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Your daily 5-minute brief on the auction and collectibles market. Today: a $49.7M white-glove jewels sale at Christie's, two upcoming lots worth watching, a hard data read on Asia's splintering art market, and where the luxury names and metals opened this morning.
Good morning. It's Wednesday, June 10. I'm Sharon, and this is Open Bid from ALT/FNDATA.
Christie's Magnificent Jewels in New York totaled $49.7 million, and every lot found a buyer. Two blue diamonds each sold for more than $8 million, and the sale was led by a stone called The Azure Blue. The final total reached 149% of the low estimate. In other words, it came in about 50% above the low end of what Christie's had expected. Christie's said buyers were spread worldwide: 58% came from the Americas, and 21% each from Asia-Pacific and Europe.
Two sales are coming up. A fully restored 1985 Lamborghini Countach will be offered through RM Sotheby's in August. It is one of 300 examples of the most powerful version of the car. The estimate is around $1.1 million.
Christie's has also announced the Collection of the Honourable Patrick and Lady Amabel Lindsay. It will be sold across 6 specialist sales between June and October. The first group is 5 Old Master paintings and 2 Italian illuminations, and it will be offered on June 30.
New data from Artnet shows Asia's fine-art auction market generated $2.2 billion in sales last year. That is down from a peak of $5.4 billion in 2021. Over the same period, the average hammer price fell from $81,000 to $36,000. Lot volume held steady at about 61,000 works a year, which Artnet describes as a repricing rather than a retreat.
The picture varies widely by country. India was the strongest of the 5 core markets, with a median hammer price of just under $11,000 and an 89% sell-through rate, the highest in the region. The Mumbai house AstaGuru grew its revenue 138% over 2 fiscal years and has opened a London outpost.
The declines are steeper elsewhere. Each of these markets is measured against where prices stood in 2016. On that basis, China's price index is now down 37%, held back by the country's property downturn, and Japan's is down 50%. South Korea saw the sharpest swing of all: prices there climbed 26% above the 2016 level in 2021, then fell 88% the very next year.
Chanel has named Marie-Laure Cérède to lead its jewellery design. She previously ran the studios of Cartier and Harry Winston, working across both jewellery and watchmaking.
The Economist reports that Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world's oldest bank, has become the target of a takeover battle in European finance.
Here are 3 quick hits from around the collectible market.
In spirits, Elijah Craig has brought back its 21-year-old Single Barrel bourbon. It is the first time the distillery has released a bottling that old in more than a decade.
In autos, Porsche has unveiled 3 one-off 911s inspired by Toy Story 5. The cars will be sold for charity.
In real assets, the Gandona Estate on Pritchard Hill in the Napa Valley has listed for $40 million. The property includes 18 acres of vineyard and a working winery, with permits for up to 20,000 gallons a year.
US consumer prices in May 2026 were 4.2% higher than they were in May 2025. Economists also track a measure called core inflation, which leaves out food and energy because those prices swing sharply from month to month. In May, it came in lower than expected. After the inflation report, technology stocks fell and oil prices rose.
Here is where the luxury names opened this morning, against Tuesday's close.
LVMH, ticker MC on Euronext Paris, opened at 496 EUR, up about 0.8% from Tuesday's 492.
Kering, ticker KER on Euronext Paris, opened at 257 EUR, up about 0.9%.
Hermès, ticker RMS on Euronext Paris, opened at 1,674 EUR, up about 0.5%.
In Zurich, Richemont, ticker CFR on the SIX Swiss Exchange, opened at 168.25 Swiss francs, up about 0.3%.
In London, Watches of Switzerland, ticker WOSG on the London Stock Exchange, opened at 715 pence, up about 3%. Burberry, ticker BRBY, opened at 1,124 pence, up about 1%.
In New York, Ferrari, ticker RACE on the NYSE, opened at 354 dollars, down about 1.1%. Signet, ticker SIG, opened at 86 dollars, down about 0.4%.
In metals, gold opened at about 4,276 dollars an ounce, up about 0.4% from Tuesday's close of 4,260. Silver opened at about 65 dollars, roughly flat.
Tomorrow, the 11th, Bonhams holds its London Fine Watches sale, and Christie's holds its first London sale of South Asian modern and contemporary art in 7 years. On Friday the 12th, Christie's Important Watches is in New York, Christie's opens its Paris Hermès handbag sale online, and Sotheby's runs its Gem Drop. On Saturday the 13th, Bonhams sells roughly 100 cars from the National Automobile Museum in Reno.
That is Open Bid for Wednesday, June 10. Closing Price publishes this evening at 5 PM Eastern, and Luxury Spending publishes later today.
I'm Sharon, from ALT/FNDATA.
