path.
Veronique began her career at the prestigious Royal Collection, working in the Department of Prints and Drawings at Windsor Castle, before going on to hold key roles at Sotheby’s and Bonhams. She holds an MA in Medieval History, with a dissertation focused on the frescoes of St Savin Abbey in France, reflecting her deep grounding in art-historical research.
Throughout her career, she has achieved numerous notable successes, including the world-record sale of a Mexican landscape by Daniel Thomas Egerton for £280,000 in 2018, and the discovery of a Montague Dawson painting hidden under a client’s bed, which went on to sell for £50,000.
Although she specialises across a vast range of artworks, Veronique insists she could never choose a single favourite—her enthusiasm for pictures spans eras, styles, and artists, making her an invaluable expert for both clients and collectors.
With over 36 years of experience as a valuer and auctioneer, Matt brings exceptional depth of knowledge to his specialist focus on paintings, prints, and sculpture. His passion for historic objects began in childhood, growing up in an 18th-century rectory in North Yorkshire where rainy afternoons spent exploring a room full of family heirlooms sparked a lifelong curiosity. Regular visits to Beningbrough Hall with his mother, a volunteer guide, further shaped his early appreciation of art and antiques.
After discovering the auction world through work experience, Matt trained in Fine Art & Chattels Valuation at the Southampton Institute of Higher Education, later becoming an Associate of the Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers. His early career was spent at Phillips (later Bonhams) in Leeds, where over thirteen years he gained broad expertise across paintings, furniture, silver, ceramics and collectors’ items, eventually heading the North-East furniture department. He later joined Bonhams’ London valuation team, advising private and corporate clients on major probate and insurance valuations.
Matt’s extensive industry experience also includes several years as an antiques and fine art adviser to a firm of loss adjusters, before returning to the saleroom to run a Wokingham auction house, then working at Ewbank’s, and ultimately joining Dawsons in 2022.
Across his career he has handled many remarkable discoveries, from identifying an 18th-century giltwood and marble console table in the cloakroom of a York Georgian hall—later reunited with its original cabinet and sold for £1 million—to valuing a significant Marino Marini marble sculpture at over £3 million for insurance purposes. He has also twice handled a ceremonial throne made for the Earl of Zetland from oak salvaged after the 1840 York Minster fire, now housed in the Berkshire Masonic Museum.
With a trained eye for quality in any period or medium, Matt particularly enjoys the research and provenance-building that underpin accurate valuations and strong auction results. For him, the excitement lies as much in a Modern British print as in an Old Master, and in the uniquely tactile appeal of sculpture.
Peter has worked in the antiques and auction industry since 2012, bringing over a decade of hands-on experience to his role as Auctioneer and Valuer at Dawsons. After transitioning from a successful retail career, he began dealing in antiques before joining Charles Ross Auctioneers in Bedfordshire, and later Dawsons in 2017. Although not a collector in the traditional sense, he has a keen eye for ceramics and decorative tiles, which he occasionally acquires for himself.
Throughout his career, Peter has handled a diverse range of objects, with particular highlights including the significant collection of Martinware sold in 2019, as well as fascinating archival material relating to both The Smiths and Vivian Stanshall of the Bonzo Dog Band.
His specialist interests encompass art pottery, decorative arts, Arts & Crafts pieces, and rock & pop memorabilia—areas in which he combines market knowledge with a strong appreciation for craftsmanship and cultural history.
With eight years of experience across auction houses and jewellery retail, Niamh brings a finely honed eye for gemstones and craftsmanship to her role as Jewellery Valuer at Dawsons. She began her career in a small family-run jewellers specialising in repairs and design, where exploring the shop’s gemstone collection first sparked her fascination with colour, cut, and optical effects. Her move to Adam’s Auctioneers in Dublin broadened her exposure to jewellery across a wide range of periods, while her time in a bespoke jewellery workshop deepened her appreciation for the artistry and technical skill behind exceptional pieces.
Originally trained in fashion design, Niamh discovered her true passion while working in jewellery retail. This led her to complete both the Gemmology Diploma and the Diamond Diploma with the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, equipping her with strong technical and analytical expertise.
Among her standout career moments is encountering a Cartier platinum emerald solitaire ring set with diamonds—an otherwise understated design showcasing an emerald of extraordinary depth and vibrancy, a gemstone she still vividly remembers as the first to truly mesmerise her.
Niamh particularly loves encountering high-quality jewellery that combines superb craftsmanship with a sense of character or playfulness. For her, fine jewellery is both an art form and an accessory—something precious, but also something to be enjoyed, worn, and expressed with personality.
What Are Your Valuables Worth?
Request a complimentary auction estimate from our team of specialists, or contact us to book an appointment. If your item is suitable for auction, we will provide you with a valuation and further details of how to sell with us.
