| | With major auctions scheduled around the world and the added element of unexpected events, May has been a busy month at Christie's.
I would like to provide you with an update on each of these items.
Christie's experienced a cyber security incident in early May. However, we responded quickly and were able to limit the impact. I would once again like to express our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused by this incident.
Our investigation has shown that the group behind the infringement took a limited amount of personal data relating to some of our clients. No ID photos nor signatures were exposed, and that there is no evidence that any financial or transactional records have been compromised.
On Thursday 30 May, we sent a personalised email to each affected client who has an email account with us. A letter will be sent to any affected client who does not have an email address on our system. In addition, we are offering these clients Identity Monitoring Services at no cost for one year. Our teams around the world remain available should you require further information.
Our May auctions yielded solid and encouraging results despite a challenging macro-environment
May is traditionally one of the most important months of the year for Christie's, with marquee auction weeks taking place in New York, Geneva and Hong Kong.
Combined, these sales surpassed the symbolic total of $1 billion. The percentage of works sold and the ratio of total hammer prices to pre-sale estimates, two key indicators, remain at high levels, in line with previous seasons, signaling a resilient market.
We achieved excellent results for works by renowned artists. Collections with prestigious provenances also sold well above their pre-sale estimates, such as the Rosa de la Cruz and Norman & Lyn Lear collections in New York, Michael Schumacher's watches in Geneva and Wang Xin Lou's collection of exquisite Qing ceramics in Hong Kong.
In addition to our auctions, our Private Sales continue to be dynamic at all price levels. They offer our clients an additional option in a more selective market. These results give us confidence for the remainder of the year.
We have exciting events planned in New York, Paris and London in June and July, and in Hong Kong in September. Here are just a few of the highlights:
New York
Highlights of our Luxury Week include an extremely rare Richard Mille RM56-02 Tourbillon Sapphire watch and the Eden Rose, a magnificent 10.20 carat coloured diamond ring, which will be auctioned on 10 and 11 June respectively.
Paris
On 12 June, we are privileged to present a masterpiece by Chardin, Le melon entamé, from the Rothschild collection. This exquisite still life was painted in 1760.
London
On 11 June, we will be selling masterpieces from the Schøyen Collection, including manuscripts of monumental cultural importance such as the Crosby-Schøyen Codex. This extraordinary event will pave the way for our Classic Week at the beginning of July which is led by Titian's early masterpiece The rest on the flight to Egypt and important works by Metsys, Stubbs and Frans Hals.
Christie’s is honoured to be entrusted with the sale of Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection. Vivienne’s personal wardrobe together with signed playing cards will be offered across the live auction on 25 June and online sales running from 14–28 June. The sale will raise funds for the causes Vivienne supported throughout her life.
Hong Kong
We will be moving our regional headquarters to The Henderson, a newly designed building by Zaha Hadid Architects. This will be the first time in over 20 years that Christie's has opened a major cross-category sale site, reflecting our commitment to and confidence in the Asia Pacific region. It will allow us to evolve our business model in Asia from biannual auctions to a new, dynamic, year-round programme of sales, exhibitions and events, starting with sales of masterpieces across various categories on 26 and 27 September.
We look forward to welcoming you to these sales and events, whether in person or online. | | | |  | | | Guillaume Cerutti
Chief Executive Officer | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
