One of the world's most acclaimed antique and art dealers is the British haven for international collectors who seek out the conviviality of a purchase.

The effect of viewing the Partridge collection of antiques and objets d'art, housed in perhaps the most beautiful building in the world ever to be built as such an art gallery, is both exhilarating and awe-inspiring. There is a certain mystique that emanates from all great art, but it is possibly never more evident that in the world of antiques. The voices of the past float within the walls of this opulent gallery - fine English pieces whisper to the fact that they were ordered made by Louis XV as a present to the King of Spain.

Presiding over this renowned collection is the man who had its guardianship thrust upon him at the extraordinarily young age of twenty-eight. Thirty-eight years later, John Partridge's reputation precedes him as one of the masters within the rarefied international dealing circles - not only has he endured the continuity and survival of a business started by his grandfather in 1990, but in doing so has built the business to the extent that it is regarded as one of the finest in the world.

By his own admission, Partridge was far too young to take on the running of a major company of such a complicated nature at the age of twenty-eight - indeed, he had only committed himself to the idea of joining the family business five years earlier, after spending some time working in Australia. John's father had inherited the dealership from his father, but died tragically of cancer when he was only fifty-four, leaving John to take the role of Chairman he still holds today.

"I spent a year working as aide de camp to the Governor of South Australia, after the war which was the most wonderful year of my life. It was Governor Norwich who persuaded me of the importance and opportunities in having a family business.

"When I first came in at the age of twenty-three, I worked tremendously hard", recalls John. "I would study from eight in the morning until midnight to gain as much knowledge as I could. I then became Chairman at twenty-eight. You see, it is really the most fascinating, most varied business in the world and the amount of knowledge one must accrue is exhausting. I had no idea that my father was going to die until he took me to America. Going over on the plane, he told me that he didn't think he had very long to live, and that I should come to grips with the whole business. He introduced me to many of the people that he dealt with.

"That was how it began. I did have a very big opportunity when I first started after my father passed away. There was a major collection for sale, and my father had written me a wonderful letter, which I still have, saying that if certain things happen, this is what you must do. I bought that collection and it was really the foundation of my success".

The collection in question was the Chester Beatty collection of French furniture, the first half of which had been purchased by his father and the acquisition gave notice to the worlds' dealers that John would maintain the standards set by his grandfather, who was granted a Royal Warrant by Queen Mary.

To a certain extent, Partridge counts himself lucky, in that he has never made a serious mistake in all his dealings, "although the man who says he has never made a mistake, has never made a decision". Basically, however, he believes that the collector is only as good as his knowledge and that the art of dealing is one based on the combination of natural eye and the formidable knowledge needed to make comparisons with all the other great objects which are already in the museums of the world.

No matter what the prescriptives for success, Partridge concedes that any young dealer starting out today would have a far more difficult time than he did, simply because prices today have reached such astronomical heights. In his own case, the answer to rising costs has been to float the company on the Stock Exchange. About seven years ago, Partridge went public for 30 million pounds, and is now in the fortunate position of having cash in the bank as well as an enormous amount of stock. It is a step that some of the larger dealers are resorting to, given the high rates of bank borrowings. In the prevailing conditions, Partridge believes that the trend will be for the bigger dealers to get bigger while the smaller dealers will have a very difficult time of it.

"The whole idea of collecting has changed dramatically in my lifetime", he says. "No longer do you get a person like a stock broker starting off with a small collection and upgrading it, taking a great interest in it. The people who are creating and making fortunes today, are highly acute, very intelligent: they want the best straight away and they are prepared to pay for it.

"What has happened with the French Impressionist market for example, is that there has been a recession on the Japanese stock market and the auctioneers have hiked up the prices far, far too much for second rate pictures and whenever there is a slight recession, people tend to back away from buying second best. Those auction houses have thus been caught out and I have seen this happen time and time again in my professional lifetime. I think that this is a very good thing. The real acid test is going to come when they auction the really great pictures: when the Whitney sells its Renoir, also the great Van Gogh's. Although I am certain that they will fetch enormous sums of money, it is far better than unreal prices being paid for second best hiked up by the auctioneers".

Despite the uncertainties facing investors and the disillusionment engendered by the stock market in these difficult financial times, Partridge is cautiously optimistic about the whole of the art market, especially for the dealers and collectors who concentrate on the very best quality. His own business is based on a predominantly international clientele - roughly 75% of his sales are export - in keeping with a policy laid down by his grandfather, who believed that the company must have a vast spread and not rely on any one country. It is a maxim that Partridge has always adhered to, and it accounts for the very "catholic tastes the gallery exhibits".

Ironically, Partridge believes that the bad times can sometimes be a boon to the dealer - a time when he can take advantage of slightly lower prices and a lack of competition. Unlike many famous dealers, he does not have any amazing 'discovery' stories and believes that such miraculous or uncannily timed findings are exceedingly rare.

"If you have been in the business for a long time, one becomes far more analytical about all these problems - you know perfectly well that there will be good items and bad times", he says. "You want to build yourself on a rock, as it were. My grandfather was a great believer in consolidating your position when business is good, and when business is bad, to go out and buy and be very ambitious. That is the time when you can really succeed and make money.

"I don't think that it is difficult to find good examples - they continually turn up. You have to have the guts and the courage to buy them and really go against the rest of the trade and pay more than the rest of the trade thinks that they are worth. In this way, you create a new market. If you don't buy them, if you are constantly too price conscious, then you certainly wouldn't fill a gallery this size. I've never in my life found a shortage of things to buy when I have had money to invest. My problem has always been to find enough money to do all the things that I have wanted to do".

Amidst all the serious splendours of the gallery on New Bond Street, the word 'fun' is not the first that springs to mind. Certainly collecting is no laughing matter, affected as it is by recessions, fluctuations in currency and tax laws. Nevertheless, 'fun' is the word that John Partridge uses to describe an integral part of the business of collecting.

"The great thing that you have to understand, is that people don't have to buy works of art. You have to eat, you've got to have a house, you have to put oil in your car, but you are not obliged to buy these beautiful things. Therefore we have to make it fun for people to collect. They come in here and we have to amuse them, interest them and make life fun for them because collecting is their hobby".

This is perhaps the secret of the Partridge business. Martyn Cook, the young Australian dealer, once commented that he was struck by the great charisma that accompanies the knowledge of all the great dealers. Partridge points out that most collectors these days are self-made men and women, with great personalities and immense experience, and that the only common bond between them is that they are all so different. He sees one of his most important roles as judging how best to care for his eclectic clientele.

"I feel that a lot of people think that art dealing is purely a matter of having things in here, people coming in, buying them and going out. That is not the case at all. Most people, before they buy works of art, I like to get to know the art dealer as a person and I have made friends with a great many people. I am not a salesman, I am no good at it at all. I think that I am a good buyer and that I am very good at supervising the maintenance and restoration of art, and its presentation. But I believe that once you have done all that, the work of art sells on its merits. All you can do is help the people - the collectors - and make it amusing for them. Not in a jokey way, but so that it is fun to come in here".

For this reason, Partridge is adamant that he would never expand the business to another country - America, for example - even though his client base is predominantly North American. It is the difference between his own business and that of his friend, the equally celebrated dealer, Bernard Steinitz.

"I have the very greatest admiration for Bernard Steinitz: his knowledge and the things that he has found are really quite incredible and that is his great ability, to go round to the most unlikely places and find things. He is an extraordinary man, I like him very much indeed - he is quite crazy! The big mistake which he has made, which I tell him time and time again, is this madness of expansion into other countries", says John of Steinitz's worldwide profile. "I think that it is extremely difficult for art dealers to open in many countries because people want to know when the proprietor is about".

Partridge constantly warns his staff that they can never be too careful in judging who walks into the premises. One of his most famous stories concerns the Duchess of Richelieu who had the eccentric habit of visiting dealers without an appointment, dressed in the most appalling clothes imaginable. John relates how the disguised Duchess came into his gallery for the first time outfitted in such a costume, chatted to him about the various pieces and announced that she would buy five of the most expensive items. He admits to remarking to his father: "If that's the Duchess of Richelieu, then I'm Napoleon! Having given her London address as the Ritz Hotel, she then told me that she would send her maid in the next day and asked whether I would look after her.

"When she left, I rang George [the Ritz Hotel's legendary porter] who informed me that she was in fact, the Duchess. She returned and paid for the items, after her maid had approved the purchase!" Indeed, so convincing was the Duchess's disguise, that a famous dealer in France took one look at her as she entered his store, reached into his pocket for some coins and sent her off to buy herself a cup of coffee! A story, Partridge says the Duchess took great joy in recounting.

Partridge himself travelled to the United States with the Duchess, and watched her going through the same performance over there. "After this initial purchase, she told me that she was travelling to America and wanted me to accompany her so that I could introduce her to the Devine's - the late Lord Devine having been the greatest art dealer of the century, and his company was still operating. Anyway, I watched her do exactly the same thing there.

"Then she said to me, 'Well, tonight you must take me out for dinner", recalls Partridge. "I went to pick her up, a little warily I might add, and she was completely transformed! She wore the latest Balenciaga gown and she had put on the Richelieu diamonds, which were simply enormous. I asked her why she played this game and she smiled at me and said: 'It's just such fun!' I took a great deal of trouble with her and she became a marvellous client!" The moral of this tale naturally, is that clothes do not maketh the man nor in this case, the Duchess!

"Only the other day, an American gentleman came in. He had been out jogging. After walking around for a little while, he bought four chairs and left a cheque for 120,000 pounds. So you never, ever know!"

Despite the individuality of his clients, there are certain national characteristics that Partridge can point to within the industry.

Americans are still the biggest buyers of his products, but the processes of collecting are nonetheless completely different in the United States compared to England. He finds that American children who inherit their fathers' collections aren't interested in keeping them - they prefer to sell the entire inventory and begin again from scratch using their own ideas to create their own collections. The English, on the other hand, are anxious to keep the collections worked at so hard by their fathers. "The people who create their own wealth who, have made their money themselves, are mostly the ones who buy works of art. Those who inherit their wealth tend not to invest in the same medium. Collectors are really a born breed of people".

Asked to characterise the wealthy customers of old in comparison to their contemporary counterparts, Partridge says there are few differences but one fundamental departure. "The main difference is that they are all characters, great personalities in their own right, people of immense experience and insight, largely self-made and you must treat each one entirely differently to the next. Someone like Mr. Getty differs vastly in character from another of his peers. And this is the secret of our business, they all need looking after in totally different ways. They cannot be categorised and you must judge how to do this. That is very, very important".

Partridge also finds the French to be exceedingly patriotic when it comes to purchasing pieces. They prefer to buy from one of their own countrymen before anyone else. "They are far more loyal than any other nation in the world, although they do make an exception when it comes to Scotch whiskey". He also believes that there are different opportunities available to dealers in France and England.

"I think that if you live in France, there are many more treasures still hidden away that are completely unknown, than there are in England. Because of the taxation system in France, French owners of works of art are terrified that anyone will know what they have got. In England, where you have the great old homes, everything has been catalogued and looked after. You haven't had this system that they've got in France, where when someone dies, the estate is automatically divided between children. Here in England, it's basically the case that the eldest son inherits the estate, and that is why they have lasted so long. There is still so much in this country both in and outside the museums. The English are the masters of underestimation - it is our national character".

John recounts two of Partridges most important pieces, both of which indicate the breadth and calibre of his stock at any given time. "The Barclay Castle Dinner Service was which among the world's most important pieces of silver, and now we have in the showrooms, a pair of secretaires which were ordered by Louis XV as a gift for the King of Spain but he changed his mind and gave them to his daughter instead". Such historic luxuries are naturally accompanied by luxurious price tags - 5 million pounds for the latter. In terms of artworks, John tells of "a most incredible second century chalice". One of only ten or eleven in known existence, it is now in the British museum, a priceless rarity.

"There have also been some very major paintings but it is extremely difficult to isolate any individual piece. I once bought the most famous lectern in the world which is now in the Metropolitan Museum..."

John Partridge's own tastes are reflected in the specialities of his famous gallery. He has two homes: one in London, which is decorated with French furniture and Dutch and Italian paintings. His passion for hunting is evidenced in the interior of his country home, where he has English furniture, sporting portraits and objects derivative of the countryside environs.

In true English tradition, both John Partridge's sons are now involved in the business and are showing the same aptitude as their father for his most fascinating business. The sense of history is palpable at Partridge and it is something that John Partridge strives for himself, not only through his acquisition of the finest pieces of French and English furniture, but through his relationships with the sons and daughters of his grandfather's clients.

"What we like here is continuity", says John leaning back in his chair contentedly, "that people come back to see us year after year, generation after generation...."