Christie鈥檚 postpones Geneva auction after website technological issue
CHRISTIE鈥橲 said it postponed a watch auction in Geneva planned for Monday after its website was struck by technological problems.
The 鈥淩are Watches鈥 event, featuring Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and FP Journe of former Formula One driver Michael Schumacher, was pushed to Tuesday, a Christie鈥檚 spokesperson said in a statement.
The delay follows a that hit Christie鈥檚 systems on Friday, taking its website off line.
Christie鈥檚 held the 鈥淥nly Watch鈥 charity auction on Friday as planned, but the tech issues prevented online bidders from participating. The event raised 28.3 million Swiss francs ($31.2 million) from buyers who placed bids in the room or by phone for watches donated by 47 brands.
鈥淲e remain committed to providing the highest level of service to our clients and look forward to continuing a successful Geneva sales week,鈥 the Christie鈥檚 spokesperson said.
The spokesperson gave no details on the nature of the security issue, and the auction house hasn鈥檛 said if it was the victim of a cyberattack.
The auction house鈥檚 remained off line as of Sunday morning. However, Christie鈥檚 provided for clients and potential bidders to view upcoming auction catalogs.
During the major May auctions in New York this week, Christie鈥檚 plans to sell artworks valued at between $578 million and $846 million. Its evening sales on May 14 and May 16 alone could yield as much as $656 million, according to the auction house鈥檚 estimates.
The events come at a delicate time in the art and watch auction markets. Global sales of art and antiques were down last year by about 4%, according a report from UBS and Art Basel, and Christie鈥檚 itself reported a 25% decline in sales by value.
Total watch sales at the top auction houses fell by 13% to 610 million Swiss francs ($696 million) in 2023 from record levels hit in 2022, according to the released in March by industry consultant the Mercury Project.
The delivery of timepieces to winning bidders, including Marlon Brando鈥檚 Rolex GMT that sold for about $5 million at a Christie鈥檚 watch auction in November, were temporarily held up by a with the seller. That legal challenge has now been resolved. 鈥 Bloomberg
