ON ITS ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, CHRISTIE’S LIVE™ CONTINUES ITS RAPID EXPANSION Christie’s LIVE™, the innovative real-time, multi-media auction feature from the world’s leading art business, celebrates one year of operations today.
the LIVE™ introduction to Asia this May, there was a particularly good uptake for Watches (9% sold or directly underbid online) and Chinese Contemporary Art (7.3% sold or directly underbid online).
· Expanding markets - Indian buyers are active in their collecting areas, particularly Contemporary Indian & South East Asian Art, and the Chinese were active in Hong Kong in May.
Bidding Levels:
· While there has been continuous heavy bidding at base levels throughout the year, there has been a developing interest in higher valued lots, notably in Contemporary Art, Design and Russian categories. Wine has been a particularly strong online performer across all price levels.
· The highest underbid: US$2.6 million in the Hong Kong Imperial Sale this May for a pair of magnificent famille rose ‘peach’ bowls from the Yongzheng period.
· The highest winning bid: US$408,000 for La Terre by Syed Haider Raza, a contemporary Indian painting, sold in September during Christie’s New York’s Asia Week sales.
An Encouraging Early Test:
· The three-day Star Trek sale in early October provided the first large-capacity test of the feature, with over 540 clients from 19 countries registered online pre-sale. 288 lots of the 1000-lot sale were purchased online for a total of US$1.12 million. Of the 543 clients registered online, 89% were new to Christie’s, and together placed over 4,300 bids on 97% of the sale.
Developing Client Confidence:
· With the ongoing success of the feature, LIVE™ registration times have been shortened from the original 48 hour period. Moving into the Autumn 2007 season, 60% of sales now only require morning-of registration, with the remainder of sales requiring 24-hour advance registration.
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About Christie’s
Christie’s is the world's leading art business with global auction sales in 2006 that totaled £2.51 billion / $4.67 billion. This 36% increase over 2005 marks the highest total in company and in art auction history. Christie’s is a name and place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service, and international glamour. Founded in 1766 by James Christie, Christie's conducted the greatest auctions of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and today remains a popular showcase for the unique and the beautiful. Christie’s offers over 600 sales annually in over 80 categories, including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewelry, photographs, collectibles, wine, cars and more. Prices range from $200 to over $80 million. Christie’s has 85 offices in 43 countries and 14 salerooms around the world including London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Dubai and Hong Kong. Most recently, Christie’s has led the market with expanded initiatives in emerging markets such as China, India and the United Arab Emirates, with successful sales and exhibitions in Beijing, Dubai, Mumbai and Russia. Christie's also offers its clients worldwide access to its sales through Christie's LIVE, its unique, real-time online bidding service
