Dear Reader,

Welcome to The Collector 2025, a new magazine from Country & Town House edited by watch guru James Gurney and featuring a wealth of writers and experts. 

The Covid boom in collecting might have ebbed away, but that lockdown splurge on collectables changed the way we collect permanently – and it’s not just the how but the who that is different.

We’re younger, broader, more diverse and more digital in our interests. We’re less in thrall to jealously guarded academic expertise, more in tune with the vibe and, yes, we’re more influenceable. That the collecting approach chimes with a more mindful take on consumerism just adds carbon-neutral fuel to the fire – it’s no accident that the British Antique Dealers’ Association (BADA) has reported a surge in millennials joining.

The generational shift of the past few years has brought in new faces and highlighted new interests – but there’s still the thrill of the chase, the satisfaction of connoisseurship, the connection with like minds and the real meaningfulness that collecting offers in a fractured, divided and uncertain world.

We’ve tapped experts to open up some of the new collecting arenas, explore the trends and motivations, profile the people and spotlight objects of their desire from modern art to rare maps via mid-century Patek and classic Ferrari.

Discover how books are having a vinyl moment, Nick Cave’s devilish series of ceramics and the best niche Champagnes on the market. Simon de Burton talks to the coolest woman in classic cars and James Gurney goes gem hunting with three of London’s greatest collector-jewellers. And so much more…

The Collector 2025 demonstrates that collecting is part of who we are – as neuropsychologist Dr Shirley Mueller explains in her column, we’re simply born to collect.

We hope you enjoy!

The Collector 2025

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