Want to Sell Off Some Bottles? Wine Lovers, Here Are Your Best 3 Options
A collector who has amassed too much grand cru Burgundy and first-growth Bordeaux might well turn to an auction house. Reputable, well-established options range from traditional houses like Sotheby's and Christie's, where wine is just one type of high-end collectible offered for auction, to wine-centric auction houses like Zachys, Acker Wines and Hart Davis Hart Wine Co.
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Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Toronto's ultra-luxury real estate market sees whopping 200 per cent increase in sales
The Toronto-area ultra-luxury real estate market defied troubling economic headwinds with a whopping 200 per cent increase in sales in the first half of 2025 over the same time last year. According to Sotheby's International Realty Canada's 2025 'Mid-Year State of Luxury Report,' residential sales in Canada's largest luxury real estate market declined in the first half of 2025 as uncertainty slowed activity. But the region's ultra-luxury real estate saw 12 sales for homes over $10 million in the first half of 2025, compared to four sales for the same period last year. 'Typically, this price range for the homes that are over $10 million takes longer to sell, as these buyers tend to be more selective,' said Dianne Usher, a managing broker at Sotheby's International Realty Canada. 'But we have more sellers in this market and buyers had more selection and when they see what they want they go for it. It was the right mix of buyers and inventory in the first two quarters of 2025.' Sotheby's experts also reported an increase in ultra-luxury real estate transactions occurring 'off-market' as sellers increasingly sought greater discretion and privacy in the sale of their properties. These are typically public figures, such as politicians, athletes, entertainers, who don't want anyone to know they were in the marketplace, Usher said. Despite these gains, luxury residential real estate sales over $4 million for all property types saw a decline in the first half of 2025, falling 28 per cent year-over-year to 222 properties sold between Jan. 1 and June 30. Sales of properties priced over $1 million experienced a 23 per cent annual decline to 13,563 units sold in the first half of 2025. Buyers in these price ranges were more impacted by economic uncertainty with the U.S. and are waiting on the sidelines to see how the market reacts. Within the city of Toronto, luxury residential real estate activity was also muted, as prospective buyers delayed decisions. Overall, sales of top-tier properties over $1 million declined 13 per cent annually to 4,951 properties sold in the first six months of the year, while sales over $4 million fell 23 per cent year-over-year to 142 properties sold in the first half of 2025. Despite this general trajectory, ultra-luxury transactions over $10 million more than doubled to seven properties sold, compared to three sold in the same period a year prior. Luxury single-family homes in prestigious neighbourhoods near top-tier schools, including Leaside, Riverdale, Upper Forest Hill, High Park and The Kingsway, remain coveted by prospective buyers, the report said. Buyer's market conditions remained pervasive across the GTA's luxury condominium segment in the first half of 2025, as inventory surged, purchasing timelines lengthened, and price negotiations skewed in favour of prospective buyers, the report said. Buyers also prioritized longer closings, Usher said, as those downsizing need time to sell their bigger, single-family home properties.
News24
11-07-2025
- News24
Most expensive bag ever sold: Iconic Birkin fetches R178m, setting fashion auction record
ALAIN JOCARD and JACQUES DEMARTHON / AFP The first-ever Birkin bag, designed by Hermès for actress Jane Birkin, sold for €8.58 million at a Sotheby's auction in Paris, breaking the record for the most expensive handbag ever sold. Owned by Catherine Benier, the handcrafted bag sparked a fierce bidding war and was purchased by a private collector from Japan, reflecting the ongoing allure of luxury fashion collectables. Created in 1984 following a conversation between Jane Birkin and Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas, the Birkin bag features unique characteristics like metal rings and a built-in nail clipper. The first-ever Birkin bag designed by French luxury brand Hermès for celebrity Jane Birkin sold for 8.58 million euros (R178 million) at a Sotheby's auction in Paris on Thursday, smashing previous price records for a handbag. The modern design classic, owned by a Paris-based handbag collector, sparked a telephone bidding war of up to seven million euros, with the final sale price set at 8.58 million with commission and fees, the Sotheby's website showed. 'After weeks of anticipation, the bidding opened at 1 million euros — prompting a gasp from the room,' Sotheby's said in a statement. The final buyer, who eclipsed eight other rivals, was a 'private collector from Japan', the auction house added without giving further details. The previous record price for a handbag at auction was set by a diamond-encrusted crocodile skin Hermès Kelly 28, which fetched $513 000 in 2021 at Christie's in Hong had advised that the Birkin prototype was expected to beat that level during its sale. But the staggering price tag for a well-worn item is in keeping with the fashion world's recent flashy aesthetics. After years of so-called 'quiet luxury' dominating catwalks, designers have embraced more ostentatious looks in recent seasons that have been dubbed 'boom boom' by some trend forecasters. Modern-day Birkin bags are offered by Hermès to loyal clients, with prices starting at around $10 000. Nostalgic The original Birkin has changed hands twice since being put up for sale by Birkin at an auction in 1994 where the proceeds went to an AIDS charity, according to Sotheby's. Thursday's sale represents an extraordinary payday for owner Catherine Benier, who has a boutique in the upmarket 6th district in Left Bank Paris. She said she was 'astonished at the result' in a statement sent by Sotheby's. 'I'm already very nostalgic at the thought of knowing the bag is no longer mine but extremely happy it has found a new loving home,' she added. She told The New York Times before the sale that the bag, which she bought at auction 25 years ago, was the 'jewel in my collection'.The bag is now the second-most expensive fashion item ever sold at auction, Sotheby's said. The record was established by a pair of ruby red slippers worn by actor Judy Garland from The Wizard of Oz in 1939, which sold for $32.5 million in 2024 in Dallas, Texas. Many years of use The birth of the Birkin bag has become a modern fashion legend. During a Paris-London flight, the singer and film star - who died in 2023 - complained to fellow traveller Jean-Louis Dumas, then head of Hermès, about not being able to find a bag suited to her needs as a young mother. The result of their conversation was a spacious tote with room for baby bottles, created in 1984 and named the Birkin. The prototype, which Birkin regularly carried with her and customised with stickers, is engraved with the initials J.B. and has several unique features, including closed metal rings, a non-detachable shoulder strap and a built-in nail clipper. Its condition 'reflects the many years of use by the actress and singer', Sotheby's said beforehand. A slightly differently sized version of the original has become the flagship product of the immensely profitable family-owned Hermès ever since. Produced in very limited numbers, the bag has maintained an aura of exclusivity and is beloved by celebrities from the Kardashians, Jennifer Lopez to Victoria Beckham. Frustrated fashionistas in America even sued Hermès in a class-action suit in California last year after they were refused access to the bags. Birkin had a sometimes strained relationship with Hermès, once threatening to take her name off the bags because of the group's treatment of crocodiles whose skins are used for its products. The former wife of French singing legend Serge Gainsbourg championed a host of causes, including animal rights.
Hypebeast
11-07-2025
- Hypebeast
Original Hermès Birkin Sells for Staggering $10 Million USD
Summary The ultimate symbol of luxury and an icon born from a serendipitous airplane encounter,Jane Birkin's originalHermèsbag has sold at auction for an astounding $10.1 million (8.6 million euros), including fees. The sale, conducted by Sotheby's in Paris, has shattered previous records, making it the most expensive handbag ever sold at auction and the second most valuable fashion item in auction history. The prototype, famously sketched out on an air sickness bag by Birkin during a 1981 flight with then-Hermès head Jean-Louis Dumas, was handcrafted for her in 1984 and delivered in 1985. Birkin used the battered black leather bag daily until 1994, even adorning it with stickers from Médecins du Monde and UNICEF, and incorporating practical details like a nail clipper. These personal touches and its unique origins distinguish it from all subsequent commercial Birkin bags, which became a global symbol of exclusivity and high fashion. The 10-minute bidding war saw nine collectors vying for the piece, with a private collector from Japan ultimately securing the legendary bag. Its sale price eclipses the previous record for a handbag, a diamond and crocodile Kelly bag that sold for $513,040 USD in 2021, and far surpasses a white-diamond Himalaya Birkin that fetched $450,000 USD in 2022. Before the bidding, auctioneer Aurélie Vandevoorde said, 'Today, the Birkin has become a veritable fashion icon,' calling it 'the most famous bag of all time.' Sotheby's Global Head of Handbags and Fashion, Morgane Halimi, called the sale 'an important milestone,' stating, 'It is incredible to think that a bag initially designed by Hermès as a practical accessory for Jane Birkin, has become the most desirable bag in history.' The staggering price reflects not only the bag's rarity and provenance but also its deep cultural significance as a piece of fashion history intertwined with the life of its muse, Jane Birkin, who passed away in 2023.
