Nine world records were set at Antiquorum's massive vintage Rolex auction on April 17, entitled Revolution: The Evolution of the Rolex Sport Watch, commemorating the brand's 100th anniversary. In total, $8,515,260 worth of timepieces were sold to bidders worldwide.

Among the records set was $237,600 each for two highly-prized 1967 Sea-Dweller Submariners, and $166,800 for a 1973 Submariner originally issued to the British military. The most beautiful watch in the sale, the rare "Jean-Claude Killy" Antimagnetic Oyster Chronograph, fetched $155,000, while the highest price was brought in by a 1979 "Comex" model Sea-Dweller, which went for $248,800.

While collectors certainly paid a premium for historical value, not all the most attractive watches hit six figures. The super-stylish version of the Explorer known as the "Straight Hand Steve McQueen" pictured here went for a more modest $40,800, still a significant sum for this model.

The highly anticipated 72.22 carat "Perfect Pear" diamond was withdrawn from the Sotheby's Hong Kong auction on April 10th after the final bid failed to reach the reserve price. Originally the stone was expected to sell for upwards of $13 million but the highest bid maxed out at only $9.4 million. That didn't seem to dampen interest, however, as within just a few hours of the auction closing the stone was sold to a private buyer for an undisclosed amount.

Experts say the bidding prices were likely lower than expected due to confusion over the exchange rate of different currencies. Hm, does that mean they got their $13 million after all? Seems like people spending that much money would have a handle on that kind of thing.

Louis Kahn only designed 3 major architectural homes in his career and one of them, the Escherick House (named after the woman for whom it was built, Margaret Escherick) is up for auction. Its address is in Philadelphia and according to some it's his best residential creation and has "mature style" and a "warm and human quality" to the interior (and I tend to agree).

So the house will be sold, but unlike most houses its price will not only reflect the local regular real estate market but also the art market. Valued at $2 million only about half of that is unbiased structural and land values -- the rest is all artistic and historical sentiment.

Need more proof that Florida's real estate market is in deep trouble? Here it is, both Sotheby's Realty and Coldwell Banker are making moves on the real estate auction front. Sol Sotheby's International Realty and Nestler Poletto Sotheby's International Realty have announced they will hold their first luxury property auction for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties on March 28 in Fort Lauderdale, putting more than $200 million in high-end properties on the block. Most of the properties will be sold to the highest qualified bidder with no limiting conditions or amounts.

The same company that is working with Sotheby's, Daniel DeCaro Real Estate Auctions, is also helping Coldwell Banker Real Estate Florida with auctions. They now offer clients the option of auctioning off their homes in Central Florida rather than selling in the traditional manner.

I've talked a lot about Jeff Koons as an artist but what about Jeff Koons, art collector. The artist, whose monumental work, Hanging Heart, brought in $23.4 million at auction last fall, is also an avid collector and his taste might surprise you. The baby-faced artist, who traffics in large works of kitschy pop, puts some of his earnings back into the art market spending big on the traditional masters. The Art Newspaper reports that Koons paid $6.3 million at Sotheby's in New York for a the work shown at right, a large limewood carving of St Catherine, dating from around 1505, by German 16th-century sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider. He is also said to be the lender of an 1866 Gustave Courbet nude to the Metropolitan Museum's current exhibition on the French artist. He bought that painting last June at Sotheby's for around $3.2 million. It's sort of comforting to know that while Koons is benefiting from the booming art market he's also having to pay the same exorbitant prices that everyone else is facing right now.

It seems that Christie's is seeking a new way to connect with the younger collector and decorator. It have rebranded its House Sales (which are often an intriguing mix of a variety of objects, often at lower price points than other sales) as a new feature called Christie's Interiors. The Interiors sales will be held at the New York, London and Paris salerooms beginning in 2008, and will give decorators, collectors and newcomers the chance to acquire one-of-a-kind
objects and collectibles, offering attractive price points and an ever-changing repertoire of fine and decorative arts. All will be available via online bidding. Each sale will also have a large scale magazine-style catalogue, and Christie's specialists will be available to advise buyers and sellers.

I suspect that Christie's has stepped up its game in order to compete with popular antiques/design sites like 1st Dibs which help people easily access a world full of vintage design finds without combing through antique stores.

This week delivers another set of economic indicators in the form of the prices earned in the big sales at Sotheby's and Christie's in New York. The next few weeks bring us the sales in Impressionist, modern, postwar and contemporary art at the competing houses. Many will be watching these auctions as an indicator to see if the art market, which has been booming over the last couple years, is headed for a fall. These are the first big art sales since the sales that take place in May each year. Traditionally the May sales are larger. The Financial Times mentions that collectors could spend up to $2 billion in the sales, an amount almost three times above the level reached just two years ago.

The art market tends not to fall all at once. Generally it's the new kids, the contemporary art, which loses value first. This art is often beloved by younger collectors, the Wall Street guys looking for something trendy and hot. Jeff Koons, whose heart is shown at right and Damien Hirst are two who have commanded huge prices recently (Hirst is currently the world's most expensive living artist). The Impressionist and modern artists, the Monets and Picassos of the world won't be plummeting in value any time soon.

A prominent Texas lawyer and car collector bought up a chunk of Rolls Royce automobiles as they sat on the auction block at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance auction in California. The seller, 82 year-old Columbus developer Richard J. Solove, put 13 Rolls Royce cars up for bid to raise money for the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, as well as Ohio State University's Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The full slate of cars went for $14.3, just under the $15 million Solove expected to fetch for them. Eight of the vehicles, including all of the Silver Ghosts on the block except for one, were bought by billionaire Houston trailawyer John O'Quinn, who came by his success in high-profile cases such as Texas' $17.3 billion settlement with the tobacco industry, lawsuits against breast-implant manufacturers, and most famously (or infamously) lately, Virgie Arthur, the mother of Anna Nicole Smith's, as she fought for custody of Smith's daughter.

Along with his 1903 Ford Model A, Batmobile, and cars used by President Franklin Roosevelt and Pope John Paul II, O'Quinn plans to open a car museum in Houston in 2009.

[Source: The Columbus Dispatch]

If you love the Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, and/or Elvis Presley then you might want to book yourself a flight to Beverly Hills before next weekend. On June 16th some of the biggest and most unique items from some of the most memorable stars of years past will be featured at Julien's Auctions at the Beverly Hilton. Among items set to go up on the block are Yoko Ono's 2002 Bentley Arnage, Marilyn Monroe's polka-dot umbrella, and the microphone Elvis Presley used to make his radio debut (complete with the infamous original recording of the phrase "Elvis has left the building").

And whether or not bidding is a possibility for you, the trip could still be worth your while if just to get a glimpse. All items will be on display for admiring fans starting June 12th through the 15th.

It's time for the American Express Going Once auctions yet again. From April 17-27, U.S. and U.K. American Express card holders have the can bid on travel adventures. There is a set number of packages and the price drops every twenty minutes until 7:00 pm ET or until the package sells out. Buy early and risk not getting the best deal or wait as the price drops and miss out entirely.

First up is a seven-night package to Conouan Island in the Grenadines. The price starts at $7,740. The other excursions include trips to Florence, South Africa, an American tour, Hong Kong, a cruise to Antarctica, a Disney World package, and a trip to the Mayan Riviera. There are also 19 fixed price packages under $3,000 and other travel deals available.

In the world of expensive cars, there are always a few that stand above the rest. It's a subjective issue, to be sure, but if you're into Ferraris with a history then the upcoming "Leggenda e Passione" auction in Italy is somewhere you're going to want to be.

One of the Ferraris with the best history is going up on the block -- the one-of-a-kind 1962 Ferrari 330 TRI/LM Testa Rossa. The one and only Testa Rossa with a 4L engine, the last Testa Rossa ever built, and (as if that weren't enough already) it's the car that won at Le Mans in 1962 driven by Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien.

The auction is on May 20th and will include a number of other historic Ferrari's, although valued at up to $10 million the Testa Rossa is by far the biggest attraction.

It's time for Americana week in New York yet again. Dueling auction houses Sotheby's and Christie's have come up with sets of auctions featuring Colonial art and precious heirlooms. Early American silver, decoys, folk art, Shaker furnishings, painted trunks and gameboards are just some of the items up for bid at various auctions. The Americana Collection of Marc and Laurie Krasny Brown, which will be auctioned at Sotheby's on January 21, features the results of 25 years of solid aggressive collection by the founder of Parfums de Coeur. The Laracy collection, which was profiled extensively in a New York Times article, is described as being charming and playful. The Laracy's aren't giving up the collecting world but they are selling their Georgian colonial house in New Canaan, Conn., and moving into Manhattan where they plan to focus on more modern finds.The pictures shown above are a pair of portraits of Major Daniel Coffin and Elizabeth Stone Coffin by John Brewster which ares estimated to sell for $150,000 to $300,000.

In addition to the jewels of a princess, Sotheby's will be auctioning off the property from one of the greatest sopranos this fall. The private collection from the Anna Moffo Sarnoff Estate, will be part of a s series of New York sales through December. Her tastes ran toward contemporary works of art by Robert Indiana, Alexander Calder and Isamu Noguchi and Impressionist art by Jean Arp.She also collected furniture from around the world including this rare European-market Namban-style painted lacquer six-panel screen from the 17th century. The original Chinese lacquer screen bears some later Anglo-Dutch elements, such as metalwork detailing and tooled-leather reinforcements showing that the screen was exported to Europe and received such enhancements during the second half of the seventeenth century. This screen is eexpected to sell for $120-150,000.

Don't turn to Trader Joe's for a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck if you're looking for a good price on wine. The Wall Street Journal (subscription) reports that more and more wine lovers are heading to auction houses like Christie's to shop - not for the ultra-expensive or rare bottles of wine, but for bargains. Many lots of good, ready-to-drink wines, perhaps "from overzealous collectors, who bought more than they [could] drink," sell for well under $100 per bottle.

When people consign their collections to the auction block, they almost always have several lower-ticket items in addition to the really expensive bottles of Chateau Petrus that the auction houses take one either because they must, or because they're hoping to attract new bidders. Whatever their reason for offering the wines, the budget bottles are a boon to wine fans who find cases of their favorite vintages for less than retail. The self-described "bottom feeders" say that it just takes a little research on the catalogue listings to sniff out the best deals, but to come home with some good wines at even better prices, it is worth the effort.

Clothes Off Our Backs often auctions off the clothing, shoes and accessories that celebrities wear to special events like the Emmy Awards and the Oscars. This year, they've taken the own-what-a-celeb-has-touched auction one step further. Instead of owning something just one celebrity touched, you can sit on the very velvety tuffet where many celeb hindquarters have rested. They are auctioning off the pouf that was the centerpiece in the 2006 Architectural Digest Greenroom at the Emmy Awards. The pouf is covered in coral velvet with silver-leafed moldings and a silver-gilt wood finial and proceeds benefit the emergency relief efforts in Darfur, Children's Defense Fund and Cure Autism Now. No bids last time I checked...