Specialist appointments at Christie's Dubai

Why it is on the list

Christie's was founded in London in 1766 and keeps salerooms in London and seven other cities, Dubai among them; its 2022 sales of US$8.4 billion were an all-time high for any auction house.¹ It opened its Dubai office in 2005, the first international auction house to work in the Middle East.² The house runs Dubai as its global centre for watches and for Middle Eastern 20th and 21st century art.³ Its Dubai watch sales, held twice a year, average a 92% sell-through by lot, and the Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon it sold there in April 2021 for US$1.6 million remains the highest price paid for a wristwatch at auction in the Middle East.³ The Middle Eastern art team works between Dubai and London, with an online sale each October and a live sale in November.³

The Dubai office is built around watches and Middle Eastern art.³ For jewellery, handbags or a car, take the specialist appointments at Sotheby's Dubai, also in Gate Village.

How to get it

Write to clientservicesdubai@christies.com or call +971 4 375 9004, name the department (watches, or Middle Eastern modern and contemporary art) and say whether you want to buy, sell or have a piece valued.³ The saleroom is open Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 19:00.³ Valuations in Dubai are free.³ An estimate requested online takes three to four weeks and is given only for property that meets the house's minimum consignment value; for more than six pieces, the valuations team handles the request.⁴ The house sells by auction or by private sale, outside any auction.⁴

Discretion

Valuations are confidential.³ A piece can change hands by private sale rather than in the saleroom.⁴ The office is on the podium level of Building 5 in Gate Village, inside the Dubai International Financial Centre, and the saleroom doubles as its viewing room.³