Christie’s auction of jewels & watches; the dubai sale totals $4,036,525 / aed 14,814,046
jewels from the estate of umm kulthum total $118,000 / aed 433,060
strong demand for watches which were 97% sold by lot private collection of watches from the middle east realised $445,250 / aed 1,634,067
Jewels and Watches; The Dubai Sale Sponsored by Credit Suisse
A glamorous crowd attended Christie’s fifth Jewels and Watches sale at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel which totalled $4,036,525 (AED 14,814,046). After a strong start in which 45 of the 46 watches sold, the highlight of the sale was a kite-shaped 5.01 carat diamond pendant, D colour, internally flawless, which sold for $194,500 (AED 713,815) (estimate $160,000-180,000) to a Middle Eastern private collector. The entire auction sold 76% by lot and 69% by value. Buyers came from 20 different countries, showing the continued international appeal for Dubai jewelry sales, and the buyer breakdown was 71% from the Middle East, 16% from Europe including the UK, 3% from the Americas and 10% from Asia.
David Warren, Director of Jewelry for Christie’s Middle East, commented after the sale: “Buying was selective but nearly three-quarters of the value of the sale was bought by Middle Eastern buyers, an encouraging sign of the developing jewelry and watch market in the region.”
The results for the watches section of the sale, which totaled $1,227,550 (AED 4,504,925), and was 97% sold by lot, were particularly strong. The highest selling watch in the sale was a platinum, manually-wound tourbillon wristwatch by A. Lange & Söhne which sold for $146,500 (AED 537,655) against a pre-sale estimate of $120,000-180,000.
Tim Bourne, International Co-Head of Watches for Christie’s, said: “Today’s results demonstrated the strength of this market and our knowledge of our buyers in the region. We are particularly pleased with a private Middle Eastern collection of 20 lots which realised $445,250 (AED 1,634,067), against a pre-sale estimate of $299,000.”
The sale of four lots from the estate of the legendary Egyptian singer, Umm Kulthum (1904-1975) totaled $118,000 (AED 433,060), generating significant bidding from a number of collectors, online, in the saleroom and on the telephone. An impressive Indian multi-strand pearl and turquoise necklace, the front designed as a stylised peacock, which was estimated at $15,000–25,000, sold for $80,500 (AED 295,435) to a private Middle Eastern collector in the room who wished to remain anonymous. A cultured pearl and paste ‘festoon’ brooch which was a gift from the late Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (1919-1980) to Umm Kulthum on the occasion of his wedding to Princess Fawzia, the sister of King Farouk, the late King of Egypt sold for $30,000 (AED 110,100) (estimate: $3,000-5,000).
Live bidders from countries including Singapore, Macau, Greece, Indonesia, the Netherlands and the UAE successfully bought or directly underbid almost 14% of lots through Christie’s LIVE.
Christie’s auction of International Modern and Contemporary Art will take place at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel tomorrow, Wednesday 29 April, 2009 at 7pm and includes works by Saudi Arabian artists for the first time which will be offered alongside works from more than 11 countries around the Middle East. Both sales are sponsored by Credit Suisse, one of the leading global providers of financial products and services in Private Banking, Investment Banking, and Asset Management.
