The beach at St Regis Saadiyat Resort was the unlikely venue for the final event of Sotheby's first Abu Dhabi Collectors' Week on Friday.
With a giant curved screen, a desk of phone bidders and the Guggenheim museum rising in the distance, it was clear this would be no ordinary auction.
Held outdoors – which, despite the safety of the UAE seemed like a risky move in the wake of the Louvre gem robbery – it felt more like an upscale beach club than a venue where millions of dollars would soon be changing hands.
Staged as a three-day extravaganza of exhibitions, gemstones, F1 cars and a half-shredded Banksy artwork, these were just an amuse-bouche for the main event, the outdoor sale.
Staged in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Investment Office, this was Sotheby's grand entrance to the UAE capital. Taking place alongside the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Middle East and Africa Summit, Abu Dhabi Finance Week and Bitcoin Mena, it drew a global crowd.
Auction results
Lot 201 was Jane Birkin's personal Le Birkin Voyageur bag. One of only five bags given to her by the French luxury house Hermes – an act that kick-started the famous “Birkin Bag” style – the singer personalised it, inscribing the interior with words and drawings, as well as her signature. The first of the five bags was sold by Sotheby's in Paris in July for $10.1 million, so interest was expected to be high.
Hosting the auction was Paul Redmayne, senior vice president of luxury sales at Sotheby's, who described the Birkin as a piece of fashion history. With a presale estimate of $220,000 to $440,000, after some spirited phone bidding, it sold for $2,856,000.
“This is really the beauty of auction,” Morgane Halimi, Sotheby's global head of luxury handbags and fashion, explained. “When you have such provenance and an iconic piece we know, and we have seen it in July, the price can go high.
“This is just proof that when a bag has an impeccable story, we have collectors who would like to pay to add this beautiful piece to their collection.”
Next was the Precision & Brilliance: Prestigious Jewels & Watches from an Important Private Collection sale, offering an array of jewellery, single gemstones and timepieces.
Lot 332 was a Panthere Massai ladies watch by Cartier, with white and coloured diamonds, onyx and emerald quartz. With an estimate of $100,000 to $200,000, its final hammer price was $139,700.
Lot 333 was an unnamed pair of coloured and white diamond earclips, with an estimate of $100,000 to $200,000 that sold for $215,900.
Lot 334 was a Bvlgari ring with a marquise-shaped diamond weighing 4.02 carats, with a presale estimate of $80,000 to $120,000 that sold for $100,000.
Lot 337 was a Boucheron emerald ring, with an estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. With a central Colombian, unenhanced emerald-cut emerald weighing 7.88 carats, and surrounded by pear-shaped and marquise-shaped diamonds, it went under the hammer for $508,000.
Lot 339 was the Desert Rose, the largest pear-shaped fancy vivid orangy-pink diamond in the world, at 31.68 carats. Certified by the GIA as being a natural colour with VVS1 clarity, the presale estimate was between $5 million and $7 million. Bids crept upwards in $50,000 increments before finally reaching $8.8 million, an auction record for an orangy-pink diamond.
Lot 340 was a Rolex Daytona Albino watch, one of only a handful made, and the first one brought to market. Dated circa 1971, this stainless steel watch was given a presale estimate of $500,000 to $1 million. The hammer price was $952,500.
Lot 342 was an exceptionally rare collection of four Patek Philippe watches in 18k yellow gold, pink gold, white gold and platinum, with double dials and 21 complications. The estimated price was between $10 million and $20 million, and the hammer came down for a final price of $11.9 million.
