Sotheby's

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Flea Market Find of a Lifetime Is Sold

26-carat diamond fetches $848K

(Newser) - She bought it for $15, expected to sell it for $450,000, and instead got $848,000 for a whopping 56,500% return on her original investment. The mystery seller, who snatched up a chunky "costume jewelry" ring at a flea market in London in the 1980s, parted with...

She Bought the &#39;Costume Jewelry&#39; for $15. But It Was Real


She Bought the
'Costume Jewelry'
for $15. But It
Was Real
in case you missed it
May 22, 2017 8:14 AM CDT

She Bought the 'Costume Jewelry' for $15. But It Was Real

Ring could sell for as much as $450K next month

(Newser) - It was an almost gaudily large piece of costume jewelry picked up for about $15 in the 1980s, and its owner apparently liked it—she "would wear it out shopping, wear it day-to-day." She almost certainly likes it much, much more now. The ring, bought at a car-boot...

This Diamond Just Smashed Auction Records

'Pink Star' sells for $71.2M in Hong Kong

(Newser) - A stunning 59.6 carat diamond known as the "Pink Star" sold for $71.2 million at a Sotheby's auction Tuesday in Hong Kong, setting a new world record for any diamond or jewel, according to the auction house. The oval mixed-cut diamond smashed the $60 million pre-sale...

Trump's Old Ferrari Didn't Make as Much as Expected at Auction

It sold for $270K

(Newser) - President Trump's former Ferrari was sold at auction for what Bloomberg calls a "disappointing" amount Saturday. The 2007 F430 F1 Coupe had been expected to go for as much as $350,000, but bidding stopped at $240,000, $10,000 below its low estimate and not high enough...

Green Pigment a Telltale Clue in Art-Fraud Case: Suit

'St. Jerome' contains modern pigment: Sotheby's

(Newser) - St. Jerome was said to have been painted by an Italian Renaissance master and was displayed at Vienna's national gallery before it was sold at auction in 2012 for $842,500. The buyer apparently overpaid. Sotheby's now says the artwork is a fake, not painted by Parmigianino in...

For Sale: A 45-Building Village You Can't Live In

Owners asking $2M for Canadian village that's basically a 19th-century movie set

(Newser) - A Canadian village an hour north of Montreal could be yours for a cool $2 million, but there's an asterisk: The 45 buildings spread out across the 140 acres of Canadiana Village are largely just for show, with only one house in livable condition. That's because for decades...

Man Buys World's Priciest Gem for Daughter, 7

$48.5M diamond is Josephine's 2nd present this week

(Newser) - What did your dad buy you when you were seven? A Hong Kong property tycoon just shelled out $48.5 million on a blue diamond as a gift to his daughter. The sale at Sotheby's on Wednesday night goes into the record books as the most ever paid for...

Mystery Buyer Spends Small Fortune on Cat Painting

All 42 cats in the painting are Persians and Angoras

(Newser) - There are cat enthusiasts and crazy cat ladies, and San Francisco art collector Kate Birdsall Johnson definitely liked her cats. The millionaire is said to have had some 350 felines at her 3,000-acre summer residence/cat ranch in Buena Vista, Calif., and invited artist Carl Kahler to do a portrait...

Lyrics Tupac Wrote in Jail Going Up for Auction

One set could fetch nearly $80K

(Newser) - While Tupac Shakur was in jail in 1995, a year before his shooting death, he hand-wrote lyrics that are now going up for auction, ITV News reports. The original penned lyrics for "Ambitionz Az a Ridah" and "Tradin' War Stories" are expected to fetch high prices (as much...

'Perfect' 100-Carat White Diamond Sells for $22M

Gem expert says transparency of auctioned jewel is like a 'pool of icy water'

(Newser) - An anonymous buyer is sporting some major bling after ponying up a tad over $22 million yesterday for a 100-carat diamond that Sotheby's likens to "the definition of perfection," the AP reports. It's the only white diamond of the classic emerald cut more than 100 carats...

'Perfect' 100-Carat Diamond Up for Auction

Figure shelling out about $20M at Sotheby's

(Newser) - Need a Valentine's gift? A "perfect" 100-carat diamond in a classic emerald-cut is going on the auction block, where it could fetch between $19 million to $25 million. Sotheby's will offer the white diamond on April 21 in New York. It's an internally flawless D color...

'Like a Rolling Stone' Draft by Dylan Sells for $2M

He wrote it on hotel stationery, recorded it in 1965

(Newser) - A draft of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" sold today for $2 million, which Sotheby's auction house called a world record for a pop-music manuscript. A working draft of the song in Dylan's own hand went to an unidentified bidder for $2.045 million. The...

This Will Be the Priciest Object Ever Sold*

*By size and weight

(Newser) - A stamp, created by a newspaper publisher when a British colony ran out of proper stamps in 1856, "will be by size and weight simply the most expensive object ever sold in history." The British Guiana One-Cent Black on Magenta stamp will sell at Sotheby's on June...

Springsteen's 'Born to Run' Draft Sells for $197K

That's about double the estimate at Sotheby's

(Newser) - Sotheby's underestimated the value of the Boss. A handwritten 1974 draft of his classic song "Born to Run" sold for $197,000 at auction today, reports Reuters . The presale estimate was between $70,000 and $100,000. Sotheby's revealed neither the buyer nor the seller, notes AP...

$46M Norman Rockwell Work Shatters Record

Sells for $46M, well above estimate of up to $20M

(Newser) - A Norman Rockwell painting titled "Saying Grace" sold at an auction yesterday for $46 million, a record for the Saturday Evening Post illustrator and for any work sold at an American art auction, Sotheby's said. Two people on the telephone bid against each other for nine minutes before...

Springsteen 'Born to Run' Manuscript Up for Auction

Fans can expect to shell out 100K at Sotheby's

(Newser) - A handwritten working manuscript of Bruce Springsteen's 1975 hit "Born to Run" will be offered at auction on Dec. 5, with a presale estimate of $70,000 to $100,000, says Sotheby's. The seller wasn't revealed, but the document used to be in the collection of...

Pink Diamond Fetches $83M
 Pink Diamond Fetches $83M 
Nov 13, 2013 5:04 PM CST

Pink Diamond Fetches $83M

It's a record for any gem sold at auction

(Newser) - An enormous diamond known as "The Pink Star" sold for more than $83 million at auction today, far surpassing its expected price of $60 million. Sotheby's says the sale of the vivid and flawless 59.6-carat pink diamond is the highest price ever paid for a gemstone at...

Harry Belafonte Hopes to Sell MLK Notes, Documents

Entertainer renews fight against estate of King

(Newser) - Harry Belafonte is bound and determined to sell some rare Martin Luther King documents—including notes for a speech that were in King's pocket when he was assassinated. The entertainer, who had to cancel a 2008 auction at Sotheby's at the last minute, has renewed his legal fight...

Egg-Sized White Diamond Sells for $30.6M

118-carat gem sets a record at Sotheby's auction

(Newser) - A white diamond the size of a small egg sold for $30.6 million at a Hong Kong auction today, as two phone bidders competed for the 118-carat white diamond from Africa in six minutes of measured bidding in the Sotheby's jewelry auction. The "flawless" white oval diamond,...

All Hail the World's Priciest Carpet

17th-century Persian rug sells for $33.7M at auction

(Newser) - Please remember to wipe your feet: A Persian rug from the early 17th century has sold for $33.7 million in New York City. Sotheby's auction house says yesterday's price for the Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet was more than three times the previous auction record for a carpet. It...

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