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Timing magnifies sales success

Auction's appeal depends on communication between parties

The world's most affluent have helped sales at auction houses surge to record-breaking highs. Purchases, though, are not for the fainthearted.

Whether it is antiques or contemporary art, lots for sale at auction houses come with multimillion-dollar price tags.

But where do all these items come from?

The sourcing and consignment process would begin almost as soon as each biannual sale was completed, and client respect for their specialists was a critical factor, said Jonathan Stone, Christie's international business director in Asian art, antiquities and tribal art.

'The consignment process relies primarily on these relationships,' Mr Stone said.

'It's a communication between the specialist and the collector. Together, they can decide on what works are going to achieve the best returns for the vendor and also strike a balance so the works on offer are going to excite as many buyers as possible,' he said.

Sometimes that means reserving pieces to sell later to provide the market with variety and attract a broad spectrum of buyers.

'You have to be careful not to over-egg the pudding and create too rich a diet,' Mr Stone said.

Part of the process involves advising clients on when it is the best time to sell.

Christie's head of jewellery in Asia, Vickie Sek, said the changing taste of a market was also a consideration, and rarity was preferred, even if it meant painstakingly sifting through extensive collections.

Ms Sek said she once spent an afternoon with a client in Bangkok going through her entire collection of more than 300 pieces.

'We sat on the floor of her safe in the bank, went through several big boxes and looked at every item,' she recalled.

Not all pieces would go to auction, she said.

'We have to be selective to make a good sale because it's not worth selling everything at once,' she said.

According to Ms Shek, the history of buying jewellery in Asia is short compared with Europe's long history of Old World pieces, with 90 per cent of jewellery sold at Christie's Hong Kong sales being modern items.

Christie's claims 57 per cent market share in Asia and its last autumn sale raked in a milestone HK$2.1 billion, a 28 per cent increase over autumn 2006. Last year, sales in art, watches and jewellery topped HK$3.6 billion. During the fall jewellery auction, Christie's totalled around HK$368million, making it the largest jewellery auction in Asia.

The region's burgeoning affluent class also accounts for increasing interest in other areas.

Last November, Christie's boasted the most successful watch auction in Asia, realising a total of US$14.912million, an increase of 82 per cent compared to the previous autumn sales.

International co-head of watches at Christie's, Tim Bourne, said that in a market that predominantly concentrated on contemporary timepieces, there was also a strong demand from Asian buyers for vintage samples.

'It's very much been the domain of some European and American collectors, but now, with the input of wealth from Asia, Russia, India and the Middle East, we have a big pool of collectors wanting the very best,' Mr Bourne said.

In recent years, Patek Philippe and Rolex watches have outperformed and seen the biggest growth.

'We've seen an increase in price because of the competition. In some examples of rare watches, we've seen growth of up to 25 per cent on a year-on-year basis,' he added.

In the lead-up to the next sales, he and other specialists will scour the globe for their next consignments, which are then photographed for the catalogue.

'For the next two months, I'll be spending my life in a plane visiting about 15 places to meet private collectors.

'We're constantly in touch with all the top and important collectors around the world.

'I'll spend up to four days in each country lecturing and attending private functions in conjunction with private banks and private wealth management companies to advise them on how the market is changing and prices for certain commodities they may have.'

While specialists often deal with private collectors or dealers, museums also provide pieces for auction. According to the head of Christie's Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Pola Antebi, one of the lots in the upcoming spring sales was provided by the private Nezu Museum in Tokyo.

Valued by Christie's at between US$3.5 million and US$5 million, the collection of 15 clocks made for the mainland market in the 18th century will be on sale to raise funds for renovations at the museum.

'They're the type of clocks found in the imperial collection in Beijing and have been in Japan for at least 80 years,' Ms Antebi said.

'Our clients have learned to trust us. We're in regular contact with them and that has helped us a great deal. They feel very comfortable working with us,' she said.

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