Auction

An Unsold item at the Elizabeth Taylor Auction

Michelle

When I heard over the summer that another auction of Elizabeth Taylor’s possessions was taking place in December I was elated! I remembered her last sale and the fun I have had since see her jewelry reappear on the auction block.

This sale was a little different. It was suppose to show the star’s fun side. So when the catalog appeared on Julien’s Auction website I combed through looking at the history and for the jewelry. There were a few pieces but not to the level of her last sale.

The Piece That Didn’t Sell

I did think that most if not all pieces would sell. So I wasn’t surprised to see a few unsold items but did wonder why … Read the rest

Restraining Order on Auction from Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher Divorce

Michelle

Recently I saw an Instagram Ad by the company Invaluable, about looking at some of their auction pieces. They picked a few pieces from the estate of Elvis Presley to display to me. I have looked at some of Presley’s estate pieces on auction before. I looked at the auction in total and saw an interesting article from the past, a restraining order given to Eddie Fisher by Elizabeth Taylor! A little bit of research had me discovering that 55 years ago this month Taylor and Fisher were finally divorced. The exact date is March 6, 1954.

I’m going to look at some of the jewels Eddie Fisher bought for his second wife, Elizabeth Taylor. The story behind the … Read the rest

Jackie Kennedy’s Cartier Watch returns to Christie’s but not for Auction

Michelle

From my last post, I mentioned going to New York at the beginning of the week to buy a book at Tiffany & Co and to see the previews of the auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s. As I wait for the dust to settle on the auctions, I want to point out a piece I saw while at Christie’s that I had seen before. I went to view the Exceptional Watches at Christie’s after seeing the Magnificent Jewels. I like historical pieces and found a few watches that were owned by famous people. One was a pocket watch owned by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt; the other a Cartier tank watch owned by former first lady Jackie Kennedy.

You may … Read the rest

Michele della Valle Online Results: How Sotheby’s Fared in this New Venture

Michelle

Sotheby’s first online auction dedicated to a single designer, Michele della Valle ended last Monday. In this post I will look at the results of the auction and what can be learned.

Non si può mai attraversare l’oceano se non si ha il coraggio di perdere di vista la riva.

The above saying in English is: You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.  That saying feels right when talking about the recent online fine jewelry auction held by Sotheby’s.  I will look at the sold versus unsold items and their statistics as a whole, then break it down by type and finally look at some individual pieces that did well … Read the rest

Results of Skinner Important Jewelry: Looking at Signed Pieces

Michelle

Skinner Important Jewelry Auction results are in! There are many ways to look at the data. In the interest of time I am focusing on how signed pieces did versus the unsigned pieces offered. I will look at my previous observations on Evelyn Clothier and Aldo Cipullo, the top 5 items above their estimate, and overall signed versus unsigned.

 

A look back at my highlights

In my previous post, Evelyn Clothier had the most signed pieces at the Skinner Important Jewelry Auction. So how did her pieces do? Below is a table showing how her pieces sold at auction.  Note results do not include buyer’s premium.

Evelyn’s pieces did well 18 out of 19 pieces sold. The piece … Read the rest

Sotheby’s holds First Online-Only Auction of Michele della Valle Jewelry

Michelle

If you follow my Instagram you probably have noticed I skew a little to the Italian designers. When I saw this auction of one of my favorite Italian jewelry designers, Michele della Valle I knew I would need to share it on my blog. I’m going to focus on what is being offered and what this type of auction means for the future of online auctions.

The Designer

Michele della Valle, opened his first shop in 1978 located in Rome. He work some with Bulgari before moving to Geneva in 1987. His work is frequently found in auction houses. I learned about him from seeing his work first hand at Christie’s and Sotheby’s. His work is not only inspired by … Read the rest

Evelyn Clothier heads list for September Important Jewelry at Skinner Auctions

Michelle

It’s that time again! In a previous post I mention some of auction houses having only online fine jewelry this month. Skinner Auctions in Boston will be having their auction and preview of Important Jewelry this month. Looking through the lots online before going to the preview, I noticed quite a few by Evelyn Clothier. It felt like she was the most listed designer in the 355 lots from this auction. Being an analyst, I had to see if that was right. I did not go through counting all the designers by myself, I used a little help from excel to get a tally. The list below of designers with 2 or more items in the auction:

Looks like … Read the rest

Christie’s and Sotheby’s increasing September Online Jewelry Auctions

Michelle

As summer comes to an end Fall auctions are fast approaching. Instead of the auctions taking place around the world more auctions of Fine Jewelry are happening online. Read more to see how Christie’s and Sotheby’s are adapting to the change in technology and what this means for the public.

I don’t go too often to New York in the Summer, it’s hot, crowded and the jewelry industry slows down over this season. What I do look forward to is my treks up to the Big Apple to see some major bling in the Fall.

In 2016 I went to both Christie’s and Sotheby’s for their September Fine Jewelry Auctions. Christie’s had a preview of their online jewels and the … Read the rest

Faberge at Auction: Lessons to Learn from Two Faberge Flowers hidden in a Shoe Box

Michelle

Two Faberge flowers fell short of achieving a high estimate by Antique Roadshow when they hit the auction block in June. The article below looks at what key analysis were missed and trends that should have been focused on for future consideration.

Study the past if you would define the future. This quote by Confucius sums up my thoughts about what direction I am going and hope to be going. Digging deeper on issues always have ‘why’ questions that follow, why do I like this, why am I doing this and why do I want to continue this? Some of my whys are answered by looking back at what I love and why I loved it then and now. For … Read the rest

Fred Leighton: Auction of the Jeweler who owned a Flower Shop

Michelle

I learned a lot over the long weekend viewing the auctions for April. If you follow my Instagram account, you will see posts of jewelry that has been auctioned as well as pieces coming up that I got to see and try on! Although I learned a lot about the jewelry one piece of information left the biggest impression on me and that was the auction of Fred Leighton’s personal collection. This man was a jeweler to the stars. I never got the chance to enter his shop while he owned it but I got to see some of his celebrity pieces up close when Fred Leighton came to Dorfman’s in Boston.

Looking at the auction book for … Read the rest