Category: Collectibles

Lots of History: The Best Moments of 2018 from Auction Houses Worldwide

It’s been a big year for auction houses world over. Despite the ever-changing economic climate, it seems that big-ticket jewels, fashions and artworks cannot fail to draw the attention, and the cash, of bidders. And so as the hammer falls on 2018, we look at some of the stand-out moments from our favourite auctioneers.

The Record-breaking Sale of The Pink Legacy Diamond

Pink Legacy Auction houses

We’ve mentioned The Pink Legacy Diamond at Gafencu before but we love any excuse to have a look at it! The diamond sold at Christie’s in Geneva and set the record for highest price paid per carat for a pink diamond. You can read more about The Pink Legacy here.

Jenny Saville and David Hockney become the World’s Most Expensive Living Artists

Auction houses

Christie’s New York made headlines when Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (pool with two figures) sold for US$90.3 million to an unknown buyer making the British painter a record holder as no other art work has ever been sold for more during the artist’s lifetime.

Auction houses

Meanwhile at Sotheby’s in London, Jenny Saville became the world’s most expensive female artist after her groundbreaking self-portrait Propped was sold for £9.5 million, Making it the most expensive work by a living female artist.

The Sale of the First Artwork Authored by AI

Auction houses

It wasn’t just human artists breaking records in 2018. This year Christie’s became the first to auction an AI-generated artwork. Although the move was considered rather controversial, Portrait of Edmond Belamy sold for $432,500, almost 45 times more than it’s original estimate.

Sotheby’s held their first watch auction in Dubai

You don’t get to be one of the oldest and most prolific auction houses around without keeping an eye on the future. With the market in Dubai continuously expanding, Sotheby’s hosted its first watch auction with grand sales of US$2.6 million. 

China Guardian Made Their Highest Ever Sales 

Auction houses
Pictured is the highest selling Colombian emerald and diamond ring which was part of a larger collection featuring similar stones.

The second-largest auction house in Hong Kong reported HK$1.1 billion in annual sales, their highest-ever annual total. Highlights from their Autumn auctions included a collection of Jade Carvings which achieved rare “white glove” status and a 19.69-carat natural Colombian emerald and diamond ring which went for HK$ 20.62 million.

The Girl With A Balloon Became Love Is In The Bin 

Auction houses

It would be highly remiss of us to publish a round-up of auction news without mentioning the infamous sale of Banksy’s Girl with a Balloon, now retitled Love is in the Bin. The world watched in a mixture of horror, humour and wonder as the hammer came down on the £1,042,000 sale and the painting promptly began to  self-destruct. The buyer decided to keep the partially shredded artwork and the piece was duly renamed. Banksy later admitted that, despite many rehearsals, the prank had actually gone wrong. The painting was supposed to be completely shredded but the mechanism jammed part way through.

Text: Alice Duncan

The Magic of Mickey: 7 luxury items to celebrate Mickey Mouse’s 90th anniversary

We’ve had Mickey on our mind a lot lately! Just last week, we attended the release and collaboration between SCAD Hong Kong and Disney for Mickey’s 90th anniversary. Much to our delight, SCAD aren’t the only ones participating in Mickey’s birthday. The celebration continues as many luxury brands have come together with Disney, offering an assortment of limited-edition items and accessories. 

Marc Jacobs
Mickey Mouse Denim Jacket

Mickey Mouse Denim Jacket

Marc Jacobs has splashed a retro-washed Mickey across this bleached denim jacket, combining two eras of nostalgia – the righteous ’80s and the abstract ’20s – turning sweet memories into a very special fashion statement.

Yves Saint Laurent
Mickey’s 90th Anniversary Silk Shirt 

mickey's 90th anniversary

Saint Laurent’s Parisian silky button-up is bursting with Mickey. With the icon’s happy nature patterned in small prints across the shirt’s sophisticated mature base, there’s no reason why you can’t bring the magic of Disney to work with you!

Bésame Cosmetics
Mickey’s 90th Anniversary Collection

Besame - Mickey Mouse

Bésame Cosmetics, no stranger to collaborations with vintage Disney, is also offering collections Mermaid Lagoon (Peter Pan) and Snow White! Debuting on Black Friday, the style and spirit of Mickey will be available in sure-to-be pretty pallets. 

Gucci
Mickey Mouse Handbag

Mickey's 90th anniversary

Gucci turned both human and mouse heads during its Spring 2019 Fashion Show with the adorable Mickey Mouse handbag. Designer Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s maverick creative director, hasn’t been shy to show his love for Disney, paying tribute to the brand with past collections of Donald Duck and The Three Little Pigs.

Poh Heng
Oh It’s Mickey & Minnie Earrings

OH IT'S MICKEY & MINNIE 90TH ANNIVERSARY EARRINGS

Poh Heng, Singapore’s leading gold jeweller is celebrating the 90th anniversary of Mickey with a collection of gold and silver accessories. Their darling silhouette earrings are crafted with 22K yellow gold, with a matching necklace and ring to pair with.

Rag & Bone
Mickey 90th anniversary sneakers

mickey's 90th anniversary

Rag & Bone is aboard the Mickey train as they celebrate with these classic low-top kicks. The sneakers with asymmetrical colour blocking, Mickey Mouse graphics in the footbed and the 90th anniversary logo on the back heel are a must-have in the wardrobes of all Disney fans. 

 

Swarovski
Mickey Mouse Necklace

mickey's 90th anniversary

Swarovski has bejewelled the treasured character this this stunning necklace for Mickey’s 90th anniversary. The necklace is rhodium-plated with an assortment of crystals in Mickey’s signature colours of red and yellow. 

Text: Bailey Atkinson

Let’s drink to the future with the all-new Louis XIII Smart Decanter

Luxury cognac brand Louis XIII is rather well known for embracing the rich history of the maison. But it seems the cognac house is equally adept at dabbling in new-tech as it is in nostalgia. Indeed, with the soon-to-be-released Louis XIII Smart Decanter, the iconic beverage brand is all set to usher in the future of drinking.      

Equipped with a smart NFC chip integrated in the cork stopper, the Smart Decanter will open up an exclusive world of privileges to customers, with a mere touch on their NFC-enabled smartphones. Each decanter will directly connect clients to the LOUIS XIII Society, a private club where members can enjoy exclusive content, unique experiences and personalised services through their smartphones.

Louis XIII Smart Decanter

Explaining the concept, Ludovic du Plessis, Louis XIII Global Executive Director, says: “As part of our latest attempt to offer our customers the very best experiences, every Louis XIII Smart Decanter will feature a smart solution. This innovation will be launched in first half of 2019 and will be deployed all over the world in the following months.”

It’s safe to say that once the Louis XIII Smart Decanters hit the markets, we’ll not just be thinking – but also drinking – a century ahead!

Flash, Flush and Festive: The Most Expensive Spirits on the Market

Here at Gafencu we were very excited to hear that  ‘The World’s Most Expensive Gin” has just gone up for sale for a mere £4000, at the Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge. British brand JamJar Gin has distilled its limited edition Morus LXIV from the leaves of an ancient mulberry tree and sealed it in handmade ceramic jars. Just in time for our Christmas party!

expensive spirits
The £4000 price tag includes one 70cl jar, one 3cl jar and a handmade stirrup cup in a leather case

We reckon Morus LXIV is going to sell pretty well, especially as compared to many of the other big ticket bottles out there it’s an absolute bargain.  If juniper isn’t your thing then have a look at the world’s most expensive… 

… Cognac

Surely the ultimate Christmas tipple, the festive season is not complete without a bottle of the classiest of fortified wines. Camus, the world’s largest independent producers of cognac, released 1,492 bottles of Camus Cuvee 5.150, an extraordinary blend of five rare spirits from five different cognac-growing regions to celebrate their 150th anniversary in 2013. The US$5,000 price tag includes an individually numbered Baccarat crystal decanter and two matching tasting glasses.

Expensive spirits

… Tequila

At US$3.5 million per bottle, Ultra Premium Ley .925 Pasion Azteca is not for knocking back with salt and lime. This is a six-year-old sipping tequila, and while you’re sipping why not take a moment to take in the bottle. Designed by Mexican artist Alejandro Gomez Oropeza, the bottle is handcrafted from platinum and studded with diamonds. Best get some swish glasses to match. 

Expensive spirits

… Vodka

Although the Billionaire Vodka brand sells its bottles for more, they have kept it locked up in bars and restaurants. However the good people at Hong Kong-based vodka brand Royal Dragon know that you might want to host your own Christmas cocktail party. And so for a mere US$5.5 million you can take home six litres of their silky smooth, charcoal distilled Eye of the Dragon vodka, which comes in a hand blown bottle decorated with 2 kilos of 18 karat gold and 620 karats of diamonds – including a round-cut yellow diamond pendant. The best part is of this show stopper is that your guests will be so enthralled by the bottle you probably won’t even have to talk to them. 

expensive spirits

… Whisky

We’re calling this one a tie. This is because, while Isabella Islay’s luxurious hand-crafted 40-year-old Original Scotch Single Malt Whisky is not to be sniffed at, it’s the bottle that really steals the show with an elegant white gold decanter studded with 300 rubies and 8,500 diamonds, which justifies the US$6.2 million price tag. However if you’re thinking more along the lines of “it’s what’s inside that counts” then keep an eye out for a bottle of this year’s Macallan’s Fine & Rare. Each year the distillery releases a small number of bottles containing its oldest and best whiskies from history. A steal compared to Islay’s bottle at approximately US$75,000.

expensive spirits
Left, Macallan Fine and Rare 1991 Edition. On the right the rather flashier Isabella of Islay Original Edition.

Text by: Alice Duncan

The Pink Legacy diamond sells for record-breaking numbers

Harry Winston was surely in the pink this Tuesday as the American luxury brand purchased the Pink Legacy diamond from Christie’s auction house in Geneva, for a record setting US$50 million.

Within five minutes at the auction, the 18.96-carat diamond known as the Pink Legacy became the world’s record holder for price paid per carat for a pink diamond.

The dazzling diamond is truly a rare find because it is singularly unique to find a pink diamond over 10 carats. Categorised as a “Fancy Vivid”, the Pink Legacy is of the highest grade of colour intensity, being 1 in 100,000 of its kind. 

Soon to be renamed Winston Pink Legacy, the diamond is reported to be in good health and continues the trend of rising prices of pink diamonds.

Pink Star

Last April, Hong Kong became the city where the largest polished diamond the Pink Star – 59.6-carat stone – was auctioned off for a cool US$71.2 million at Sotheby’s.

 

Pink Promise

Following the Pink Star was the cut and improved Pink Promise diamond that was auctioned off at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels Hong Kong auction. The 15-carat diamond sold for US$32.5 million, at the time a record-beating price at US$2.176 million per carat. At US$2.637 million per carat, the sale of the Pink Legacy has surpassed the once-infamous Pink Promise.

The Pink Legacy is undoubtedly exceptional as it set forth a major moment in auctioneering history. The popularity of pink diamonds is coming up roses.

Text: Bailey Atkinson
Images courtesy: Christie’s

Jewel Narrative: The extraordinary stories behind the world’s most sought-after gems

Jewels have always been a source of fascination, obsession and intrigue. Precious stones have been the inspiration for heist movies, romance novels and murder mysteries ever since we started putting pen to paper. In the case of these beguiling bedazzlers the truth is even stranger than fiction.

jewel-diamond-Nawanagar

The Nawanagar Necklace

In 1931, Jacques Cartier was commissioned by the Maharajah of Nawanagar to create a necklace formed of two strands of diamonds. Eight weeks later Cartier declared the arrangement “the finest cascade of coloured diamonds in the world”. The illustrious treasure featured seven of the rarest diamonds in the world, including the Ranjitsinhji diamond, and weighed six pounds. It mysteriously disappeared after the Maharajah’s death in 1933 and is presumed to have been broken down into smaller untraceable designs. If that sounds familiar it was also the fate that befell “Le Toussaint”, the fictional necklace which was the target of the grand heist in the movie Ocean’s 8, the design of which was based on this very necklace.

jewel-sapphire-Queensland

The Black Star of Queensland

In the 1930s, a boy called Roy Spencer was playing in a field near Anakie in Queensland Australia. He found a large, heavy greyish stone and carried it home with him, where it was used to prop open the porch door for the next nine years. Once Roy’s miner father Harry clocked that his doorstop might be worth a buck or two, he put it up for sale. It was eventually bought by Armenian jeweller Kazanjian who studied the stone for two months before cutting it. In cutting out the cabochon, Kazanjian lost 423 carats before finally revealing an immaculate six-pointed star within the stone – despite the lost carats, The Black Star remains the second-largest sapphire in the world. The stone now belongs to Swiss Gabrielle Grohe after she purchased it for her then-boyfriend Jack Armstrong. After they split Armstrong tried to claim ownership of the sapphire but couldn’t come up with the cash to buy Grohe out. 

jewel-diamond-moon-baroda-christies

The Moon of Baroda Diamond

Fewer gems can boast a more impressive lineage than the Moon of Baroda, which came from the very same Golconda mine which bore the Koh-I-Noor and the Hope diamonds. From the mine The Moon went to the Gaekwad family, the Maharajas of Baroda, who lent it to the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria for a period. It has been looted by Persian ruler Nadir Shah before being returned to Baroda and lent to Marie Antoinette before being bought by Meyer Rosenbaum in 1943. The diamond was finally cemented in pop culture history when it was lent by Rosenbaum to Marilyn Monroe so she could wear it in the iconic hit Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

But the extraordinary story of The Moon of Baroda is far from over. The pendant is coming up for auction at Christie’s Hong Kong on 27 November. Weighing 24.04 carats the canary yellow stone is estimated to go for a staggering HK$4-6 billion. Fancy!

Text: Alice Duncan

Far From Free Port: Niepoort in Lalique 1863 sells for stellar prices

Distiller devotees got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to purchase a portentous piece of port history recently when the first of five Niepoort in Lalique 1863 decanters went under the gavel in Hong Kong, courtesy of Acker Merrall & Condit, the New York-headquartered wine merchants and auctioneer group.

After several rounds of fierce bidding, the 1863 bottle went for a world-record breaking US$128,000, six times its presale estimate.

Niepoort

What made the crystal demijohn decanters so special are that they are the latest fruits of the long-term partnership between Niepoort, one of Portugal’s most-admired port producers, and Lalique, the legendary French crystal glassmaker, with each numbered item bearing both the glassmaker’s own imprimatur and an engraved acknowledgement of ‘Francisco Marius van der Niepoort’, one of the port-making pioneers who founded Niepoort.

However, the true allure of this illustrious lot is down to what lies within – an exceptionally rare 155-year-old vintage port distilled way back in 1863, the same year Abraham Lincoln signed the slavery-abolishing Emancipation Proclamation, but they may only be coincidence. While its vintage may cause some concern as to whether this particular port is way past its prime, fear not – last year, renowned wine critic James Suckling gave it an unambiguous 100 points without so much as slurring a word.

 

Time and Time Again: All the very finest in second-hand accessories

            

           

Anyone who believes in ‘Out with the old, in with the new’ may just change their minds after taking a gander at these beautifully-designed second-hand accessories, all carefully selected by Gafencu’s Style Team from the lookbooks of the world’s best-loved luxury labels.

Luxury Second-hand Accessories Image 1

Look 1:

From left:
Santos de Cartier watches in steel cases with 18K yellow gold bezel, Santos de Cartier Biplane cufflinks in sterling silver with blue synthetic spinels, Santos de Cartier cufflinks in sterling silver with brown kotibe wood, Santos de Cartier palladium-finished key ring, all by Cartier

Polished metal grey wood tray engraved with Art Deco motifs, grey bisque porcelain bowl with Art Deco motif, green wood candle holder and metal body with Art Deco motif, burgundy wood case with double C motif metal cover, all by Cartier

Luxury Second-hand Accessories Image 2

Look 2:

From left:
De Ville Trésor watch in stainless steel with diamonds by Omega; Possession watch in 18K white gold case with diamonds by Piaget; A Walk in the Garden teapot, tea cups and saucers, all by Hermès

Luxury Second-hand Accessories Image 3

Look 3:

From left:
Pierre Arpels Platine watch in platinum case by Van Cleef & Arpels; Piaget Polo S watch in steel case by Piaget; Declick Dice game, Pli’H change trays and desk accessories, and poker cards, all by Hermès

Luxury Second-hand Accessories Image 4

Look 4:

From left:
Alhambra Talisman watch in pink gold with diamonds by Van Cleef & Arpels; Imperiale Moonphase watch in 18K rose gold case by Chopard; A Walk in the Garden plates, cup mat and cereal bowl, all by Hermès

Luxury Second-hand Accessories Image 5

Look 5:

From left:
L.U.C 1937 Classic watch in stainless steel case by Chopard; Luminor 8 Days Power Reserve Acciaio watch in steel case by Panerai

Photos: Neville Lee
Art Direction & Styling: San Wong

 

Top Hat: Indiana Jones’ iconic fedora fetches big bucks at auction

Both Marty McFly’s hoverboard from Back to the Future II (1989) and Anakin Skywalker’s light sabre from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005) were on offer to movie-minded auction-goers last month as part of the latest Entertainment Memorabilia Live sale organised by Prop Store, the London and Los Angeles-based purveyor of fine movie mementos.

Iconic Indiana Jones fedora sold for a heroic £320,000
Iconic Indiana Jones fedora sold for a heroic £320,000 at auction

Even the abiding appeal of time-travelling teenagers and Jedi weaponry, however, was not enough to steal the top spot at the sale, with that accolade undoubtedly going to the iconic fedora worn by Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the franchise’s 1981 debut, which went for a heroic £320,000.

The fedora was a trademark wardrobe accessory throughout the Indiana Jones movies

Mind you, even Indiana Jones might have been topped had another of the auction’s most illustrious lots – the jacket worn by Han Solo (Ford again) in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the second tranche of the original Star Wars saga – gone for anything like the initial estimate of £500,000 to £1 million. Sadly, it failed to meet its reserve price, with the highest bid clocking in at just £450,000 – not enough to Force the sale through.

Juin-Octobre 1985 by Zao Wou-ki broke all records at recent auction

Zao Wou-ki (1921-2013) has long been regarded as one of China’s pre-eminent modern artists whose massive masterpieces are only dwarfed by the huge prices they command (read more here).

Now, one particular item from the grandmaster’s oeuvre – Juin-Octobre 1985 – created quite a buzz when it came up for auction at Sotheby’s Modern Art Evening Sale, with its eventual price estimated to be around US$44 million. It ultimately went on to set new auction records by getting sold for US$65 million. 

Zao Wou-Ki
Zao Wou-Ki, Juin-Octobre 1985

Constructed as a three-panelled triptych – a format greatly favoured by Zao – the central canvas measures a whopping 280cm x 400cm, and is flanked by two further 280cm x 300cm panels. Commissioned by the renowned architect IM Pei – a lifelong friend of Zao’s – it hung in Singapore’s Raffles City complex until 2005, when it was auctioned by Christie’s, with the winning bid said to be in the region of HK$18 million.

Zao Wou-Ki
Installation view of Zao Wou-Ki’s triptych Juin-Octobre 1985 at Raffles City, Singapore

Putting the artist’s work into perspective, Vinci Chang, Sotheby’s Head of Modern Asian Art, said: “Zao’s paintings are held in the same regard as those of Western masters. As a consequence, we are deeply honoured to be able to present Juin-Octobre 1985, the largest painting in the artist’s oeuvre and without a doubt, a singular masterpiece and one of unparalleled importance.”

With the value of his paintings set to soar even higher as the posthumous reputation of Zao Wou-Ki continues to build, his works seem to offer that rarest combination – aesthetic delight and escalating investment value.

 Text: Tenzing Thondup