Jewelry History
The History of Christie’s Auction House
James Christie held his first sale in London, England on December 5, 1766 and its earliest catalog dates back to that same year. From 1973 through 1999, Christie’s was a public company until it was purchased by a private owner, Francois Pinault. In 1987, Christie’s auctioned off the Bugatti Royale automobile for a world record price. In 1999, Christie’s New York sold a strand of 41 natural graduated pearls for...
The History of Sotheby’s Auction House
Sotheby’s is the second largest auction house which was founded in 1744 by Samuel Baker. It started with rare books and then decorative art. Sotheby’s expanded internationally to London, New York and Moscow. It then expanded into coins, prints and by World War I, expanded into the art market. Currently, Sotheby’s specializes in “Ancient and Ethonographic Arts, Asian Art Antiquites (Egyptian, Classical and Western Asiatic Art), 20th Century Chinese Art,...
The History of Rolex
Rolex was originally known as Wilsdorf and Davis Ltd. named after its owners, Hans Wilhelm Wilsdorf and Alfred James Davis in 1905. In 1908, after the marriage of Davis to Wilsdorf’s younger sister, the company was registered as Rolex. It was thought that Rolex was an easy name to pronounce and spell in any language. At the beginning, they focused on pocket watches (wrist watches were considered feminine) and travel...
History of Omega
In 1948, at the age of 23, Louis Brandt set up his workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds. In 1879, Brandt died and his sons Louis-Paul and Cesar switched from an assembly workshop to manufacturing. In 1885, the first mass produced caliber was created. In 1892, the first minute-repeater watch was created and manufactured. It was capable of sounding on the hour, quarter hour and minute at the touch of a button....