Sotheby’s is tapping into a rising trend of “cross-collecting” vintage luxury items with a series of auctions in November it calls the Festival of Wonder.
Jewellery, watches, collectors’ cars and designer handbags will all be on the auction block in Geneva for sales taking place over the week of November 7 to 11.
Along with the auctions, Sotheby’s is also hosting a state-of-the-art exhibition and virtual educational events aimed at collectors.
Highlights of the sales include an ultra-rare pink diamond steeped in Russia’s long diamond tradition, a one-off Lancia Aurelia from the golden era of Italian automotive design, ground-breaking pocket watches by watchmaking geniuses, highly complicated vintage and modern timepieces and iconic designer handbags, Sotheby’s says.
All the auctions are accessible online from anywhere in the world and the Festival of Wonder concept is also going global, with the next outing touching down in New York City in December.
“This innovative concept showcases the intersection of multiple luxury categories and reflects how our clients collect across these disciplines. We believe that by creating interesting connections between jewellery, watches, cars and other luxury goods, we can engage in a deeper way with our existing clients and introduce new audiences to these passion-based categories. This is the first step in redefining pre-owned luxury and we’re excited to continue the journey in our next Festival of Wonder in New York in December,” reveals Josh Pullan, managing director of Sotheby’s Luxury Division.
LIVE AUCTIONS
11 November (streamed live on sothebys.com, with no audience in the salesroom) at Sotheby’s Geneva
- 1953 Lancia Aurelia B52 Spider by Vignale (5pm CET)
- Important Watches featuring Masterworks of Time (5.15pm CET)
- Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels (6.30pm CET)
- “The Spirit of the Rose” diamond (8.30pm CET)
ONLINE AUCTIONS
- Masterworks of Time: Splendours for the East (2-12 November)
- Important Watches Part II (2-12 November)
- Handbags and Accessories (3-12 November)
Eye-catching lots in the Important Watches auction include a Rolex Paul Newman Daytona (ref.6263). The stainless steel chronograph wristwatch with bracelet from around 1970 has a pre-sale estimate of $330,000 to $549,000.
A 2008 white gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Grande Complication with minute-repeating perpetual calendar, split-seconds chronograph, leap-year and week indication, moon phases and bracelet has an estimate of $220,000 to $239,000.
F.P. Journe, which has become a collectors’ and investors’ darling in recent years, is represented with a 2002 pink gold Chronomètre À Résonance dual time zone wristwatch with power reserve indication and brass movement. Sotheby’s has given the watch a conservative estimate of $55,000 to $110,000.
