christiesauction

Summer is slow for the art auction houses – and anyone else who has to step outside into the oppressive heat. But, in air conditioned offices around the world, Sotheby's and Christie's are getting ready for the September auctions in New York. The first will be the Christie's Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean auction on September 16 and 17, followed by Contemporary Art on September 23 and 24 at Sotheby's.

The catalogues haven't been published yet, but a little bit of information is starting to slop out. On November 4, for example, Sotheby's will be bringing several Impressionist paintings from the Paul Durand-Ruel collection under the gavel. These works were purchased directly from the artists and have not left the collection since being bought. Durand-Ruel (who died in 1922) supported several of the Impressionist artists. The collection consists of nearly 12,000 pieces – with 1,000 by Claude Monet, 1,500 by Auguste Renoir, 400 by Edgar Degas, 800 by Camille Pissarro and 200 by Edouard Manet.

The economy seems to be turning, albeit slowly. And, stronger pieces are coming to auction. This combination could be the first sign that the art market is on its way back, though it's going to take a while to reach 2007 levels again. For now, let's be patient and just hope for an exciting, full and active autumn auction season.

Okay, so it seems like Christie's is looking for any way it can to get into your wallet. Can you blame the auction house? Even with the occasional touch of good news, 2009 has generally been a dismal year, thanks to a global economic crisis that has brought the art market back down to Earth (hell, some would say six feet under it). Any business guru would tell you that when the market sucks, you need to find a new revenue stream. And, iPhone apps offer a brand new bandwagon to jump on, so why not?

This is a pretty wild development for a company that celebrated its tenth anniversary when the colonies declared independence (Christies was founded in 1766, if you couldn't figure it out). The iPhone will stand alongside the gavel, if all goes well, as the implement by which an auction is defined.

Christie's hopes that the bidding application will attract new money bidders to the auction house, ideally to pick up some of the lots that aren't moving and to possibly push prices up a bit. Think about it: if you're not into the auction scene, going to one of those things is a friggin' drag. Unless you move heaven and earth to get "approved," you're stuck in the back with the prolies – standing. That's no way to spend money! And, the dress code? If I hit it big, my first move would be to never wear a suit again. My jeans would lead to discrimination, so the iPhone app makes sense ... as long as there are wealthy versions of me out there (and I think there are).

Obviously committed to promoting how brilliant this idea is, Christie's draws a parallel to bids from its Christie's LIVE website, which accounted for 11 percent of the lots sold last year. There's no comment on what the website's been worth this year. But, let's be fair. The auction house is having trouble selling through any channel, so we can't blame innovation.

One client is putting up a third of the take at the Christie's wine auction this weekend. A total of 613 lots are available, with one party accounting for than 200 of them. This seller is described only as a "wealthy New York family" (duh). For collectors, according to the auction house's spin, this is a great time to buy. Prices are falling, which means that there are plenty of bargains out there.

Apparently, there's some wisdom to this perspective. At the Sotheby's auction last weekend, bidders dropped more than $2.9 million on vino, thrashing a pre-auction estimate of only $1.8 million to $2.6 million. New buyers are coming into the market. At the Sotheby's auction, more than 20 percent of the bidders were new. Two weeks before that, Hart Davis Hart, of Chicago, moved nearly $2.7 million of liquid bliss, beating its presale mark of $2.4 million.

In a Reuters interview, wine consultant Judy Beardsall likens wine collecting and investing to gardening, "At a time like this, it's a chance to turn over the soil in the garden, put down some stock for the next generation."

But, if you aren't interested in waiting, all the wines put up for auction are fit for consumption ... for a price.

This gorgeous pink diamond is just one of a massive collection of rare and valuable jewels called the "Eye of the Connoisseur" collection that is scheduled to go up for auction at Christie's on April 15th. Of the 115 pieces the most outstanding is this ring, featuring a 14.23 carat rectangular-cut fancy intense pink diamond set on a micro pavé-set pink diamond hoop set in 18k rose gold. Some are calling it the most important pink diamond ever to be offered up at auction. Its value is estimated at $10-$15 million.

Some of the jewels in the collection date back to the 17th century, and experts expect the auction to break more than a few records. See the whole collection here, or I picked out some of my favorites for the gallery below.