Looking ahead, all eyes will be on New York in February as Christie’s holds the sale of The Elton John Collection: Goodbye Peachtree Road, featuring items from the iconic musician’s Atlanta home. The opportunity to own a pair of Sir Elton’s sunglasses, his diamond-studded Rolex Daytona with leopard-print dial, or perhaps the Rocket Man’s Bentley convertible will surely entice bidders from all over the world.
Specialists from a number of Christie’s departments also gave their predictions on trends and artists to watch this year.
According to the latest Christie’s magazine story, while NFT values have come down after peaking in 2022, Sebastian Sanchez, Christie’s Manager of Digital Art Sales, is no less excited about the creativity that continues in the space. Artists to watch in 2024 include Sasha Stiles, creator of the Cursive Binary series; Yatreda, a family art collective celebrating Ethiopian history through Web3; and Lim Wenhui, aka Niceaunties, a Singapore-based artist whose AI-generated images depict “auntie culture” in an alternate reality.
Jewelry, watches and handbag sales will continue to be led by the established houses: Tiffany, Cartier, Harry Winston,Patek Philippe, Rolex, and of course Hermes. Mei Giam, Director of Jewellery Private Sales at Christie’s in London, says colored diamonds and stones will be highly desired at auction this year. Alexandre Gouverneyre, Head of Watches in Geneva, notes that “special shaped-watches from the 60s and 70s made in collaboration with highly-skilled jewelers / designers (Gilbert Albert, Georges Lenfant, Andrew Grima, Charles de Temple, John Donald) will be more and more sought-after.” And Rachel Koffsky, Senior Vice President, International Head of Handbags and Accessories, says collectors are on the hunt for extreme rarities, including unusual materials and sizes and limited and runway editions. Red will be a popular color for handbags in 2024, she says.
Whether in art, wine, watches or furniture, the one constant theme is quality.
“Collectors are looking for the best quality works within their collecting category. If it’s an A+ example, it will soar at auction,” says Michael Baptist, Associate Vice President in Post-War and Contemporary Art. Baptist also advises that, “There’s no better way to learn about auctions than by participating in them.”
For information on Christie’s services as well as upcoming auctions and sales, visit www.christies.com.
