The most expenisve clock sold at auction is the Rothschild Fabergé Clock Egg, which was made in 1902 by Peter Carl Fabergé. On 28 Nov 2007, this ornate timepiece sold for £8,980,500 (then $18,824,655) at Christies in London, UK, on 28 November 2007.
The clock has two spring barrels driving four gear-trains. The first powers the clock; the second the striking mechanism; the third set of gears power an elaborate gold enamelled cockerel that rises from a trapdoor in the top of the egg every hour, and moves as if to crow; the final gear train drives a tiny set of bellows that push air through a set of flutes, imitating the cockerel’s crow.
This clock is an example of a “Fabergé Egg”. These were highly ornate decorative pieces made by the House of Fabergé – a jeweler in St Petersburg, Russia – between 1885 and 1917. Most were designed by Peter Carl Fabergé (aka Karl Gustavovich Fabergé) and assembled by his “workmasters” Mikhail Perkhin and Henrik Wigström. They were masterpieces of the jeweler’s craft, requiring a year of work by highly skilled artisans and using only the finest materials (principally enameled gold and precious stones, but examples were made using cut-glass, jade and even finely turned wood).
The first was ordered by Tsar Alexander III as an easter present for his wife, and the Russian royal family would go on to be the primary customer for future examples (ordering 52 out of the approximately 69 made). Only eight of the eggs contained a clock movement, and the Rothschild Egg is one of only three with an automaton.
The Rothschild Egg is named for the person who commissioned it, Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild – a scion of the French branch of the wealthy Rothschild banking family. It was made as a gift for Germaine Halphen, to celebrate her engagement to Béatrice’s younger brother Édouard. It remained in the private collection of the Rothschild family, and was entirely unknown to Fabergé scholars until it went on sale in 2007. In 2014 it was donated to the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia.
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History of Auctioneering
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eBay was founded as AuctionWeb in California on September 3, 1995 by Pierre Omidyar in September 1995. It has 132 million yearly active buyers worldwide and handled $73 billion in transactions in 2023, 48% of which was in the United States. In 2023, the company had a take rate (revenue as a percentage of volume) of 13.81%.
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In June 2000, eBay acquired Half.com for $312 million in stock.
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Pursuant to 24 Del. C. § 2901, “the practice of providing real estate services” is reserved for those “duly licensed under this chapter.” Section 2901 enumerates several exceptions to the licensing requirement for providing “real estate services,” including one for “auctioneers.” In its Complaint, Plaintiff Delaware Auctioneers Association challenges regulations promulgated by Defendant Delaware Real Estate Commission concerning the 24 Del. C. § 2901(e)(4) exception for “auctioneers.”3 Specifically, Plaintiff asserts that § 2901(e)(4) is a blanket exemption for “auctioneers,”4 and, therefore, Defendant does not have the authority to implement regulations which purport to clarify “the complete, clear unambiguous and blanket exemption provided to ‘auctioneers.’”
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The Idaho Association of Professional Auctioneers (IAPA) was organized in 1981 to promote professionalism and the auction method of marketing. All members are in good standing and subscribe to the code of ethics set forth by the IAPA. The Association offers leadership, support, information and assistance to its members through its various committees and services, and lobbies to protect and enhance auction interests in the State. Members in good standing in the Idaho Association of Professional Auctioneers abide by Idaho Auction Law, IAPA By-Laws and a strict Code of Ethics.
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Based on users, the largest auction website is eBay (USA), with an estimated 157 million active buyers worldwide as of 9 October 2015, according to Forbes.
eBay was launched on 4 September 1995 by Pierre Omidyar (France) and has its headquarters in San Jose, California, USA.
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“Jimson Weed: White Flower No. 1” by American Modernist Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986) became the most expensive painting by a female artist sold at auction, when it made $44.4 million (£28 million) at Sotheby’s in New York, USA, on 20 November 2014.
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The most expensive bottle of wine sold at auction is £192,000 ($304,375), which was paid for a bottle of 1947 French Cheval-Blanc, and sold at Christie’s, Geneva, Switzerland on 16 November 2010. The bottle was sold to a private collector smashing the previous estimates. The wine is of Bordeaux variety.
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The most expensive piece of wireless related equipment is a German Enigma coding (ciphering/enciphering) machine sold for £24,172.50 ($38,047.50) when it came to auction at Phillips Bond Street, London, UK, in April 1993. The above amounts are equivalent to £29,385.80; $45,355.26 in the year 2000.
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The highest price paid at auction for a piece of Chinese furniture is $1,102,500 (£708,002) for a Ming Dynasty, marble, huanghuali and tielimu standing screen, sold at Christie’s, New York, USA on 19 September 1996. The screen dates from the 17th century and was bought by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, USA.
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