Open Bid — Daily Morning Briefing on Auctions, Luxury & Markets

July 2: A Tale of Two Deals in French Luxury: Chanel Buys Charvet as Moreau Is Sold in Court, the Most Expensive Tequila Ever Sells at Auction, and Luxury Shoppers Outrun the Brands on AI A tale of two deals frames the day: Chanel buys the 188-year-old Parisian shirtmaker Charvet while the leather-goods house Moreau Paris is sold off through a court-supervised process, consolidation at the top and...

July 1: Christie's Old Masters Set 7 World Records While a Contemporary Collection Flops Online with 55% Unsold; Lagerfeld's Sketches Come to Market at Sotheby's H2 2026 opens on the same split as the H1 with Christie's Classic Week setting seven world records in London while, online, a once-buzzy contemporary collection could barely find a buyer. Plus a thousand unseen Karl Lagerfeld sketches hea...

June 30: Saks Turns the Page on Bankruptcy as Exemplar Luxury Group; Prime Day Hits $26.4B but Inflation Tells the Real Story; the Last Affordable Ferrari Today: Saks Global exits bankruptcy and rebrands as Exemplar Luxury Group; a record Prime Day turns out to be more an inflation story than a demand story; where the bargains still hide in the Ferrari market; plus the European open and a look ahe...

June 29: London Art Market Beats the Brexit Blues with Its Biggest Haul in 10 Years; Christie's Sets World Record in Paris with €5.8M Handbag Sale; Luxury Recovers from the Top Down London's art market posts its biggest summer auction haul in a decade; Christie's sets a world record for an online handbag sale in Paris; luxury starts to turn a corner, led by the US and China, even as the everyday s...

June 26: Bain Trims Its Luxury Forecast to 2-4%, but the Top Keeps Booming; London's Art Season Roars Back; the Rise of "Inheritourism" Bain trims its 2026 luxury forecast after a rough first half, but the very top of the market keeps setting records; London's art season roars back with a second big collection sale in a week; luxury money shifts toward experiences and "inheritourism"; and new arri...

June 25: Billionaire's Collection Sells for $392.6M; a Modigliani Bought for $12.4M Sold for $63.9M; Versace's CEO Steps Down The art collection of British billionaire Joe Lewis smashes records at Sotheby's, led by a 63.9 million dollar Modigliani he bought for 12.4 million in 1995; the CEO of Versace resigns; the rug from The Big Lebowski heads to auction; and the luxury market steadies after a w...

June 24:Luxury Steadies as China Pulls Back; $25.6M Jadeite Necklace; Remembering Yaacov Agam; Netherlands and Germany Return 2,000 Artefacts to Ghana Markets steady after a brutal two days, but China's big mid-year shopping festival flashes a warning for luxury; a 25.6 million dollar jade necklace tops our jewelry database; the Netherlands and Germany agree to return 2,000 looted treasures to Gha...

June 23: A Global Tech Selloff Halts Korea; a £5,588 Elizabeth I Jewel Could Fetch 20 Times That; Eric Clapton's 275 GTB Ferrari at $4M Today: a technology-led selloff drags markets lower and briefly halts trading in South Korea, European luxury slides for a second day, a rediscovered Queen Elizabeth the First pendant bought for around 5,000 pounds heads to auction at more than 20 times that, and...

June 22: Gold & Oil Sell Off; $17.4M Diamond Sold at Auction; New Creative Directors at Moschino Safe havens sell off as US and Iran peace talks progress, with gold and oil falling and the dollar near a one-year high, a single coloured diamond tops our entire auction database at 17.4 million dollars, and there's a changing of leadership at Moschino. ALT/FNDATA - Membership (PODCAST15 for 15% o...

June 19: The Dollar Rises and Gold Falls; Swiss Watches Split Primary vs. Secondary; the Obama Center Opens; Milan Menswear Week The week ends with a rising dollar and gold heading for its worst week; Swiss watch exports stall even as the auction market booms; Art Basel wraps; the Obama Presidential Center opens; and the Milan menswear shows begin. ALT/FNDATA - Membership (PODCAST15 for 15% off):...

June 18: The Fed Turns Hawkish in Warsh's Debut; Stocks and Gold Fall; a $35M Picasso Leads Art Basel Kevin Warsh's first Fed meeting turns hawkish and sends stocks and gold lower; a $35M Picasso leads a cautious Art Basel; Christie's unveils the Jim Irsay Collection; and two fights break out over who really owns a work of art. ALT/FNDATA - Membership (PODCAST15 for 15% off): https://altfndata.com...

June 17: $35M Picasso Leads Art Basel; De Beers Sale Heats Up; Dow Hits a Record, European Luxury Holds as US Falls Art Basel opens with blue-chip buyers back and a $35M Picasso leading; the diamond giant De Beers may change hands; Christie's doubles its Old Masters estimate in Paris; and markets wait on the Fed's first decision under Kevin Warsh. ALT/FNDATA - Membership (PODCAST15 for 15% off): h...

June 16: Patek Legend Philippe Stern Dies; Diane Keaton Estate Brings $4.2M; Japanese Whisky Sets $1M Record; Gold Hits New High The watch world loses Patek Philippe's Philippe Stern; the Diane Keaton estate brings $4.2 million at Bonhams; Japanese whisky sets a $1 million record; and with gold at a new high, Rolex and Piaget lean in. Plus markets, where the Dow closed at a record on the US-Iran d...

June 15: Phillips Hits $75.8M Record Watch Sale with F.P. Journe for $13.9M; Christie's Design Tops $20M; Luxury Rallies on the Iran Deal A record-breaking weekend for watches, a $20M Christie's Design sale, the South Asian art market still smashing records, a question mark over luxury handbags, and luxury stocks ripping on a US–Iran deal. ALT/FNDATA - Membership (PODCAST15 for 15% off): https://a...

June 12: David Hockney Dies at 88; Christie's South Asian Sale Hits £18.9M; Luxury Rallies on the Iran Deal The art world remembers David Hockney, a £18.9M South Asian sale at Christie's, a world-record Elizabeth Taylor handbag, and luxury stocks surging on a possible US–Iran peace deal. ALT/FNDATA - Membership (PODCAST15 for 15% off): https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260612 - Market reports: https://a...

June 11: Christie's Fabergé Sale Hits $17.3M; Porsche Rules Out an Electric 911; Hugo Boss Weighs a €2B Bid A $17.3M Fabergé collection at Christie's, a strong Asian-art result in Paris, the Empire State builder's Patek heading to Phillips, Porsche ruling out an electric 911, Frieze London's return, and where the luxury names opened. ALT/FNDATA - Membership (PODCAST15 for 15% off): https://altfnda...

June 10: Christie's Magnificent Jewels Hits $49.7M; India Pulls Ahead in Asian Art Market; CPI up 4.2% 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. ALT/FNDATA - Membership (PODCAST15 for 15% off): https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260610 - Market reports: htt...

June 9: $3.2M Wine Cellar Sells 100% at Christie's; Burberry's Bailey Buys a 175-Year-Old Pottery; New Balance Expands in India ALT/FNDATA - Membership (PODCAST15 for 15% off): https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260609 - Market reports: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260609-r - Podcast episodes: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260609-p Christie's Wine Cellar Sells 100% - The Exceptional Private Cellar of a Sili...

June 8: $50M Pollock Fails in Sotheby's Private Sale; Prada Heads to the Moon ALT/FNDATA - Membership (PODCAST15 for 15% off): https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260608 - Market reports: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260608-r - Podcast episodes: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260608-p $50M Pollock Fails in Private Sale - A Jackson Pollock owned by dealer Arne Glimcher, reportedly priced ~$50M, failed to sell...

June 5: Pace Gallery Drops 50 Artists; Bonhams Motorcycle Sale with 300+ Lots ALT/FNDATA - Membership (PODCAST15 for 15% off): https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260605 - Market reports: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260605-r - Podcast episodes: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260605-p Pace Gallery Restructuring - Cutting ~50 artists from roster of 135, reducing staff from 250 to 200 - CEO Marc Glimcher descri...

June 4: Centre Pompidou Opens in Seoul; Ferrari 599XX Leads RM Sotheby's Tegernsee at EUR 2.5M ALT/FNDATA - Membership (PODCAST15 for 15% off): https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260604 - Market reports: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260604-r - Podcast episodes: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260604-p Centre Pompidou Seoul - Centre Pompidou Hanwha opens today in Yeouido, Seoul's finance district - 10,000 sqm...

June 3: Neiman Marcus Closes Dallas Flagship; De Beers Reports 25% Rise in Diamond Spending ALT/FNDATA - Membership (PODCAST15 for 15% off): https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260603 - Market reports: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260603-r - Podcast episodes: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260603-p Luxury Retail - Neiman Marcus closing its Dallas flagship store, over 100 years old, as part of Saks Global's Ch...

June 2: Jerry Gogosian Dies at 40; Dawn Airey Named Arts Council England Chair ALT/FNDATA - Membership (PODCAST15 for 15% off): https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260602 - Market reports: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260602-r - Podcast episodes: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260602-p Art World - Hilde Lynn Helphenstein, known as Jerry Gogosian, has died at age 40 in Sao Paulo - Dawn Airey announced as new c...

June 1: Spring Sales Achieve $1.8B Across Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips New York's May spring auction season has concluded with $1.8 billion across Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips. ALT/FNDATA - Membership (PODCAST15 for 15% off): https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260601 - Market reports: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260601-r - Podcast episodes: https://altfndata.com/go/ob-260601-p In this episo...