Christie's: market settling down. Luxury and rarities save the semester

In a press briefing, Christie's announced that auction sales in the first half of 2025 remained stable at $2.1 billion, but showed a 22% drop compared to the same period in 2023. The result for the first half of 2025 indicates some stabilisation of the market, albeit in a climate that calls for caution and a good dose of optimism to avoid further declines. In this uncertain environment, collectors showed reluctance to put very high value works on the market. A very important aspect of the semester was the very positive performance of the luxury segment, a result emphasised several times during the conference call by CEO Bonnie Brennan, who took over in February from Guillaume Cerutti, now at the helm of Artémis, the holding company owned by François Pinault, the owner of Christie's.

The key performance indicators for the half-year period are comforting: the sales rate reached 88%, up slightly from 87% in 2024, while the average contract price reached 115% of the low estimate, up from 111% last year. Another important fact is that 31% of customers are part of the Millennial and Gen Z generation, up from 29% in H1 2024.
The absolute star of the semester was Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue by Piet Mondrian, which fetched $47.6 million in New York. The work came from the sale of theLeonard & Louise Riggio Collection, which fetched $272m, making it the largest private collection sold in the first six months of the year. Christie's also achieved a significant result by selling seven of the year's top ten works, including the top four by value. Sales in the "20/21" category (20th and 21st century art) remained stable at $1.3 billion. Positive signals also came from the Old Masters segment, which saw a year-on-year increase in sales of 15%. Consolidating this trend was the spectacular adjudication of the Canaletto 'Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day', which sold in London for $43.9m - an absolute record for the artist and an encouraging sign for the second half of the year.

In the first half of the year, Luxury sales increased by 29%, including car sales at Gooding Christie's (+12% without Gooding Christie's). In August the first sale under the new Gooding Christie's brand will be held at Pebble Beach. In the jewellery segment, Christie's sold nine of the top 10 jewellery pieces and recorded 25 per cent growth. Among the most significant sales was the Magnificent Jewels auction held in New York on 17 June, which sold out and brought in a total of $87.7 million. Two gems, in particular, caught the general attention: the Marie-Thérèse Pink, a rare 10.38-carat pink-purple diamond mounted by JAR, fetched $14 million, setting a new auction record for a JAR jewel. Its connection with the history of the French monarchy and its mysterious allure contributed to its success. Following it, the majestic Blue Belle, a 392.52-carat Ceylon sapphire with a deep, luminous blue, fetched $11.3 million. Coloured gems marked a strong interest from collectors and according to Rahul Kadakia, International Head of Jewelry at Christie's "collectors continue to show extraordinary interest in pieces of exceptional rarity, provenance and craftsmanship."

In the watch segment, sales included the Important Watches Featuring Stories in Time: A Collection of Exceptional Watches auction, which realised $11m by selling 97% per lot, with the top lot, which changed hands to an online buyer, being a signed Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Minute Repeater Ref. 3974R, which achieved $1.2m. Strong demand was seen for high-quality vintage timepieces with exceptional provenance and creations by independent watchmakers, including FP Journe and Greubel Forsey. Customers came from all over the world, with 46% of the offerings from the Americas, 26% from Asia Pacific and 28% from Emea. Among the top lots were an F.P. Journe Octa Calendrier 'Black Label' that reached three times its minimum estimate, totalling $453,600, a Richard Mille Tourbillon RM74-02, which realised $378,000, and a Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon 30th Edition Historique from Stories in Time: A Collection of Exceptional Watches that realised $390,600.

Finally, investment wine, which saw the sale of the William I. "Bill" Koch collection, a one-of-a-generation piece, achieve $28.8 million, setting a record as the largest single-owner wine collection ever sold in North America. The three-day celebratory auction was held at Christie's Rockefeller Center and achieved 154% of the minimum estimate. The sale attracted global and generational participation, with 42% of attendees new to wine auctions at Christie's. The highest price realised was the 1999 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Romanée-Conti, a Methuselah, which sold for $275,000, closely followed by a lot of three Magnums of the same wine, which reached $237,500, more than double its estimate.