News from the Auction World:
Thunderball- we all remember the movie; James Bond on a fast paced mission through the Bahamas, battling SPECTRE and his goons underwater, two atomic bombs would be detonated unless £100 million in diamonds were presented (disclaimer: Majesty Diamonds was not around back then, had we been – we would not have sold diamonds to the likes of SPECTRE!).
Chrisitie’s London auctioned off the famous watch, which was featured in Thunderball, at it’s Pop Culture Sale on June 26th. In the movie the watch which was staged as having a “Geiger counter,” which detects the emission of nuclear radiation. The watch was first purchased at a garage sale for $30.
Looks like Bond fans are not the only one’s willing to pay top dollar for rare watches; on June 11th Christie’s New York auctioned off a Palmer Patek Phillipe Grand Complication for over $2.25 Million.
In total, watches auctioned off that day earned more than $7.9 Million. The record- breaking auction’s success was noted by Aurel Bacs, Christie’s international head of watches, “today’s auction marked an unparalleled event at Christie’s New York flagship saleroom in Rockefeller Center.”
If you are unable to make it to a Christie’s auction; Canadian based jewellery retailer- Birks is opening 2 new boutiques which will be exclusively offering Birks branded jewellery. The stores will open this summer in Brossard, Quebec and Burlington, Ontario. Already owning a presence in the US jewellery market with outlets in Mayors department stores, Birks is eyeing the international jewellery scene with plans to launch in China. “We really want to make the Birks name into an internationally recognized jewelry brand,” said Eva Hartling director PR and Events.
Following the international trend, jewellery retailer Tiffany and co. is slated to open a 2-level Russian outlet in GUMs department store in Moscow’s Red Square. This will be Tiffany and co’s first venture into the Russian jewellery market, “We’ve designed the store with the warmth and elegance that make our legendary jewelry collections a pleasure to explore, and we look forward to welcoming everyone to the Tiffany shopping experience.” commented Tiffany’s Executive Vice President Frederic Cumenal.
Searching for a ‘warm and elegant’ shopping experience? Unable to visit Tiffany’s and Co’s Russia store? JC Penny announced last month that they were considering reinstating employee uniforms and cashiers, the relaxed dress code and mobile-checkout seemed to confuse shoppers as per company CEO Myron Ullman.
For a hassle free, jewellery shopping experience- straight from your home- visit Majesty Diamonds.
