5. World auction record for a handbag – Matte White Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Birkin – $300,168
Of course it was only a matter of time before a Birkin made it to this list! This is another recent addition to the auctioneer’s Hall of Fame, it sold just last month at a Hong Kong auction. Featuring diamond encrusted gold hardware, this Himalayan Niloticus Crocodile Birkin was purchased by an anonymous Asian collector. Both Kim Kardashian and Victoria Beckham own versions of this bag; reportedly only one or two are created every year.
4. World record price for a wristwatch sold at auction – Patek Philippe watch – $5,708,885
This timepiece is a historically significant 18K gold perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch with moon phases and a tonneau-shaped case. Having sold in 2010 for $5.7 million, this watch set the world record price for a wristwatch sold at auction. Aurel Bacs, the auctioneer called this timepiece, the “Mona Lisa of 20th-century wristwatches in private hands.” The bidding war over this brilliant watch involved six bidders on three continents.
3. World record price for any jewel sold at auction – The Oppenheimer Blue diamond ring – $58,002,681
Sold earlier this year in May, the Oppenheimer Blue diamond ring features the largest Vivid Blue ever to come to auction. Named after its previous owner, Sir Philip Oppenheimer, this diamond is 14.62 carats of clear blue beauty. The emerald cut diamond has been classified as Vivid Blue and is set in a ring flanked by two smaller trapeze-shaped diamonds. This diamond was particularly sought out by two buyers who engaged in a 20-minute bidding war over the gem. The Oppenheimer holds the world record price for any jewel sold at auction.
2. World auction record price for a work of post-war and contemporary art – Three Studies of Lucian Freud – $142,405,000
Before being dethroned by The Women of Algiers, Francis Bacon’s Three Studies of ‘Lucian Freud’ held the record for the most expensive artwork sold at auction. Sold by Christie’s in 2013, the painting still lays claim to the world auction record price for a work of post-war and contemporary art. Supposedly, the painting which carried an opening bid of $80 million, escalated to $127 million within just a few minutes of bidding. We now know that Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad al-Thani, the sister of Qatar’s emir, was the art aficionado who paid the princely sum for the triptych.
1. World auction record for any work of art – Les femmes d’Alger (Version ‘O’) – $179,365,000
This painting earns a spot in history for holding the world auction record for any work of art after selling last year for the eye watering price of $179,365,000. The painting was supposed to sell for something like $140 million (not a paltry sum) but exceeded all expectations when an unnamed buyer decided to shell out $161 million plus a 12% commission for the work. We’re still waiting to see if the anonymous buyer’s identity will be revealed, but that probably won’t happen until they tire of the painting and decide to sell.
